10 Anatomy Facts Every Bodybuilder Should Know
From beginner gym goer to competitive bodybuilder, every weightlifter can use these tips to build muscle
8 of 11 Yes, You Can Train the Lower Chest.
It may look silly and sound like a gym myth, but there really is such thing as training the lower chest. The pectoralis major is the biggest chest muscle while the pectoralis minor extends from the shoulder to ribs 3-5, underneath the pectoralis major. Targeting both the lower part of the pectoralis major and the pectoralis minor may result in the bottom part of your chest looking bigger.
“The pectoralis major is one of the few muscles where you can argue training upper and lower fibers,” Winchester says. “Doing a flat, incline, and decline bench press is a well-founded idea. The decline bench lets you recruit the pectoralis minor and serratus anterior more than the flat and incline bench press. Parallel bar dips also target the lower chest.”
When it comes time to do their programmed incline/decline chest press, lifters often just use whatever angle the previous lifter used. Or, they just don’t know the best angle.
“There is no clear cut answer for the best chest angle for hypertrophy however the likely answer is that a small incline/decline are preferable to a large incline/decline,” Norton says.
Winchester agrees with this sentiment, adding that advanced bodybuilders can use more extreme angles because of the size of the muscles and the need to move it into a different position.
“People who have been lifting for a year or two should use a 20-30% incline or decline,” says Winchester. “If you’re a bodybuilder, a 45% angle works because your chest is large".
It may look silly and sound like a gym myth, but there really is such thing as training the lower chest. The pectoralis major is the biggest chest muscle while the pectoralis minor extends from the shoulder to ribs 3-5, underneath the pectoralis major. Targeting both the lower part of the pectoralis major and the pectoralis minor may result in the bottom part of your chest looking bigger.
“The pectoralis major is one of the few muscles where you can argue training upper and lower fibers,” Winchester says. “Doing a flat, incline, and decline bench press is a well-founded idea. The decline bench lets you recruit the pectoralis minor and serratus anterior more than the flat and incline bench press. Parallel bar dips also target the lower chest.”
When it comes time to do their programmed incline/decline chest press, lifters often just use whatever angle the previous lifter used. Or, they just don’t know the best angle.
“There is no clear cut answer for the best chest angle for hypertrophy however the likely answer is that a small incline/decline are preferable to a large incline/decline,” Norton says.
Winchester agrees with this sentiment, adding that advanced bodybuilders can use more extreme angles because of the size of the muscles and the need to move it into a different position.
“People who have been lifting for a year or two should use a 20-30% incline or decline,” says Winchester. “If you’re a bodybuilder, a 45% angle works because your chest is large".
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