In the late summer of last year, I hit the gym for a max chest day, and we brought the cameras along to record the whole thing. If you’re interested in checking it out, it’s at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRIn0HBzLVw

The cool thing was that I finally got the chance to work out with the crew from Strength Cartel. I’d been following these guys on social media for a while, and I saw that they all threw up some serious weight. We decided to meet up at the gym and go heavy on some chest exercises.

Man, these guys didn’t disappoint. They are the real deal and put up really big numbers. It’s hard for me to find training partners that lift more than me, but all these dudes were passing me up. I’m a competitor, so I love that. It pushes me to train even harder.

As you watch the video though, you’ll see that the huge amount of weight we had on the bar didn’t affect our form. I talk about form in my ebook, Building a Legendary Chest. It’s so important when trying to build your chest, and here are some ways to perfect your technique for maximum gain

Start Small, Get Loose

One of the most common ways you can sabotage your gains is by hurting yourself, then having to train through the injury. You’re either taking weeks or even months off of training due to an injury like a torn pec muscle, or you’re prevented from attacking the weight aggressively due to a lesser injury. Either way, you’re not growing your chest as fast (or as big) as you could be.

I like to spend 5-10 minutes warming up my shoulders before each workout. This can be something as simple as range of motion stretches or exercises for my rotator cuff. I just want to make sure I’ve got plenty of blood flowing through my muscles, and my joints are good and loose.

Control is the Name of the Game

In the video with Strength Cartel, you’ll notice how controlled we are on the negative rep. I’ll often see guys (even competitive bodybuiders) who come down too fast on their bench press reps and bang the bar on their chest.

Alternatively, when you bring the bar down slowly, you get a better stretch in your muscle fibers, which causes greater blood flow and more micro-tears in the muscle. Focus on stretching and squeezing your pecs on each rep. When you concentrate and mindfully hit each rep with a slow, controlled movement, you’ll start to see amazing results.

Keep Your Lower Back Off the Bench

This one is really straightforward. Don’t have your lower back connected to the bench on pressing movements. There are a lot of old-school trainers who teach you to stay flat on the bench during your reps. This is a recipe for severe shoulder pain, as well as muscles imbalences.

When you’re on the bench, elevate your chest by squeezing your shoulders down and back. This will naturally create separation between your lower back and the bench. Keep squeezing your shoulders through the entire movement to properly focus on your pecs instead of deltoids or trapezius muscles.

All in One Solution

Your technique is key to building a legendary chest, but you also need a plan. In my ebook, I give a complete, in-depth guide about how to explode your chest in 12 weeks. It includes notes on technique, videos showing perfect form on all the exercises, and a full workout plan in 4 week increments. When you’re ready to build a competition-level chest, click here to grab it.