Pecs haven't really grown any bigger or stronger in months? Time to throw another wrench into your pec training with some new hardcore, extreme techniques, all intended to spark new muscle growth and take your chest to the next level. The following 5 chest-shocking methods have been tried many times over by expert trainers, champion bodybuilders and muscle-hungry gym rats with smashing success.
Bench With Rubber Bands
Why to do it: Including various types of resistances in your pec training is great for shocking the muscles into getting stronger and bigger. You’re accomplishing this by training with free weights, cables and cambered machines, each of which applies a slightly different form of resistance. But yet another way of working the muscles differently entails using rubber bands. Dugdale finds bands especially beneficial on Smith Machine bench press. “Using bands increases the total workload placed on the muscle,” he says, “while unloading some of the weight at the bottom of each rep [where you’re weaker] and increasing it at the top, [where you’re at a mechanical advange].”
What to do: The next time you do Smith Machine bench press, on each side secure a band from the bar (just outside of the weight plates) to the bottom of the rack. (You’ll have to load the machine with less weight than usual to account for the added resistance of the bands.) Your technique won’t change, but you’ll notice the resistance increasing as you press the bar up. Do 2-3 sets in this manner, then either move onto your next exercise or do a set or two more without the bands.
