A question that crosses the mind of every gym rat at some point in their gyming tenure is How to build a 3D chest?
And why wouldn’t it cross their minds, because with all the efforts the majority of us have a developed mid & lower pec but don’t get that fullness in the chest like those pro bodybuilders.
So, if you are one of the gym rats who constantly has been pondering as to how to build a 3D chest then keep reading, I’ll share some of my tricks to help you achieve this feat.
Incline Dumbbell Press
This workout works your upper chest while activating your anterior deltoids & triceps. A very important exercise to develop your upper chest fibers which in turn gives you the fullness in your chest and a 3D look. Doing a dumbbell press instead of a barbell press gives an isolation movement which helps you develop your weaker side equally in comparison to the stronger side.
Direction:
1. Firstly, set the backrest of the bench at an angle of 30 degrees to get full activation of the upper chest. Make sure that the seat of the bench is also set at an appropriate angle as to the backrest.
2. Now, pickup the dumbbells that you feel would be appropriate to start with. If you are doing this for the first time then I would suggest going with a 10 pound/5Kg dumbbell or an even lighter dumbbell if this too seems to be heavy.
3. The key here is the lift as this is a section where one might injure oneself. So, while you are seated on the bench, place your dumbbells on your thighs such that one of the dumbbell heads rests on your thighs. Then give the dumbbells a push with your legs and simultaneously lie down on the bench. In this position hold the dumbbells besides your chest with your elbows tucked in.
4. Now, push the dumbbells up in front of your upper chest such that when they are up they are kind of in line with your collarbone.
5. In this position make sure your arms form an A and your elbows are still soft. Repeat this for 12-15 times until you feel the fatigue in your muscle.
6. Do 3 sets in total with slightly increasing the weights in each set.
Decline Dumbbell Press
This workout works your lower chest while again activating your triceps. This workout develops your lower pec and gives your chest that proper rectangular shape to achieve the much desired symmetry. This exercise aptly answers the question of how to build a 3D chest.
Direction:
1. Firstly, set the backrest of the bench at an angle of negative 30 degrees to get full activation of the lower pec. Make sure that the seat of the bench is raised a little such that the backrest and the seat make a single plane.
2. Now, pickup the dumbbells that you feel would be appropriate to start with. If you are doing this for the first time then I would suggest going with a 10 pound/5Kg dumbbell or an even lighter dumbbell if this too seems to be heavy. Usually you would be able to go a little heavy in each set compared to incline dumbbell presses.
3. You need to be very careful while making the lift as here is where quite a few people injure themselves. So, while you are seated on the bench, place your dumbbells on your thighs such that one of the dumbbell heads rests on your thighs. Then give the dumbbells a push with your legs and simultaneously lie down on the bench. In this position hold the dumbbells besides your chest with your elbows tucked in.
Note: Before getting into position make sure that your bench has a leg support where you can lock your legs when getting in the decline position because at times you might tend to slip due to the angle of the bench.
4. Now, push the dumbbells up in front of your upper chest such that when they are up they are in line with your mid to lower chest. And while pushing you should get a nice contraction in your lower pec muscles. If you don’t get the contraction then you need to adjust the position of the dumbbell.
5. In this position make sure your arms form an A and your elbows are still soft. Repeat this for 12-15 times until you feel the fatigue in your muscle.
6. Do 3 sets in total with slightly increasing the weights in each set.
Bench Press
Bench Press is an archaic exercise yet quite effective & relevant in today’s era. You can continue with the above format & do flat bench dumbbell press but I prefer doing the regular barbell bench press as it works my chest more and gives the much needed blood flow for the right kind of pump. This workout develops your mid chest while again activating your triceps. This exercise gives more fullness & pump to your chest, and again a perfect reply to the question of how to build a 3D chest.
Direction:
1. Firstly, grab an empty bench because if you are like me who trains in the evening, the peak workout hours, then it’s highly unlikely to get an empty bench.
2. Now, set the weights that you feel you can start with. If you are a first timer on bench press then please don’t hesitate to start with an empty rod because that itself would weigh around 10-15 pounds & it’s for sure heavy enough to get your form & the balance right on the bench press.
Note: I would strongly recommend not going in for a smith machine as you won’t be able to develop that much needed weight balance.
3. Make sure the bar is properly centered i.e. the center line of the bar is exactly above the center of your chest. Now, grip the bar and tuck in your elbows such that your arm forms a 45-degree angle your body.
4. Lift the bar up and bring it in front of your mid chest. Bring it down slowly closer to your chest. For once you can rest the bar to check if it is exactly above your mid chest. Once the bar position and the hand position is fixed press the bar up to get that much needed contraction in your mid chest.
5. Make sure to keep your elbows soft while you are pressing the bar. Repeat this for 12-15 times until you feel the fatigue in your muscle.
6. Do 3 sets in total with slightly increasing the weights in each set.
Incline Pec Fly
We usually do pec flys on a pec deck or on the bench with the dumbbells where the backrest is always flat. While this exercise does give good results, we need to better it in order to answer the question of how to build a 3D chest.
And, incline pec fly is the answer to our question. This not only strengthens the inner chest fibers but also builds the fibers close to the collar bone which in turns gives you that appealing and strong chest separator line right from the lower pec to the collar bone.
Direction:
1. You can use the pec deck machine or a bench for this exercise. If you are going for a pec deck then follow along.
2. Set the weights as you may feel appropriate. Now stick your glutes to the end of the seat near the backrest and lean forward such that your upper body is now at a 45-degree angle.
3. Hold the arms of the pec deck as you would do regularly, keeping your elbows at 90-degree and parallel to the ground, and push it until the arms are in front of your chest.
Note: Do not cling/bang the arms of the machine.
4. Hold in this position for 2-3 secs and then slowly bring back the arms to the original position making sure that you don’t rest the weights to keep the contraction in your muscles intact. Repeat this for 12-15 times until you feel the fatigue in your muscle.
5. Do 3 sets in total with slightly increasing the weights in each set.
With it we have covered the entire chest at once focusing on all the aspects; upper, mid, lower & the inner chest fibers. However, we are not done yet.
The Finisher
The finishers give you that extra bit of push & pump. A little secret solution to the problem/question of how to build a 3D chest.
Pushups
I am quite sure by now all of my readers know how to do push ups. If you are new here, then you can give this article a read.
Bar Dips
This is something new that I’d be covering. If you have seen two rods protruding from your pull up machine set then here’s the answer, it’s for doing Bar dips which help you build chest, triceps & shoulder with your body weight by just slightly changing your body’s angle.
Direction:
1. Stand in between & grip the bars with both your hands.
2. Now, lift your legs up backwards till your knees and fold them. At this point you will find yourself hanging in the air.
3. Next step is to slightly bend forward and lower your body until your elbows hit the 90-degree mark. Hold for 2-3 secs in this position and then slowly push yourself up to the zeroth position.
Now you can be happy and reach out to your protein as we are done here.
These are just a few variations that I have listed for how to build a 3D chest. However, there are some more combinations & variations that you can try out in this routine.
I’ll list them down for you soon!
So follow my blogs closely for more workouts.