Hello! Today there will be an article on sports theme. The notorious V-shape incredibly attracts the attention of the fair sex! It's not surprising that bodybuilders are looking for ways to make their shoulders wider and their waists narrower. True, nature has not endowed everyone with such “gifts,” but this is not a reason to give up.
How to make your shoulders wider
In order to make your silhouette incredibly wide at the shoulder girdle, there are two ways:
- Pump up the deltoid muscles to the maximum possible size.
- Widen the bones of the shoulders and chest.
How to pump up deltoids
So, let's start in order. We discussed in great detail how to pump up deltoids (shoulders) in the article. Read it, it's full of useful information.
Now I'll give you a few more interesting tips. First, it must be noted that delta- a relatively small muscle, and besides, it receives a considerable load when performing chest presses and back rows, so if you simply increase the weights, you risk not only not growing your shoulders, but also seriously overtraining them, or not God forbid, injure.
Let's not forget that shoulder– this is the most mobile joint in our body, and we need to be very careful with it.
Here, as nowhere else, when selecting a set of exercises, it is necessary to rely on MUSCLE FEELING, i.e. so you can get a feel for the work deltoid muscles at every point in the exercise. By the way, I wrote about muscle feeling. Refresh your memory.
The deltoids should be tense at every point of movement in the exercises. They should not “switch off” at the bottom or top of the movement. At the top point, I advise you to linger for 1-2 seconds to give your deltoids additional load. Work with relatively light weights and try to induce.
The main mistake is that beginners focus on working the middle and anterior deltoid muscles, while completely ignoring the rear ones. Rear delts They also give excellent volume to the shoulders, so don’t make a similar mistake.
Now let's deal with the second point. Widening your shoulder bones is not so difficult if you are not yet 23-24 years old, because... further bone growth virtually stops and expansion may become almost impossible.
The most better exercise to broaden your shoulders - this pull-ups Very wide grip V large quantities approaches.
Widening the bones of the shoulders is a fairly advisable exercise, because... if you give up sports and lose the “meat” that you have built up, then your frame (skeleton) will still remain wide.
Even if you are over 24 years old, you still need to do pull-ups, because... the effect will still be there, although perhaps not as severe as before this age.
How to expand the chest
To expand chest, you need to do the following exercises:
- "Breathing" squats.
- Pullover.
The specifics are as follows. Breathing squats are performed with a lighter weight that you can do 20-25 repetitions with, and they are done with a full inhalation. This allows your lungs to hyperventilate well during heavy work, thereby expanding the sternum.
Breathing squats are almost no different from regular squats, except that at the end of each repetition (at the top), you take a certain number of as deep breaths as possible, after which you take a slow breath while moving to the bottom and slowly exhale on the rise.
Every 5-10 repetitions, take not one, but 3-5 deep breaths, after which you continue to perform the exercise.
Let's look at this in more detail:
1-10 repetition– 3 exhalations and inhalations at the top point, before each repetition.
11-20 repetition– 4 exhalations and inhalations at the top point, before each repetition.
20-25 repetition– 5 exhalations and inhalations at the top point, before each repetition.
After you finish the squat approach, immediately (!) go to the pullover approach. This will further stretch your chest.
How is a pullover done?
The technique of performing the exercise is quite simple.
- We select a dumbbell by weight that you will be able to lift 10-15 times.
- We sit across horizontal bench and place the dumbbell on your knee.
- Then we go down so that your shoulder blades lie on the bench, and your pelvis is in weight, your legs rest at an angle of 90 degrees on the floor. You are in a horizontal position, leaning on the bench with two shoulder blades.
- Now take the dumbbell so that your two thumbs wrap around the bar, and your two palms rest on one of the edges of the dumbbell.
- Raise your arms vertically, bending your elbows slightly.
- We lower the dumbbell behind the head, lower the pelvis down and create a maximum stretch of the chest.
- Now let's go back to starting position. The dumbbell is vertical at the top, and the pelvis again “hangs” parallel to the floor.
As you can see, nothing complicated. Those. you perform: Approach for breathing squats + pullover... Rest 1-1.5 minutes... Approach for breathing squats + pullover...
Do 2-3 such pairs (supersets) at the end of the workout, this will be enough.
Such expanding training is used in series of several cycles with a break between them of one month. Cycle duration increases:
- 1 cycle: 4-5 weeks;
- 2nd cycle: 5-6 weeks;
- 3 cycle: 6-8 weeks;
You will notice the effect of expanding the shoulder girdle after the second cycle. It is advisable to perform “breathing” squats after training your legs.
I hope that I was able to explain to you in sufficient detail how to make your shoulders wider.
P.S. Subscribe to blog updates. It will only get worse.
With respect and best wishes,!
