Building the pec major: clavicular head (pics)

[pumplikecuming]

The clavicular head of the chest is by far one of the most sought out aspects of a physique, and for good reason. Having a fully developed clavicular region of the chest is one of the most aesthetically pleasing and intimidating features a male can posses (upper chest, traps, shoulders all tie into an intimidating physique). In this article, I am going to teach you how to properly grow your 'upper pecs', teach you of its anatomy, and show you what it looks like to have a properly developed and underdeveloped clavicular head.

I have seen so many posts on the workouts section, exercise section, misc section, teen section about building upper chest. First off, let me say that there is indeed an "upper chest". The proper term for its anatomy is called the clavicular head, and contrary to many incorrect associations...the upper pec IS NOT the pectoral minor. The pectoral minor in a very very small piece of muscle that lays underneath the pec major and pulls the shoulder forward (thats it). The pectoral major is the chest everybody knows and wants to grow. It contains to parts. The clavicular head to the chest is what we are going to focus on and everybody has a unique clavicular head to their chest (I will post pics at the bottom).

http://www.exrx.net/Muscles/PectoralisClavicular.html

HOW TO PROPERLY DEVELOP THE CLAVICULAR HEAD:

Ok so now we have identified the upper chest, how do you grow it, why do people usually have crappy 'upper chests', and how can they correct it. And are some people destined to crappy upper chests.

I am here to show you the light and let you know: EVERYONE CAN MAKE THEIR UPPER CHEST MASSIVE....EVERYONE.

Here are the reasons why some people end up having lagging upper chests:

*Body fat
if your bodyfat is above 12%, it doesn't matter how much you incline press...your not going to be able to see the seperation you want...period. I strongly recoment getting to 8% bodyfat, and floating from 8-10%. This will show you what your chest's shape really looks like.

*Starting with flat presses before incline
the pec major is still one piece of muscle. If you begin your workout with flat press, your still working your upper chest (but not nearly to the degree as an incline). When you move to incline, your shoulders, triceps, and chest have been pre exhausted forcing you to drop the weight

*(THE BIGGEST MISTAKE) Having to high of an incline
now this is how I started really seeing drastic changes to my clavicle. 90% of gyms in America have the most rediculous pre set incline benches. It really makes me rage that they have inclines that high, and people slave away at the preset incline benches in hopes of getting a bigger upper chest, but what ends up happening is their anterior deltoids literally explode. They develop strong shoulders, but their chest is small. Here is the secret to people that have big upper chests: the incline must be between 15-30 degrees. Anything higher forces your anterior deltoids to do more work, anything less and you put more of the stress on the more powerful sternal head of the pectoral. On your next chest day, go to the gym and do nothing but incline presses. The following morning, feel which area of your chest is most sore, and if the upper portion is not sore chances are your incline is to high.

My recommended workout routine for someone looking to build upper chest.
*20-30 degree incline 3 sets of 4-6 reps rep cadience 3-0-1 (in squat rack using adjustable bench)
*flat db press 2 sets of 4-6 reps 3-0-1
*incline db press 10 sets of 10 reps (after 3 weeks increase to 10 sets of 6 with a heavier weight). 1-0-1

(the importance of the eccentric can not be stressed enough...if you cannot maintain at least 3 seconds on the eccentric without wibble wobling....the weight is too high)



Skip to 1:05 to see the proper incline for upper chest. That is Sean Nalewanyj, natural bodybuilder and his upper chest is one of his greater features (pics at bottom).

I really wanted to write this and help people know the truth and educate them so that they see the results they wish to obtain. Now as promised, I will show you what properly developed uper chests look like, and the many different shapes they usually grow into:

Under developed upper chest:



This is Chris Krueger and from the pictture you can see the center part of his chest is defined, yet his colar bones are poping out right at you. I can see the potential his chest has (it is very symmetrical and balanced). All thats missing is his clavicular portion.

Upper chests come in different shapes

*Inserts at top and center colar bone and crosses diaganolly....here are examples:

Zyzz:


Arnold:


Danny Padilla


*Inserts from center of sternum across chest:

Franco Columbu:


Ronnie Coleman:


Markus Ruhl:




And this one is Sean Nalewanyj in the vid posted above:


I sincerely hope that this helps many, and that people take the information posted here and use it. It has taken a lot of trial and error, for me but like they say...learn from other peoples mistakes so you don't have to.

[SerratusBrah]

awesome article, defiantly learned a lot, im gonna try out starting with inclines as you suggested

[st3v0s]

Nice article. I have definately been doing my incline bench at a too large of an angle. I usually do it with dumbells on an adjustable bench. However I don't use the set incline setup. That thing is about 45%!

