Whatchu' Benchin' ?

Keep lifting those weights!

As I sit here in my "post-workout-euphoria" I am reflecting on my workout I just completed and exercises I like doing, want to do, need to do, and shouldn't do.

That large chest muscle seems pretty popular to workout since a common question when it comes to working out is "Yo, how much you bench?" I can rep 135, but it does not matter what I do, it is what you do.

Some chest exercises that come to mind off the top of my head are:
Bench Press [flat bench barbell]
Bench Press [flat bench dumbell]
Incline [barbell]
Incline [dumbell]
Cable fly [cable system or a machine if you have one]
Decline [dumbell]
and some good old fashioned pushups.
The excerise and chest muscle it targets is shown here.

I do not do decline for personal preference as my reason alone. They are probably very helpful, build that lower chest muscles, but I think they are not as important as your mid and upper chest muscles. Plus, while doing bench press, you hit the lower chest, along with mid and upper chest muscle.

I recommend not doing more than 12 sets for each body part. I say this because one of my friends who lifted suggest this. I think it makes complete sense and I rarely do more than 9 sets per body part; 12 might be exhausting the muscle (maybe good for bodybuilders).

What's the difference between the Bench Press and the Cable Fly you might ask? Well after talking with my strength coach, it really is a simple difference. While reading the difference, please imagine doing a rep of each exercise and you will understand the difference. While the Bench Press works out the chest muscles, it also works out the triceps (ohh it burns) and the other arm muscles used for this controlled motion. Now the Chest Fly only targets the chest muscles! Those muscles are the main focus of this exercise. Such a simple, yet powerful difference. This exercise can be down on a cable system or on a machine if your gym provides one.
I started doing and paying attention more to the chest fly in my workouts. After a good set you can normally feel stretch in the chest muscles, and can feel that muscle bulging right around the armpit.

Man it feels good, the soreness is great, a sign of hardwork and staying strong!

What is the difference between using barbells (a controlled motion) and dumbells (less controlled motion) you might ask? I'll address that in detail in a later post.