Aksinya Popova
Enlargement of the chest is a task that both men and women often set themselves. Elaboration pectoral muscles literally transforms the figure: the shoulders become more developed, the relief of the torso becomes beautiful and clearly defined.
For a girl, developed muscles in this area help to visually enlarge her breasts and improve their shape due to greater firmness. If along with muscle mass The chest is developed and its working volume increases, another important goal is achieved: the body becomes more resilient, strong and mobile, and the lung capacity increases. The larger the lung capacity, the literally easier it is to breathe: asthmatics, allergy sufferers and smokers will certainly appreciate this advantage.
There are sports that allow you to noticeably enlarge and beautifully shape your chest muscles, as well as separate complexes exercises aimed at expanding the chest and increasing lung capacity.
In a few months active activities you can achieve an expansion of 2-4 cm: for an adult this is considered a good result, since the skeleton develops most intensively before the end of adolescence.
How to visually increase the size of the chest?
To answer the question “how to enlarge the chest by exercising at home?”, we must first understand what goals we are pursuing. If we are talking only about visual increase in muscles, achieve good results Everyone (including a fragile girl and a thin teenager) will benefit from regular training, consisting of a series of simple exercises.
Remember that it will not be possible to effectively develop this part of the body by exercising until the muscles completely fail: their strength and endurance will increase, but the rate of growth due to overload, paradoxically, may slow down.
Therefore, train in a comfortable mode, without forcing things: perform the required number of repetitions and approaches, but do not bring yourself to complete exhaustion. And you should start with push-ups - the simplest and most accessible exercise that does not require special equipment or training.
The training program should include not only classic push-ups, but also other exercise options:
- push-ups with arms spread as wide as possible - with this positioning of the arms, the load on the middle and lower sections of the chest increases;
- deep push-ups with your torso touching the floor;
- push-ups with your arms brought together as close as possible, when your hands almost touch each other, and the maximum load falls on your forearms and shoulders.
To begin, do three sets of 30 push-ups, alternating different types push-ups. If this load is too easy for you, load your shoulders so that 30 repetitions per set are performed with effort and noticeable tension.
Many trainers, telling how to enlarge the chest, advise not to ignore pull-ups. Pull-ups with a wide grip give a good effect: it is advisable to do at least 10-12 pull-ups in one workout. Due to constant (preferably daily) training with a gradual increase in the number of pull-ups, as a rule, even a non-athletic girl can enlarge her chest.
If you have dumbbells, be sure to use them in your workouts.
Do you know how to quickly enlarge a teenager's chest?
Just do the exercise "Dumbbell fly", as simple as two and two, and extremely effective. To do this, you will need a narrow bench: lie down on it and, hanging your arms with dumbbells at your sides, begin to bring them in and out at a calm pace, smoothly and without jerking.
Select the weight of the dumbbells in such a way that you cannot do more than 15-20 repetitions in one approach. In one workout you need to complete 2-4 approaches.
A universal exercise for developing and expanding the chest is a pullover (pull over - the so-called “pull back”). During its execution, if everything is done correctly, the muscles of the diaphragm and abdomen are well worked out, latissimus muscles back, pectoral and intercostal muscles, as well as the serratus anterior muscles, which are located on the sides of the body.
Before you start training with weights, learn to feel the work of your body: stand straight and stretch your arms in front of you, smoothly lift them vertically up, and then just as smoothly lower them.
Did you feel the tension?
Remember this feeling and move on to training with weights. Pullover can be performed with dumbbells or a barbell. Heavy weight not required here, since stretching, not loading, is important for proper body function. You need to lie down on a bench or fitball, pick up a not too heavy apparatus and smoothly stretch your arms back from the position "perpendicular to the torso", and then just as smoothly return them to their original position, without twisting your wrists and moving as measuredly as possible.
How to increase the working volume of the chest?
Breathing power and lung capacity can be developed even in adulthood through special training, which must be systematic to achieve maximum effect.
This will also help with sports that involve serious aerobic exercise, in particular:
- skating;
- skiing;
- yoga;
- swimming;
- running and race walking;
- rowing;
- cycling.
The loads characteristic of the above sports not only increase lung capacity, but also help strengthen cardiovascular system. When swimming, athletes also train to breathe rhythmically and hold their breath correctly, which has a beneficial effect on lung function and keeps the torso muscles in good shape.
Good, very effective isolated exercise to increase chest lung volume at home - breathing with resistance. To do this, you need to inhale air as usual, through your nose, and exhale through a tightly closed mouth, leaving a small gap (so that the air comes out with noticeable resistance). This procedure must be repeated as often as possible so that the lungs get used to holding air and gradually increase in volume.
