The Ultimate Chest & Back Workout For Strength

INTRODUCTION

The fitness trainers are often swarmed with queries about the chest and back workout. How to make a toned V-shaped torso? What about hitting both regimes on the same day? What to do if I am working out at home! Wouldn’t my chest and back be as bulged as “The Rock“? Now, what is the workout regime Tyson follows? We will try to answer it. At least some of it. The rest will be handled with your determination and perseverance. Unravel the secrets of the chest and back workout plans here, Gym rats.

WHAT DOES SCIENCE SAY?

Let us start the journey with a little fact check with biology. Human physiology is a delicate and intricate subject to understand. Sweating out at the gym or home would be a foolish thing to do if you are not aware of the bodily changes you are inviting. That is the reason your trainer is keeping an eye on your posture when you are doing those squats. Doing your exercises wrong brings in unwanted consequences.

The common benefits that strength training offers are improved cardiovascular functioning, an optimum blood pressure level, reduced fat accumulation in the body, decreased blood sugar level. We can already presume how strength training would benefit muscle strength and boost the flexibility of the body.

THE GAINS FROM CHEST AND BACK WORKOUT

The four major gains that chest workouts offer is:

• Get an improved posture: Working out with your pectoralis muscles (both pectoralis major and pectoralis minor) will help you get a proper posture. They are also quite effective in stabilizing and strengthening your shoulder joints.
• Better stretching of ribs: As the pectoralis major muscle consumes a large part of the ribs, a proper workout of the pecs will indirectly lead to better breathing. The muscles are attached to the ribs and help in better stretching them during breathing cycles.
• Better support for chest: A popular myth that discourages women to go for chest exercises is that it reduced breast size. If anything, the chest workouts do the exact opposite. It helps to strengthen and lengthen tissues around the chest. This in turn provides support for the breast preventing them to go saggy. We love all the body types though! Just flaunt your strength here.
• Gaining some extra strength: The pecs are used for almost all activities we do in our everyday life. Pushing the heavy doors, pulling the huge bag of laundry, lifting the groceries, or squeezing the stress balls. Pectoralis muscles are always at your service. A regular workout of the pecs would indeed add to the strength. And it doesn’t hurt to have a little extra strength.

The next big question is, what are the relevant exercises to build up your pec strength. You can go for barbell bench press, inclined dumbbell flys, dips, and pushups. If you are hitting the gym, ask your trainer to introduce you to the pec dec machine and chest press machine.

The American Council on Exercise (ACE) considered the barbell bench press to be highly effective in developing pec strength. The barbell bench is followed by the pec dec machine and bent forward cable crossover.

There is no point just reading about these curled up on your couch. Get going and start sweating out. You may follow the basic regime we will be talking about.

THE CLASSIC CHEST AND BACK WORKOUT

The fitness fanatics often push the bars too far to get the perfect torso. The strenuous routine they follow may sometimes prove more taxing on health. Trainer, registered dietician, and fitness expert of Men’s fitness, Tim McComsey, provided a classic workout routine for your back and chest:

1. Barbell chest press: The American Council of Exercise approved barbell chest press is on the trainer’s to-do list as well. The expert advises for 4 sets of 8 reps in each for one workout session. A rest period of 90 seconds must be spared in between the sets.
2. The cable pulldown exercise: Another strength-based routine that can be followed is cable pulldown. 4 sets of cable pulldowns are advised for as many reps as possible in a single set. Do not forget to take the staple 90 seconds to rest between each set.
3. Barbell inclined press: It seems Mr McComsey never lets his barbell rest. Go for 4 sets of barbell inclined press with at least 10 reps in each set. Take a minute between each set to catch your breath.
4. Barbell bent-over row: Keep your barbells ready, guys. 4 sets of barbells bent over with 10 reps are enough for one workout session. A 60 seconds rest is mandatory.
5. The classic push-ups: A common member of strength training is push-ups. One can never tick it off their list. 3 rounds of pus-ups with 10 to 15 reps in each set would bring unexpected chisels to your torso. 45 seconds of rest in between the sets is highly recommended.
6. V bar cable row: The cable pulldowns are tremendously effective in developing your upper body strength. 3 sets of bar cable row with 10 reps in each is advised by the expert. Knock knock! Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is also following the cable workouts.
7. Hip thrust: 3 rounds of hip thrust exercises is enough for each workout session. Do as many reps as possible in three rounds of the hip thrust. Never miss a minute of rest between each set. Let the aerobic pathway of your body function.

If you are ready to follow the complete workout regime by McComsy, visit here for a 21-day body challenge. Build that body like a chiselled Greek God!

COMBINED CHEST AND BACK WORKOUT

Most of us do not have the leisure the strengthen each body part separately. Sometimes we need a hybrid plan that would include two or more body strengthening in a single exercise. The chest and back superset sessions are one of the most widely accepted combined programs. The chest and back superset share the same advantage and disadvantages.

