Tips: Building up Your Chest and Arms

Adding muscle mass to your upper body can help round out your physique. Beefing up your arms and thickening your chest can help you to create an impressive physical specimen; but, before you rush haphazardly into a workout regimen, think through your resistance training campaign. Use free weights to pack on the maximum amount of muscle in a minimum amount of time. Pumping iron forces your muscles to stabilize the weights throughout the entire exercise range of motion, placing a greater amount of tension on your muscles.

This increased level of tension promotes hypertrophy or muscle growth. Do free weight movements like bench presses, triceps dips and dumbbell flies to bulk up your torso and strengthen your upper body.  Pay strict attention to exercise form. Only after you have learned how to perform free weight movements properly can you expect to see desired results.

Avoid getting caught up in the silly, ego-inflating habit of weight tripping. Packing 300 pounds onto a barbell then performing a sloppy, dangerous one repetition maximum only increases your chances of a future trip to the hospital and decreases your likelihood of muscle mass gain. Start light, use proper form, then add weight as your strength increases.

Do Bench Presses to Build Mass throughout Your Upper Body

Bench presses recruit your arms, shoulders, and chest effectively. Use a shoulder-width grip when pressing to target both your arms and shoulders. The massive growth you seek is the product of bench pressing persistently over a course of months. Train with a spotter to ensure your safety, reduce the risk of injury, and maximize the amount of weight you can press. Bench presses are one of the most effective upper body exercises for gaining mass.

Use Dumbbell Flies to Add Depth to Your Chest

Dumbbell flies help you to add depth and overall size to your chest region. Consider doing incline dumbbell flies to add depth to your upper chest muscles. Imagine yourself hugging a tree as you move throughout the entire exercise range of motion. Maintain a slight bend in your arms to reduce the risk of injury.

Feel the peak contraction by flexing your pectoral muscles when the dumbbells touch at the top of the movement.

Use Triceps Dips to Pack Muscle onto Your Arms

Triceps dips provide you with the ultimate mass builder for your arms. Use a dipping belt to add increased resistance to your workout.  Keep your elbows into your body throughout the exercise to maintain a strong emphasis on your triceps. Use a slow, steady tempo when doing dips. Avoid any jerking movements. Wild-type dipping movements bring momentum into the dipping equation, greatly reducing the amount of stress you place on your muscles, and depriving you of mass gains in your arms.

Poundage and Repetition

Use heavy weights to pack on the optimal amount of muscle mass. Perform 3 sets of 8 repetitions for each exercise, adding 5 to 10 pounds between each set. Adding more weight to each set places your muscles under greater stress, increasing the amount of muscle mass you pack on. Take a 60-second break between each set to increase the intensity of your workouts.

Avoid doing one repetition maxes for any exercise as this approach increases your overall power but does little for adding quality muscle mass to your physique.

Rest One Week between Working the Same Muscle Groups

Overtraining reduces your muscle gains severely. Working out breaks down your muscles. You gain muscle mass outside of the weight room as your body recovers and rebuilds itself. Give yourself at least 7 day’s worth of rest time before chest and shoulder workouts. Remain hydrated to improve muscle recovery, as your muscles are composed primarily of water.