Despite the fact that most men lead a sedentary lifestyle and do not attend gym, most of them want their muscles to stand out and their chest to be strong and firm. The modern lifestyle, where there is very little time left for ourselves, dictates its own conditions to us, as a result of which visiting the gym is not always possible. However, you shouldn’t despair, because to keep yourself in good physical shape, you can and should exercise at home. How to increase it and what exercises need to be done for this?
First of all, you should familiarize yourself with some rules for performing exercises for the chest, if you follow them, you will be able to strengthen them as much as possible in the shortest possible time:
Rule 1. You should develop a study schedule and keep a self-control diary. The main thing to remember is that systematic training is the key to your success.
Rule 2. The wider the grip in front of you, the more involved external muscles chest
Rule 3. The higher your arms are raised above your head, the more the upper chest is involved.
Rule 4. Watch your breathing. Remember, inhale when relaxing, exhale when performing the strength part of the exercise.
Rule 5. Give your muscles a rest. When starting training, it is best to do it every other day.
Now we should briefly talk about the physical structure of the human pectoral muscles, since without knowledge of the theoretical part it will be difficult for a person to understand how to enlarge the chest and what exercises to use for this. The pectoral muscle is one of the widest in the human body, so to strengthen and develop it you should use different exercises. As a rule, in an ordinary person, the internal ones are poorly developed, resulting in a small depression in the middle of the chest. This occurs due to the fact that, objectively, the external muscles of the chest are trained automatically, since they are involved in performing various physical work. That is why for proportional addition you should train all the muscles of the chest.
- in the usual way. Hands are placed slightly wider than shoulder level, legs are closed, breathing is even. It is performed in the following way: smoothly lowering the body down, after which we sharply squeeze our arms and straighten up. It is advisable to perform 18-20 times in a row for 3 approaches.
- To enlarge the chest, you can use push-ups, in which your legs are higher than your head. By performing this exercise efficiently, you can quickly pump up both the internal and external pectoral muscles.
- Deep chair push-ups with stretching. In order for muscles to grow, it is necessary to perform stretching exercises. We lie down in the starting position, leaning our arms and legs on chairs, after which we perform push-ups for 15 times, deeply bending our whole body down.
By performing this simple set of exercises for 3 months, you will immediately feel significant changes in your body. At first, the muscles will become elastic and strong, after which their gradual growth will begin. Thus, everyone who has familiarized themselves with the basic rules of performing exercises will be able to answer the question of how to enlarge the chest at home.
In conclusion, a few more words should be said about proper nutrition, which is very important when pumping up muscles. Try to arrange your diet in such a way that your menu contains a large amount of protein foods, as well as fruits and berries. In addition to this, you should also eat porridge, since carbohydrates will have a positive effect on your body.
Knowing the cage, every man will be able to tighten his muscles and improve physical fitness bodies. The most important thing is to keep your studies systematic and systematically move towards your goal.
Good afternoon, honest people, take the faces out of your beards, tea, we are not having a memorial service, but quite the opposite! This Friday, oddly enough, we will pay attention to the male audience of the project, because our ladies are already all beautiful, and we will pull our brother up :). The topic of the note is how to expand the chest. And this is exactly what you will learn from it, or rather, we will look at the anatomy respiratory system, we will find out how to breathe correctly during strength exercises and, of course, we will analyze a specific training program aimed at voluminous breast enlargement.
So, guys, send everyone to the nearest 10 minutes, because there is a serious men's conversation ahead.
How to expand the chest? FAQ questions and answers
If you follow the news of the project and the release of fresh articles, then you are aware that we have just completed a women's series of narrow notes aimed at correcting the figure. It may seem to the male part of the audience that we are somehow depriving the stronger sex of attention, this may be true, but it’s all due to lack of initiative on your part. The ladies simply bombarded their mail and comments with questions that worried them and got what they wanted - a series of materials with specific training programs for correcting problem areas.
With regard to our brother, one gets the impression that everything is top-notch with them (us), and if there’s something that worries us globally, it’s either gaining muscle mass or the “animal issue,” i.e. how to remove it. Well, if that’s the case, then we don’t really bother ourselves with articles on men’s topics. If things continue like this, then we will completely become a feminine project with a name like the ABC of Fitness or Fitolezhka :). Well, let’s not talk about sad things, but let’s touch on what I’m sure is relevant for many novice athletes (especially ectomorphs) topic called how to expand the chest?
Do you know that not only the butt can be flat, but also the chest? And if the “meat” on the buttocks can be increased, then with the chest the situation is somewhat more complicated. And the most important thing when converting a plane into volume is time, in the sense of starting on time. Often this time is missed and a young man, having crossed a certain young age and entered adulthood, remains with an undeveloped and sunken sternum. All subsequent attempts to “inflate” the chest bring extremely insignificant results. So if you are a beginner (recently came to the gym) age up to 25 (better 20 ) years and in at the moment your priority relief press or big biceps, then stop toiling around with bullshit :) and start developing the volume/depth of the chest. Cubic abs and other desires can easily wait, but breasts cannot.