[remnex]

I read this article about four or five times and went to the gym yesterday and had one of the best chest workouts I have ever had. My delts feel great, but my inner and upper chest are feeling it. Thanks very much for the information!

[point-guard]

thanks..will definitely do some adjustment on my pec day to see how it goes. great article.

[ohhaithar]

[Brian94]

Tnanks for the pics and exercise ideas. I do need to do a bit lower incline angle.

Do you think that Chris guy who has the underdeveloped upper-chest--did he do that on purpose for aesthetic reasons? Because I see a lot of magazine cover people who have underdeveloped upper-chest...

From a body builder perspective, it's definitely wrong; but I wonder if some people prefer it aesthetically.

[itsMoeyy]

oh wow I never knew that. haha thanks for the info.
btw to me, upper chest does make a big deal to the whole pectoral muscle but the lower chest still looks the best :P

[petebaak]

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/vide...-the-chest.htm

try adding this too op

[nsiegel5]

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/vide...-the-chest.htm

try adding this too op

I definately agree with this ^^^
I have started doing it in the cage off pins for safety as well as adding a reverse grip fly where I actually move the weight down towards my hips and then back up over my chest, a little hard to explain but you can feel it working.

There have been a lot of studies as of recent that show reverse grip working the upper chest. Overall great article you got here and I agree 100% on the angle of the incline bench, 99% of the people I see are constantly setting the bench too high.

[highlysarcastic]

Great article. I agree completely regarding the angle of the pre-set incline benches at most gyms. I've gotten some weird looks when incline benching in the squat rack, but I can really feel the difference in shoulder activity.

Also, good selection of photos to emphasize your point... except I'm pretty sure that the two profile shots of Ruhl are shopped, at least, the backstage pic on the right is. Insert Iveseenalotofshopsinmytime.jpeg.

Again, strong article.

[pumplikecuming]

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/vide...-the-chest.htm

try adding this too op

Oh yea, I have done my fair amount of reverse grip bench presses. It was my holy grail, but there are a few fatal flaws with it. On a basic activation level (emg tested) I completely agree underhand is definitely gonna activate the upper chest more, but here is the trade off....there is no way you can use serious weight. So can underhand grip bench press activate more fibers? Definitely. The error lies within the progression of weight, and the dangers that follows (its hard to unrack, and the chances of it falling on your delicate face structure are increased). If you do decide to do them, do them in the squat rack....and do it after your chest workout. Now from experience, I can tell you that the underhand grip works, and the best weapon of choice is not the barbell. The dumbbells are a far better choice, again...you will have to drop the weight, that is the trade off. I say try it, but make sure your doing the exercise under extreme caution, but most will find a low incline better due to the progressive resistance you place on the upper chest.

[pumplikecuming]

Tnanks for the pics and exercise ideas. I do need to do a bit lower incline angle.

Do you think that Chris guy who has the underdeveloped upper-chest--did he do that on purpose for aesthetic reasons? Because I see a lot of magazine cover people who have underdeveloped upper-chest...

From a body builder perspective, it's definitely wrong; but I wonder if some people prefer it aesthetically.

No lol, hes just ignorant (no disrespect) to the exercise and proper execution.

[Menark]

I'm kind of new to this but my upper chest looks good, how do i develop my lower chest?

[Panabol]

I'm kind of new to this but my upper chest looks good, how do i develop my lower chest?

Normal (Flat) Dumbell/Bench Press or Decline Dumbell/Bench Press as well as Dips

[Moloholo]

nice article thanks so much, +rep!

i have a question, what do you mean by eccentric and cadience? 3 - 0 - 1? sorry for asking

[Ntccro04]

Great Post, reps.

[pumplikecuming]

nice article thanks so much, +rep!

i have a question, what do you mean by eccentric and cadience? 3 - 0 - 1? sorry for asking

The eccentric part of the repetition (moving of the weight) is the non exertion of force...its basically the negative of the rep. So, for example in the bench press the concentric (exertion of force) will be the pressing the bar up. The negative would be controlling the weight back down. This is where I think many people go wrong with training, and why some people look stronger than other people. Some scientific research shows that the greatest amount of fiber damage comes not from exerting force, but from resisting it on the negative. The concentric should always be as powerful and fast as you possibly can. Most of the time...your not gonna be able to hit the concentric in only 1 second, but you need to always exert as much force as possible, hence the 1 second concentric to emphasize explosiveness.

So, always fight gravity on the way down, and use as much explosiveness on the way back up.