The strenuous routine leaves the upper body with a vicious pump and hits all the critical muscles present in the upper body. A sample session of the chest and back workout is here for you to kickstart:

1. Barbell row * dumbbell bench press: These two exercises together form a hybrid or superset of the chest and back workout. Do 3 sets of barbell rows with 10 reps in each. After getting done with the barbell row, immediately go for dumbbell bench press for 3 sets with 8 reps. Maintain a regular rest interval of 60 seconds between each set.
2. Chin up * Inclined press: Another hybrid exercise that strengthens your pectoralis major and pectoralis minor at the same time. Hang on to your pull-up bar and start doing those chin-ups. A session of 3 sets with 5 to 8 reps in each is recommended. After that pull up your dumbbells and start the incline press over 30 degrees angle.3 sets of the inclined press will be enough for one session with 2 to 3 reps in each. Do not go for heavyweights in the beginning. Start from lower weights and slowly escalate to heavier ones.
3. Inclined bench press * Dumbbell row: Instead of lying on your back on the inclined plane, use your chest. Set the inclination to 30 degrees and pick a lightweight dumbbell. Start rowing the dumbbells upwards so that your arm reaches above your torse. 3 sets of inclined bench press dumbbell rows are enough to sweat the muscles.

Learn the particulars of your hybrid program of the chest and back workout visit here.

THE GOALS ACHIEVED BY CHEST AND BACK SUPERSET

Apart from time-saving, what are the other goals you can fulfil by adapting a chest and back superset workout regime? The major benefit of the hybrid program is that it works out your pectoralis major and pectoralis minor muscles at the same time. Every critical muscle of the upper body is worked out at the same time without having to concentrate on different parts individually.

The smartly crafted chest and back superset also build your posture right. The shoulders and torso are made pumped and straight. The routine also ensures a better balance of the physique. After a few workout sessions with the chest and back superset, you would notice an astonishing change in your ability to lift weights. Heavier weights would be easy to pull if you are doing the hybrid session right. Consequently, the muscles would bulge easily due to the heavy lift of weights.

Fitness trainers advise going for twice a week program with the chest and back superset. It is impossible to go for this combined routine every day a week, especially if you are going through high-intensity strength exercises. Your body would need a 2 days rest in between the sessions. The rest period would build up more capacity for your body, making it easy for you to pursue your hybrid session ahead.

GET THAT V-SHAPED TORSO

Another fitness dream of health fanatics is to gain a V-shaped torso. To achieve this, high-intensity exercises come to aid that involve both the chest and the back muscles. Three prominent training pillars need to be followed if you want to flaunt your V: time under tension, high volume, and maximum involvement of the muscle fibres. Some of the most effective workout sessions for a V-shaped torso:

1. Dumbbell inclined bench press: Lie on an inclined plane tilted at 45 degrees angle. Hold your dumbbells (preferably lightweight for beginners) at chest height perpendicularly. Start working out by pressing them straight overhead. Go for 4 sets with 5 reps in each. Have 45 seconds rest to catch your breath.
2. Dumbbell bench press: Inclined bench press and dumbbell bench press are pretty much the same. In dumbbell bench press we do not use an inclined plane to work upon. 4 sets of dumbbell presses are adequate with 3 sets in each. A staple 45 seconds break is mandatory.
3. Dumbbell flye: Lie on your back and lift your dumbbells straight above your chest. Work out by throwing your arms sideways and bring them back to their initial position. 12 reps of dumbbell flye on each side are beneficial for your shoulder joints and triceps.
4. Wide-grip bent over: Now go for the barbells. Hold the bar with a wide grip and bend your knee. Hinge forward while keeping your torso tough. this exercise for at least 8 reps will boost the strength of your shoulder muscles, pectoralis major, and pectoralis minor simultaneously.
   Along with that, a huge amount of strength will be built upon the ventral portion of the body which will make the stripes more prominent. Get ready for the multiple packs!

CONCLUSION

There are multiple benefits of strengthening our chest and back. Metaphorically and realistically, no one would ever mess up with a strong chest and iron back. Some of the physical benefits of going for strength-based exercises are improved body posture, a better breathing capacity, good cardiac health, optimum level of blood pressure and blood sugar. It is a complete package on its own.

The pectoralis muscles of the body are essential in carrying out the everyday activities of life. Pulling the laundry, the grocery basket, or even twisting the arm of a public offender in the streets would require your pecs to be strong. The chest workouts and back regimes provide just the extra amount of strength that will be needed.

During working out, one thing that we often ignore is proper diet. Health fanatics ignore taking carbs for not gaining fats.  But carbohydrates are the crucial energy providing source of the body. Now grab the bowl of rice you have been ignoring for so long. Apart from carbs, an adequate proportion of proteins is also required if you are into intensive training.

Chicken and plates of seafood should be present in your meals. Discuss your diet plan along with the workout routines with your trainer. Intensive physical exercise and a proper diet make the body whole.