Well, have you already quit? Then we move on to the theoretical and practical side of the issue. Let's go!
Note:
For better assimilation of the material, all further narration will be divided into subchapters.
Human respiratory system: questions of anatomy
The respiratory system provides the body's cells with oxygen, removing carbon dioxide and waste products that accumulate in the human body over time. DS helps the body in the exchange of gases between air and blood, between blood and billions of cells. In addition to air distribution and gas exchange, the breathing filter system warms and humidifies the air we breathe.
It is customary to highlight 3 main parts/components of the DS:
- Respiratory tract. Includes the nose, mouth, pharynx, larynx, trachea, bronchi and bronchioles. They carry air between the lungs and to the external environment (outside the body);
- Lungs. Act as functional units of the respiratory system, by passing oxygen into the body and removing carbon dioxide from the body;
- Breathing muscles (including diaphragm and intercostal muscles)- work together to act as a pump, pushing air in and out of the lungs during breathing.
In the note key, we are most interested in the respiratory muscles, so we will pay closer attention to them.
The main breathing muscle in the human body is the diaphragm - a thin layer skeletal muscles, which forms the “floor” in the chest. When the diaphragm contracts/compresses, it moves (several centimeters) down into the abdominal cavity, expanding the space inside the chest cavity and pumping/blowing air into the lungs. During the process of relaxation of the diaphragm (exhalation), the volume of the chest decreases, the lungs compress, and the pressure in them increases (becomes above atmospheric), and the air rushes out through the airways.
Visually it all looks like this.
Between the ribs there are many small intercostal muscles that help the diaphragm with the expansion and contraction of the lungs. These muscles are divided into 2 groups:
- internal intercostal muscles (exhalatory muscles) - a deep set of muscles that are involved in the act of forced exhalation;
- external intercostal muscles (inspiratory muscles) – deep muscles breasts, which raise the ribs and expand the chest.
What is the process of breathing?
When you take a deep breath, the diaphragm contracts and moves downward. This action opens up more space in the chest cavity, allowing the lungs to expand. The air passes down the trachea and further into the bronchi, ending up in air sacs called alveoli.
Oxygen then passes through nearby capillaries into the alveoli, where hemoglobin, a red blood cell protein, moves it into the blood. Oxygenated blood is carried through the pulmonary vein on the left side of the heart and then pumped to the rest of the body's tissues. Once this happens, carbon dioxide begins to move through the capillaries into the alveoli, “traveling” with right side heart through the pulmonary artery.
As for exhalation, during the process the diaphragm relaxes and moves up into the chest cavity. The intercostal muscles inside the ribs relax, which also leads to “shrinkage” of the chest cavity. During exercise (for example,), the abdominal muscles contract more often, pushing the diaphragm against the lungs more often. When this happens, carbon dioxide is expelled faster, increasing the frequency of your breaths.
How an athlete can breathe during strength exercises
Technique No. 1.
Correct/timely delivery of oxygen to the “starving” muscles from the Volga region during heavy basic exercises allows you to increase the athlete’s performance and increase the duration of the workout.
When moving for some time serious weights (for example, in deadlift) Often the athlete loses his breath, and because of this he finishes the exercise earlier than possible. The result of this situation is a reduction in the training volume of the load and underloading of the target muscle groups.
Therefore, it is advisable, as you move towards heavier weights, to use the Valsalva breathing technique (Valsalva maneuver, VM). This is the process of maximal inhalation while maintaining pressure. The most significant example of such a “maneuver” is the process of sitting in the restroom and helping (by inhaling, tensing and pushing) to your intestines in removing the products of your own vital activity.
This breathing technique adds stability to the spine and increases the “drive” from the legs to the arms and then to the bar.
As a result of deep inhalation and air retention, intra-abdominal pressure increases, which ultimately creates a more “stable frame” and avoids injury. Another benefit of the Valsalva breathing technique is that it increases blood pressure, which could theoretically improve the delivery of nutrients to cells.
Note:
If an athlete has problems with blood pressure (for example, hypertensive), then it is better for him not to use the technique of maximum inhalation while holding pressure. Also, such an athlete should not perform more than 1-2 heavy basic exercises from the “golden three”. People who do not suffer from pressure surges can use the VM technique and the number of exercises from 2 to 3 per workout (but no more 1 once a week).
There is one subtlety in the Valsalva breathing technique, or rather, side effect- holding your breath for a long time during the exercise can lead to loss of consciousness. Therefore, the rule when working with VM is to hold your breath only until you pass the dead point of the deadlift/press/squat, then exhale.
Technique No. 2.