[TrueAmateur]

oh wow I never knew that. haha thanks for the info.
btw to me, upper chest does make a big deal to the whole pectoral muscle but the lower chest still looks the best :P

Indeed. It's so easy to get the lower pecs but much harder to get the upper chest, so it's kind of strange. The whole time of working out, you do plenty of bench presses, etc. but they do almost nothing for the upper part of your chest so by the time you realize you should be doing inclines, the are so underworked, it's like starting all over... at least there.

[guatebuilder]

Definetely i need to work more on this area which is my weakest point.
I thounght with a higher degree would work it best..let's see how it feels this way..

[pumplikecuming]

Definetely i need to work more on this area which is my weakest point.
I thounght with a higher degree would work it best..let's see how it feels this way..

Try loosing bodyfat...I can see your upper chest is not that bad at all, losing bodyfat will make it more pronounced.

Ex:


Like I said above, if your not at 8% bodyfat, you can do inclines but you really wont see it. You look like your around 13-16%. Drop down.

More photos of the same guy:


And all he did was lose bodyfat. He is lighter in the last pic than he is in the first.

Bodyfat/conditioning is alot more important to bbing than most people think.

[guatebuilder]

Try loosing bodyfat...I can see your upper chest is not that bad at all, losing bodyfat will make it more pronounced.
Like I said above, if your not at 8% bodyfat, you can do inclines but you really wont see it. You look like your around 13-16%. Drop down.

And all he did was lose bodyfat. He is lighter in the last pic than he is in the first.

Bodyfat/conditioning is alot more important to bbing than most people think.

you're right when you say bodyfat is so important in Bb..last time i measure it was below 10% with caliper..
..but i think my problem is that i don't have enough mass in that area..

[TotalGymFreak]

****

I did chest yesterday
I'll wait till next monday to try this, my incline angle at my gym is like 40-45 degrees :O

[pumplikecuming]

you're right when you say bodyfat is so important in Bb..last time i measure it was below 10% with caliper..
..but i think my problem is that i don't have enough mass in that area..

Don't listen to calipers, they are wrong most of the time. I think most have a +/- 6% for error. 6% of difference in bf is a night and day difference.

[Brian94]

Try loosing bodyfat...I can see your upper chest is not that bad at all, losing bodyfat will make it more pronounced.

Like I said above, if your not at 8% bodyfat, you can do inclines but you really wont see it. You look like your around 13-16%. Drop down.

More photos of the same guy:


And all he did was lose bodyfat. He is lighter in the last pic than he is in the first.

Bodyfat/conditioning is alot more important to bbing than most people think.

I like your example but. The guy looks like he gained muscle in the better-looking picture, not just losing fat.

You can tell his traps are 100% bigger (more muscle cells). His shoulders are bigger. His chest is bigger. So perhaps more cutting is definitely necessary, but once you get to your ideal fat loss, I think doing a bit of bulking would help.

[Djnini]

Try loosing bodyfat...I can see your upper chest is not that bad at all, losing bodyfat will make it more pronounced.




Like I said above, if your not at 8% bodyfat, you can do inclines but you really wont see it. You look like your around 13-16%. Drop down.



And all he did was lose bodyfat. He is lighter in the last pic than he is in the first.

Bodyfat/conditioning is alot more important to bbing than most people think.

You think he's pro-hormone?
Thats pretty dam big man

[pumplikecuming]

I like your example but. The guy looks like he gained muscle in the better-looking picture, not just losing fat.

You can tell his traps are 100% bigger (more muscle cells). His shoulders are bigger. His chest is bigger. So perhaps more cutting is definitely necessary, but once you get to your ideal fat loss, I think doing a bit of bulking would help.

Nope, just lost fat:

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_..._about_bulking

Scroll down, and read about it. Christian Thibaudeau is his trainer. That is what you call a successful body re composition. Not what the guys on this site do is lose 28 pounds in like a month. You gotta do it over the coarse of 3-5 months to maintain all your muscle. Thats something Layne Norton has mastered, diet and conditioning. I would suggest following his diet advice too if anyone is interested:

http://www.simplyshredded.com/layne-...ting-diet.html

you will have UNREAL results if you follow everything he says to a T.

[pumplikecuming]

You think he's pro-hormone?
Thats pretty dam big man

Maybe, maybe not...if I was to guess, clen and maybe some light gh. But GH isn't really as big a deal as some people think. What makes him look so impressive is that he looks like hes 200+ pounds but his competition weight is 169 pounds...so he might not be on anything at all.

[MadMuscleMania]

wicked article man ! really informative

[ttownrepre]

RAAAGINGGG

my gym incline bench is set at 40 degree's,
today i tried 30 degree's and it was sofckbetter..
ayo **** gyms