What does it take to build big pecs like a pro bodybuilder? 

Regan Grimes is excited to take you inside the gym for his chest workout with his trainer Chris "Psycho Fitness".

This workout has some unique bodybuilder chest exercises you may not have seen before. Give them a try and let us know what you think!

Here’s the full workout:

Bodybuilder Pec Workout

Exercise	Sets	Reps
Cable Crossover	3	12-15
Dumbbell Floor Fly	3	12-15
Smith Machine Floor Press	3	10-12
Decline Machine Chest Press	3	10-12
Incline Cable Chest Press	3	12-15

Regan Grimes Mass Building Tips for Big Pecs

Cable Crossover

When performing the cable crossover, make sure to maintain the same elbow position throughout the entire range of motion, and focus on pulling both handles together until they are almost touching. 

Hold the cable handles in this position for 1 to 3 seconds to increase the total time under tension as well as the metabolic stress.

Increasing total time under tension is yet another way to incorporate progressive overload in lieu of increasing the load.

In addition to increasing the total amount of work your pecs are doing, you’ll also experience a tremendous burn in your chest thanks to the elongated “squeeze” at the top of each rep.

Furthermore, focus on pulling your shoulders down and back to keep the tension on your pecs and not your anterior deltoids (shoulders).

Dumbbell Floor Fly

The dumbbell fly has been and continues to be one of the staple exercises of many chest workouts to work one of the primary functions of the pecs -- adduction, where you bring the arms towards the midline of the body.

Typically, the fly is performed on a flat or low incline bench. However, the traditional fly can place tremendous strain on the shoulder joint, especially if you allow the arms to travel below the torso during the eccentric phase of the exercise.

The benefit of the dumbbell floor fly is that the ground prevents your arms from going to far below your torso, which helps avoid any unwanted stress on the shoulder joint.

Avoid going too heavy with your dumbbell selection. This helps reduce the potential for shoulder strain as well as place the focus on squeezing your pecs together.

As you saw in the video, Regan lies on a foam pad during the movement. This elevates his torso off the floor a few inches which allows his arms to travel a few extra inches on the movement.

If you don’t have a square foam pad, you can use a ½ foam roller or simply perform the movement on the floor.

Lastly, on this exercise as well as the next movement (Smith machine floor press), Regan performs a dead-stop where you pause for a solid second or two at the bottom of each rep and allow the muscles to relax momentarily.

This is done to force you to generate as much instantaneous power as possible without the assistance of the stretch reflex.

Smith Machine Floor Press

Regan again uses a foam pad on the ground for this exercise. This puts his body on a slight incline, which helps emphasize the upper chest.

Similar to dumbbell floor fly, Regan will be doing a dead stop on every rep. This eliminates the stretch reflex and forces him to transfer maximum power to the bar to lift the weight. Also, realize that you likely will be unable to press the same weight you can with the normal bench press due to this stop and release technique.

When performing the floor press, make sure you tighten everything from your shoulders on down before initiating the next rep.

Keep your chest up to maintain stability and control through your upper body as you press the bar up and lower. Do not allow your chest to collapse as you press the bar.

You can avoid this by keeping your shoulders pinned back to the pad.

Decline Machine Chest Press

The machine decline chest press helps work the lower, outer portion of your chest.

As with all other chest exercises, make sure to pull your shoulders down and back and do not allow your chest to cave in at the top of each rep.

If you don’t have access to this type of equipment set up or machine access, you can perform a traditional decline bench press or even weighted dips.

Incline Cable Chest Press

To finish off this big pecs chest workout, Regan performs a high incline cable chest press. The high incline setting helps emphasize the upper pecs as well as the anterior delts.

As you noticed in the video, Regan performs a slow, controlled eccentric on every rep. This helps increase the time under tension, increase metabolic stress, and technique all while fortifying the mind-muscle connection.

If you don’t have the particular cable machine set up that Regan uses, you can move an adjustable bench to the cable station at your gym and still perform the movement.

If a bench is not available, you can perform the movement standing, simply use the handles attached to the bottom of the cable column and perform a low-to-high cable crossover or chest press.

 

If you enjoyed this bodybuilder pecs workout, check out more chest workouts here: https://primevallabs.com/blogs/news/best-chest-workout