The above breathing technique can be used by an athlete of average fitness level, but for a beginner, the optimal exhalation pattern code-named “teapot” :). It consists in the fact that in the process of performing an exercise (for example,), the athlete takes a breath of medium depth and then slowly and through pursed lips (lips with a tube) exhales at the heaviest phase (force/projectile ejection). This exhalation is similar to steam coming out of a heated kettle, and it allows you to use some of the stabilizing properties of the inhalation without creating a large surge in pressure.
Proper breathing as one of the “tools” for expanding the chest and gaining muscle mass
Above we looked at 2 different breathing techniques. Which one is better to use for gaining muscle mass, and can breathing really affect muscle volume?
Scientists and sports medicine specialists have found (data from MUSCLE & FITNESS No. 7-8 2005 ) , What correct breathing during strength exercises helps to increase mass. Rhythmic breathing is one of the main conditions for anabolism. Its blockage leads to a weakening of blood flow in the working muscle. Moreover, when breathing is blocked (blocking inhalation) the athlete's body is deprived of oxygen - an important agent muscle growth. The more oxygen in the blood, the better conditions for muscle growth.
Therefore, breathing strategies during training may include the following:
- rhythmic (classical-bodybuilding)- when working with basic exercises (conditionally basic, for example, military chest press, dumbbell flyes/presses);
- breathing using the Valsalva technique – when working with heavy basic exercises (bench press, deadlift, squats).
According to sports medicine specialists, the correct rhythmic breathing pattern, using the example of the military chest press, consists of: 6 stages and looks like this:
- remove the bar from the racks;
- holding it on straight arms, inhale deeper than usual;
- hold your breath and lower the barbell to your chest (until light touch);
- press the barbell upward, still holding your breath;
- When you pass the hardest point of the climb, exhale.
- When the bar is in the IP, inhale again.
Use different breathing techniques depending on the intended workout and the exercises involved.
Actually, we have laid down some construction and “breathing” theories; now we will deal with the issues of transferring the chest from plane to space.
How to expand the chest: the practical side of the issue
If you take a quick look at your gym, you will draw the following conclusions about the goals of the trainees, namely: young ladies want to lose weight and become smaller, guys need to enlarge or lengthen everything :). And because The pectoral muscles are one of the largest muscle groups, so increasing their volume will make a significant contribution to improving a person’s composition.
Under the expression “expand the chest” (in the context of this note) we will understand the following:
- increase in chest width (horizontal linear dimension);
- adding “depth” (increase vertical size);
- adding volume (increase in girth size);
- increase in muscle mass.
All this is achieved through a special training program aimed at “pulling out” the breasts by influencing the anatomical features (including the pectoral ones). What they are, we will find out further in the text.
“Tools” for chest expansion
First of all, take a crowbar and an expander and…
To expand the chest, the athlete must exert intense pressure on 3 component:
- bones;
- muscles;
- connective tissue.
Let's go through each “tool” separately and start with...
I. Expansion of the skeleton
Did you know that bone completely remodels itself every three months? This suggests that if time is not lost (the athlete is young, up to 25 years old, and his growth zones are still open), then you can “grow” your bones, i.e. conditionally from 15 see wrist do 17,5-18 . Bones react to weight, i.e. their density increases as the weight used by the athlete increases. Thus, the training strategy for a beginner who has decided to “bone” increase should be a gradual transition to basic movements, strengthening ligaments/tendons and increasing the weight of the weight, rather than swinging the press on a bench and doing dumbbell bicep curls.
To stimulate your skeletal system to grow, use the following “tricks”/exercises:
No. 1. Holding your breath
Do the following exercise for a long time ( 3 month) every morning:
- clasp your hands in front of your waist and take as deep a breath as possible;
- hold your breath while raising your clasped hands up to a position in front of you;
- while holding your breath, try to move your arms to the sides, overcoming the resistance of your clasped hands;
- stay in this “extended” position for as long as you can;
- repeat 15 once.
No. 2. Breathing squats
The exercise is as follows: classic squats are performed with a barbell on the shoulders according to the following scheme:
- done before squats begin 3 large inhalations;
- after the 3rd inhalation, the breath is held and a squat with the barbell is performed to parallel with a quick “rise to the top”;
- after straightening, exhale strongly;
- the pattern is repeated;
- total 3 approach 15-20 repetitions.
II. Working with connective tissue
Here pullovers with a dumbbell/barbell lying across the bench will help us/you. This great exercise for strengthening and stretching connective tissue pectoral.
III. Work on all 3 sections of the pectoral muscles
The total development of the pectorals will give the necessary increase in “meat” over their entire area, i.e. will allow you to gain the necessary muscle mass. This will relieve you of “skinny” breasts. The main exercises are dips, bench press (different angles) and military press from the chest.
That was all there was to it 3 -x components, by acting on which the athlete will be able to “expand”. Now let's talk about...
