1. One and a Quarter Reps on Barbell Bench Press
How do we increase the specific tension being placed on the pecs during the barbell bench press? Easy. We focus more time on the bottom 1/4 of the exercise, where the pecs are under greater stretch.
Unconventional Training with Nick Nilsson
Chest Exercises
Having a thick, rock-solid chest is a major goal for most guys. Yet often the regular barbell bench press is not the best exercise to develop the chest. Learn a variety of options and alternative exercises for building your chest.
2. Two Bar Lever Balancing Push-Ups
This is an advanced push-up variation that is going to challenge your chest, triceps and core VERY strongly. It's going to teach and train kinesthetic awareness and force strict form and tension during the push-up.
3. Barbell-Weighted Push-Up Lockouts
It's likely that you've NEVER thought of the push-up as a way to build top-end, high-threshold strength...the kind of strength that can actually help increase your 1 rep max bench press weights substantially. That's what THIS exercise is going to do for you...
4. Barbell Plate Flyes
The best part of the Dumbbell Flye is the STRETCH....honestly, the only reason to do the flye exercise is to get that big stretch at the bottom. This version of the flye is done using a pair of barbell plates for maximum stretch.
5. Bottom Start Dumbbell Bench Press
If you want to build a bigger bench press, the key is developing power out of the bottom. This method uses dumbbells to build that power out of the bottom, similar to a Pin Press with a barbell.
6. Stacked Plate Bench Press for Greater Pec Activation
This setup is a GREAT way to get the pecs working in a bench press, especially the upper chest. If you're familiar with the Parrillo Arched Bench, this is a rigged up way to do pretty much the exact same thing using a stack of bumper plates.
7. Angled Plate Push-Ups For Bodyweight Chest Training
If you're an advanced trainer looking for a way to amp up the tension on your pecs when doing push-ups, this unique push-up variation is for you. All you need is a couple of bumper plates and your pecs will be on fire.
8. Get STRONG Hands With Bridge-the-Gap Push-Ups
This is an excellent chest exercise that also builds GREAT hand strength by using a technique called "bridge-the-gap." You'll be setting your hands across two gaps in between three bumper plates, relying on hand strength to support your body.
9. Waiter Bench Press for Pec and Stabilizer Muscle Activation
If your chest and shoulders are feeling beat up from heavy pressing, or if you want to work on the small, stabilizer muscles of the upper body, this plate bench press variation is exactly what you need.
10. Constant Tension Bodyweight Chest Training...Two Barbell Bench Leverage Push-Ups
This unique, leverage-based push-up variation puts excellent muscle-building tension on the chest. You'll be using counterbalanced loads to force the pecs to contract continuously while doing push-ups.
11. T-Bench Floor Press For Power Chest Training
The Floor Press is a great exercise for building power out of the bottom of the bench press. This version accomplishes the same thing but is much easier to get into and out of position when using dumbbells. And if your benches are different heights, you can even do a decline type of press.
12. Get Massive Pec Activation With Band-Dumbbell Bench Press
If you have a hard time feeling your chest when using barbell bench press, this exercise done using dual, directional resistances is exactly what you need.
13. The Best Bodyweight Upper Chest Exercise - Bench Clench Push-Ups
You want thick, ripped upper pecs? You should! It's critical for balanced chest development. However, targeting the upper chest can be a challenge, especially with bodyweight exercises. Not anymore...
14. Dumbbell Guillotine Bench Press for Upper Chest
If you have a hard time feeling your chest working when bench pressing, you are going to be in SHOCK when you try this one. Done properly, you will finally feel your pecs waking up, as though from a long slumber.
15. Upper Chest Plate Push-Ups...a Bodyweight Exercise for Upper Pecs
This bodyweight exercise hits the perfect arm path to target the upper chest strongly and effectively...even more so than incline bench press and with substantial resistance.
16. Foam Roller Dynamic Push-Ups for Upper Chest
This is a simple way to target more of the "fan" of the chest muscle fibers, particularly upper chest, by dynamically changing your body position during the exercise.
17. Low Pulley Push-Ups and Cross-Overs For Serious Chest Growth
This chest exercise is a deadly combination of three different methods of resistance (and a fourth, if you choose to take it there!) for putting serious growth-producing tension on the pecs.
18. Carve Definition Into Your Chest With Push-In Bench Push-Ups
This version of the push-up is going to focus on achieving a MASSIVE peak contraction of the pecs, similar to a pec deck machine or cable-crossover exercise only using just a bench.
19. Build Your Upper Chest With Preacher Bench Incline Dumbbell Bench Press
Using the Preacher Bench instead of a standard incline bench makes the incline bench press MUCH more effective for targeting the upper chest. If you have a stubborn upper chest, this setup will force it into the ideal pressing position to activate and grow.
20. The Nilsson Press to SHRED Your Chest With Inwards Tension
This exercise is INCREDIBLE for your chest, especially if you have a hard time feeling your pecs working when you do barbell bench press.
21. Hybrid Band-Dumbbell Flyes for Continuous Tension Chest Training
This exercise is going to DESTROY your chest...in a good way (a very good way). If you have a hard time feeling your pecs working when you do chest exercises, this will fix that instantly.
22. Plate-Bar Balance Push-Ups For Massive Chest Activation
This exercise is going to absolutely light up your chest...you can do it with very simple equipment, at home or at a gym. It's a push-up variation that demands a lot of stabilization, but not in a dangerous way.
23. Incline Plate-Push Press For Extreme Upper Chest Development
This one looks crazy but it WORKS like crazy for targeting the extreme upper chest fibers (clavicular pecs) that are so hard to hit with conventional exercises (even incline work). If you want a thick, standout upper chest, this can help you build it.
24. Tilted Dumbbell Bench Press For Inner Chest
This is a fantastic exercise for developing the inner aspect of the chest to really enhance the fullness of the chest as well as the "cleavage" between the pecs.
25. Side Peak Contraction Push-Ups To Carve Up Your Chest
If you don't have access to a pec deck or cable cross-over machine, this is a fantastic way to achieve a massive peak contraction in your chest.
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About Nick Nilsson
Flying in the face of conventional wisdom, he’s known around the world as the "Mad Scientist of Muscle” for a reason.
An expert in kinesiology, physiology and anatomy, Nick helps people just like YOU create the body you want, especially when nothing else seems to do the trick.
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