Inner Chest

[samypboy]

Hello everybody.

I have been going to the gym for about 2years now, and like most people learning and picking up tips and tricks slowly along the way and i think im progressing prity well.

Firstly i know doing close grip bench (whether incline, decline or flat) using your chest, trains inner pec's, but its taking ages.

My first question is (keeping in mind i am a reasonably easy gainer) how long can i expect my inner chest to catch up to the rest of my pec's.
My secound question is, are there any other exercises that will develop inner chest or any tips and tricks that i need to know in order for the gains in that area to start becoming apparent.

Somebody please help?

I have included pictures so you know were i am in terms of my overall progress.

P.S
You're welcome to post criticism and any other comments un-related to questions.

[JeepCreeper]

Training inner or outer chest is a myth. The pectoral muscle fibers run across your chest, inner to outer. To target one area you would have to be able to contract only half of a fiber. It can't be done.

[lucky579]

who ever told you close grip bench works inner chest is a moron that hits your triceps like nothing else. Just hit your chest it will eventually fill it's self out

[Stevo1111]

I might open up a can of worms here but it is possible to emphasize and concentrate on the inner chest while doing some specific exercises. You cannot isolate it like a seperate muslce group but you can squeeze it at the top of movements where your hands come together. Flies and close grip will help you to squeeze and emphasize the contraction on the inner chest. When doing flies, squeeze when you come together at the top of the movement for perhaps one second, try to emphasize the inner chest. The same with close girp, while it mainly works your triceps, squeeze your chest tight at the very top of the movement and you will definetly feel it in your inner chest. For those guys who will try and shoot me down, I know when I concentrate on inner chest I can get it pumped up very well and really bring the seperation out between my pecs that would not be evident if i did not try to emphasize the inner heads of the muscle fibers. Some people may feel nothing, its all about how you are built and your mind muscle connection.

[Madcow2]

To be honest, I've only seen one person put out a reasonable explantation for how this might be possible. To be honest if it is possible to any significant degree that will be seen visibly is another matter entirely. I have never once seen it happen and produce visible results. It comes down to making the pecs bigger as a whole. Yeah - your genetics and how your pecs attach don't favor an expansive cleveage at lighter bodyweight, okay, some do some don't and you might be a don't. Make the pecs bigger and you will see the clevage more noticably. I've seen plenty of pump and mind/muscle stuff used and never once seen anyone produce any real results that could even be loosely quantified objectively and don't come anywhere close to changing the shape of the muscle or training a certain part of it from a visible perspective. And that's what you want, something visible to yourself and others. So you can try exotic ways of fighting this battle which may in fact be totally unwinnable even if it is even clinically possible (and most educated people believe otherwise in massive landslide proportion) or you can just train and get bigger.

[samypboy]

Originally Posted by Stevo1111

I might open up a can of worms here but it is possible to emphasize and concentrate on the inner chest while doing some specific exercises. You cannot isolate it like a seperate muslce group but you can squeeze it at the top of movements where your hands come together. Flies and close grip will help you to squeeze and emphasize the contraction on the inner chest.

I have to 100% agree with STEVO. While i havn't seen a huge improvement there has definitely been an improvement. When i do close grip bench (for chest) i don't take my arms down near my body like how you should when training triceps, i flear them out, so the elbows are pointing away from my body and squeeze at the top. It burns my inner chest hard out, for all you that don't believe us, try it and then come back and tell us were wrong.

[Thewhite9t]

I agree with Stevo as well.

I think we can all agree that in order to get significant hypertrophy, a muscle must expand and contract.

So put your fingers on your inner chest.
Move your arm forward and back in a pressing movement. You don't feel much expanding and contracting of the inner chest.
Now do the pressing movement except move your arm more toward the center of your chest and squeeze your pec. You should feel a contraction of the inner chest.
Also try putting your arm out straight and moving it side to side, you should feel your inner chest stretch and contract.

One could argue that it is just because your pushing more of the muscle mass of the middle/outter chest into the inner chest. And there is probably some truth to that. I thought of this myself, but I tested it at the gym and after doing a chest day while squeezing at the top of pressing/fly movements my inner chest was more sore than it had ever been.

[Stevo1111]

First off, thanks for backing me up guys. Secondly, no two individuals are the same. Looking at your pictures I'd suggest more emphasis on upper chest rather than inner chest. As Madcow stated, adding overall mass is the general goal here. The only way you, and those who see you often, will truly notice a drastic change in your musculature is to add quality muscle mass. Stick to heavy compound movements, dumbbell and barbell presses. I would personally begin with inclined movements then work my way to a movement that hits the entire chest. If you feel your inner chest is still lacking try to emphasize it with any movement that you feel working your inner chest as an isolation movement at the end of your workout. I would suggest:

Incline dumbbell presses 8-12 reps
Flat dumbbell presses 8-12 reps
Dips 8-12 reps
Incline flies, perhaps cable cross overs 10-15 reps, isolating the chest, feeling the pecs expand and then contract.

Also, I take offense to being called uneducated, directly or indirectly. I may not be a pro bodybuilder and I will not claim to know anything extraordinary. What I tell others is what I have developed from my own body and the bodies of other's I have trained along side for the past 5 years. I do not claim to speak absolute truths, only suggestions which I feel will help others.