How to expand the chest: technical aspects of training
There are the following 2 The “technical keys” that should be used in chest expansion training are:
No. 1. Full range of motion
In the plane of the muscle mass of the pectoral muscles, external (O-outer) and internal (I-inner) parts can be distinguished. you train outer part chest when using the full range at the bottom of the movement - only a full stretch helps maximum development width of the chest. In other words, if you want to increase the width of your chest, you should work the outer part of the pecs, allowing the bar to go down as far as possible (up to touching the chest). Working with internal part infant (near the middle of the chest) increases its thickness.
The trick to chest width training is to use dumbbells instead of barbells for bench presses. It is these projectiles that allow you to bring the shoulder blades together more and stretch the pectoral blades at the lower point of the trajectory.
Conclusion: when training the chest for width, it is better to take less weight, but work at full amplitude.
No. 2. Antagonist muscle training
Antagonist muscles are those muscles that act against each other and have opposite effects on a joint. Biceps and triceps are antagonists of each other, the first one flexes elbow joint, the second one straightens his arm. If an athlete trains only the chest muscles without their antagonists, this will affect posture (in particular, rolling your shoulders forward and hunching) and a decrease in the width of the chest. As a result, such a tandem - a combination of large pecs on a narrow chest - can lead to an unpleasant aesthetic embarrassment.
Antagonists of the chest muscles are upper muscles backs, among which the most important are the lats, trapezius, rhomboids, teres major/minor, supraspinatus and infraspinatus. So, when the pectoralis major pulls your shoulders forward, your upper back muscles (including rear deltoids) pull their shoulders back.
Conclusion: You should give equal attention to training your chest muscles as well as your upper back, as this is the key to keeping your shoulders in a neutral position and getting a wider chest.
We seem to be done with the theory (really :)) and now let’s get down to concrete practice, namely...
How to expand the chest? Training program
Well, for dessert we have one highlight of the program:), a special PT, which is designed to transfer your breasts from a plane dimension to space (volume).
Training parameters for the gym:
- quantity per week - 2 ;
- intensity - moderate/normal;
- superset/triset - involves performing exercises one after another like a train without rest;
- rest time for m/b approaches - 40-45 seconds;
- number of approaches/repetitions - specified;
- stretching the pectoral muscles after each set of exercise.
The program itself and the atlas of exercises present the following picture.
Follow the indicated patterns for at least 2,5 months and you will have to run to a women's bra store, because from size zero your breasts will become a solid two :).
We're done with the substantive part, let's move on to...
Afterword
With this note on how to expand the chest, we have completely completed the series of narrow correctional articles. I am confident that everyone who approaches the process responsibly will receive more than satisfactory results, and ultimately there will be fewer flat-chested men and buttless women in the world.
That's all, we are waiting for a new series of materials. I am sure you will be extremely pleased with it, see you soon!
PS: If you have something to say about the article and the series as a whole, you are welcome to comment.
With respect and gratitude, Dmitry Protasov.
Broad men's shoulders are always in fashion. However, the broad shoulders looked ridiculous against the background of the narrow chest. This is why every athlete sooner or later thinks about the possibility of expanding the skeleton of the shoulders and chest. Is it possible to expand shoulder girdle and make it more massive? If yes, how to do it?
There are two opposing points of view on this matter. Some believe that it is possible to expand the bones of the shoulders and chest. Others claim that this is impossible. Who is right? As you know, the truth is always somewhere in the middle. Let's go in order.
First you need to understand the anatomy of the chest. At the back of the torso, our ribs connect to the spine. In front, with the help of cartilage, the ribs are attached to the sternum. So, many people believe that to expand the chest, you need to “stretch” this cartilage. Many experiments have been conducted that have proven that stretching and deep inhalations and exhalations cannot affect the cartilage structure thoracic, because even if it were possible to stretch the cartilaginous bridges of the ribs, this would inevitably lead to a change in their functional-anatomical connection with the spine. In other words, if the angle of attachment of the ribs to the spine changes, then all motor function will be disrupted.
However, there are many good reviews about the effectiveness of sternum expansion training. How can this be if most experiments prove the ineffectiveness of such training? There are two main reasons for this:
1. Positive effect from "broadening training" most often occurs as a result of hypertrophy of the torso muscles, which creates the impression of more broad shoulders and breasts. This is true for men over 25 years old.
2. The positive effect of bone growth in length is present, but only for people under 20-25 years of age. Moreover, before the age of 20, the chances of expanding the chest and shoulder bones are much higher.
Just like other tissues of the body, our bones change throughout a person's life. Bone growth is regulated by biologically active substances, such as growth hormone, which is secreted by the pituitary gland. The greater the load on the bones, the more actively they grow and update processes. Thus, the inert substance becomes much stronger. That is, physical exercise accelerate the growth of skeletal bones.
In humans, the chest is expanded laterally, due to upright posture, while it is compressed laterally in mammals. Moreover, when you were born, your chest was in shape closer to the shape of four-legged animals (flattened on the sides), but gradually, as you grew older, it expanded, because this shape is more convenient for us. This is very important point, which explains why sternum expansion training is effective for some and not for others. It’s just that such training is effective for young people (up to 20-25 years old), while the shape of the chest is changing (adapted for upright walking) and is completely useless if you are older than this age range.
Bone growth occurs through cell division inner surface periosteum. This leads to the formation of new layers of cells and intercellular substance between them on the surface of the bone. The bone becomes THICKER! This process directly depends on strength training. It is worth noting that VAll security forces have much thicker bones than ordinary people who regularly do not perform strength exercises with heavy weights.
The growth of bones in length is due to the division of cells of the cartilage tissue that covers the ends of the bones. But, as mentioned above, this process is only possible while the shape of the chest is changing. And this happens only in childhood and adolescence. Then STOP! During childhood and adolescence, the so-called epiphyseal cartilage (“growth plate” between the body of the bone and its head) is preserved at the end of the bones, in which cells multiply (under the influence of growth hormone), depositing cartilaginous substance and eventually ossifying. The bone is growing in length! The chest is expanding!
In short, as a person grows older, the percentage of inorganic substances in the bone tissue increases and the growing bones become increasingly hard.
From 1 to 7 years, bone growth accelerates in length due to the epiphyseal cartilage located between the body of the bone and its head, and in thickness due to the thickening of the bone substance from the periosteum.
After 11 years, the bones of the skeleton again begin to grow rapidly and take on their final shape. When growth ends - and this happens around the age of 20-25 - the cartilage is completely replaced by bone tissue (growth zones close). Bone growth in thickness occurs through the application of new masses of bone substance from the periosteum.
Now do you understand why many experiments have shown the uselessness of chest-expanding training? It’s just that such a load ONLY works on young people! How older man, the less chance he has to expand his BACKUP.
Expansion of the skeleton
In order to become wider due to the bones, we need to first of all take care of increasing the length of the bones. What determines the rate at which our bones grow in length?
We can organize both of these moments through specific strength training, which will provide a stretching effect on the bones on the one hand, and which will cause the release of somatotropin (growth hormone) on the other hand.
If you decide to inject artificial growth hormone, the process of expanding your chest and shoulder width in general will go even faster. This hormone is often prescribed to children with growth retardation. I repeat once again, the process of such growth is very effective until the growth zones are closed and completely stops after 25 years.
Bone growth
Now about the physical stretching of the bones. The easiest way to achieve an expanding effect on the chest is through intense breathing during BREATHING SQUATS. When you take moderate weights and do high reps with forced hyperventilation. Your chest is “expanded” from the inside, thereby causing a stretching effect on the growth zones (cartilage tissue) of the bones.
They also have a good stretching effect on the sternum. HALF-VERS lying on a bench. Take a small weight (about 10 kg) and do it immediately after squats. The goal is to stretch the chest. Don't strain abdominal muscles. Perhaps for this it will be more convenient for you to do a similar half-over lying not across, but along the bench.
A variant of the half-over to expand the sternum is RAIDER traction. The meaning of the exercise is very similar to the half-over, only it is performed while standing. Grab an object or corner that is slightly higher than the top of your head (you can experiment with the height), so that there is no more than 8 cm between your hands. Then step back. Take a deep breath and at the same time pull your arms down and inward. Piri Rader emphasizes that it is very important not to tense the abdominal muscles. They should be relaxed.
Next important exercises to expand your backbone - this is WIDE GRIP PULL-UPS And WIDE GRIP BENCHMARK PRESS. Both of these exercises (but especially pull-ups) will put tensile stress on your bones and cause them to grow in length. In addition to these exercises, good effect they will give standing overhead barbell presses And dumbbell flyes lying on a bench.
Load volume
For core-widening training, the weight of the working weights is of very little importance. But what really matters is the total number of repetitions per workout. KPSh (number of rods lifted) should be large. The higher it is, the greater the tensile load on the skeleton.
The goal of squats and half-overs is to achieve internal stretching of the skeleton through intense breathing (therefore, more repetitions). The goal of all other exercises is a direct stretching load on the bones (therefore, slightly fewer repetitions, otherwise the weight load will be too small).
Breathing squats
So, we take a moderate weight on our shoulders and do technically normal squats. Only the number of repetitions and the breathing algorithm change. After each repetition, you take a certain number of inhalations and exhalations. There are a lot of schemes. By the way, in my first article I cited an option with a large number inhalations and exhalations. But there are many more such options. I will now give three options for breathing patterns.
Option 1
5 reps - 1 inhale-exhale
5-10 repetitions - 2 inhalations and exhalations
10-15 — 3 breaths
15-20 - 4 inhalations and exhalations
20-25 - 5 breaths
Option 2
1-7 repetitions - 1 inhale-exhale
8-13 repetitions - 2 inhalations and exhalations
14-20 repetitions - 3 inhalations and exhalations
Option 3
1-10 repetitions - 3 inhalations and exhalations
10-15 — 5-6 breaths
15-20 - up to 10 inhalations and exhalations.
Personally, I used the third option, according to which after each repetition you need to take 3 deep breaths, then inhale again and, holding your breath, slowly lower to parallel with the floor, then, without a pause at the lowest point of the amplitude, rise as quickly as possible, doing while exhaling powerfully. And again 3 deep breaths... This option requires a long static load on stabilizer muscles, thereby increasing the body’s need for oxygen. Thus, after 10-12 repetitions you will be forced to take 5-6 deep breaths, and after 15 - about 10. Of course, the weight of the bar should be large. Already from 12-15 repetitions you should feel a strong burning sensation in the muscles and you will want to immediately complete this approach. This is where the biggest difficulties arise. Gather your will and do all 20 repetitions. Then you will feel what pain is! Of course, the body will respond to this severe stress by releasing large amounts of growth hormone and other anabolic hormones into the blood. This way, you will not only get the opportunity to expand your chest, but also seriously increase your muscle mass!
Pullover
We do not strain the abdominal cavity. We lie down along or across the bench - the task is to feel the tensile tension at the lowest point. To do this, fill the chest with air so that it inflates from the inside and slowly lower the dumbbell (barbell) behind the head. We pause at the lowest possible point for a second (we forcefully stretch the cartilage), then, as we exhale, we return our arms back. Try not to deflate your chest throughout the exercise. You can breathe without lowering your ribs. We do 15-30 repetitions per set.
Raider Traction
Raider rows can be done many times throughout the day. No equipment is needed for this exercise - just find any corner or door frame to stretch your sternum. The exercise works very well. It happens that you feel some discomfort in the area of the pectoral cartilage when they grow rapidly. And sometimes the Raider pull is the only way to “put them back in place” by stretching them. You can often hear a distinct internal click at this point.
Presses, Pull-ups, Fly-ups
In accompanying exercises, the weight should be less than in normal exercises. strength training. You should master 10-15 repetitions, because your task is a large KPS for the workout. Try to choose a comfortable, wide grip for maximum tensile load on the bones.
Training complex
On training complexes there is also its own “fashion”. There are options with alternating several types of training on days. I will describe to you the simplest one, without such alternation.
1. Breathing squats 6-10x15-30 reps
2. Breathing pullovers 6-10x15-30 reps
3. Wide grip pull-ups 6-10 sets to failure
4. Wide grip bench press 6-10x10-15 reps
Cycle
Most often, such training is carried out every other day (for example, Mon, Wed, Fri), on other days you can intensively do raider rows.
Another option is to do it in Mon, Wed, Fri squats + half-overs in large quantities, and Tue, Thu, Sat do pull-ups + barbell presses.
The second option is slightly better than the first, BUT it will require twice as much training.
This kind of chest-expanding training is usually done in THREE CYCLES! With a break of 1 month between each cycle. Approximate duration of the cycles themselves:
1 CYCLE = 4 weeks
2 CYCLE = 6 weeks
CYCLE 3 = 8 weeks
Efficiency
The issue of effectiveness depends on a lot of factors. First of all this AGE. You already know that the maximum benefit in terms of bone growth occurs before the age of 20, moderate at the age of 20-25 and completely zero after 25...
The second point is hormonal background. Namely, the amount of growth hormone in the blood. The more of it, the merrier there is growth. In this regard, physical exercise is a very good help, because it forces the production of GH in larger quantities.
The third point is the training itself. It is important to feel how to “stretch” the bones correctly. Don’t just do the exercise stupidly, but try to “catch the wave” better load not specifically for muscles, but for bone tissue.
Fourth point - food and rest. During sleep, growth hormone is released, and nutrition is important for obtaining calcium and other nutrients important for the formation of new cartilage and bone tissue.
Typically, young people manage to gain about 4-6 cm in shoulder width in three cycles. This does not mean the volume of the chest (which increases much more), but rather the span of the shoulders (the backbone itself is measured along the edge of the shoulder blade). This is very, very much, IMHO. Those young people who do this at the age of 17 can show significantly higher numbers, but it is no longer clear what is happening due to training and what is due to natural growth.
In general, if you are young, then chest expansion training is what you need. Often green guys are chasing muscle mass, missing out on a unique opportunity to change better side something that will stay with them forever, even if they quit.
