How long to build defined chest

It's also the muscle that is closest to the skin. It's used to adduct and medially rotate the upper arm. Pectoralis minor The pectoralis minor is just under the pectoralis major and forms part of the anterior wall of the axilla region. It mostly stabilizes your scapula by drawing it against your thoracic wall. It should be noted that even though the pec is divided into these two parts, there are actually six separate sets of muscle fibres in the pectoralis muscle.

This is important because these sets of fibres allow separate portions of the muscle to be moved independently by our nervous system. This is one of the reasons why our arms are so useful and powerful at many different angles and in many different positions. Serratus anterior The serratus anterior originates at the first to eighth ribs at the side of the chest and inserts along the entire anterior length of the medial border of the scapula.

It is used to rotate the scapula, which basically allows us to raise our arms over 90 degrees. Subclavius The subclavius is a small muscle located directly underneath the clavicle, running horizontally. It is mostly used to anchor and depress the clavicle. Why a strong chest is important Every day you also use the pectoral muscles to do things like pushing a heavy door open, washing your hair, or simply getting out of bed.

As you can guess, your chest muscles are important for many everyday things including flexing your upper arm when you swim, moving your arm inward when you ride a bike, rotating your arm bone toward your body while you walk or run, and also simply helping you take a deep breath. Every day you also use the pectoral muscles to do things like pushing a heavy door open, heaving a heavy load of laundry over your head, washing your hair, or simply getting out of bed.

Even though they're not exerting the primary force, your pecs are even active when you pick a bag up off the floor, throw a ball, or push a grocery cart. Because of those everyday actions and more , getting a stronger chest is advantageous whether you are a powerlifter, weightlifter, endurance athlete, mom, nurse, bus driver or fitness podcaster.

Increasing the tone of your muscles and lowering the percentage of body fat over the top of them, even just a bit, can make a noticeable difference.

Also, no matter whether you're a guy or girl, a strong, defined upper body is something that can help you look good in everything from a business suit to your birthday suit. Common hindrances In a previous Get-fit Guy episode about how to reduce gynecomastia a medical term referring to increased breast tissue in men , you learned that there are a few things you can do to help: Speak to your doctor. Hormone imbalances or pharmaceutical drug side effects are common causes of this condition.

Wear compression garments. Compression sports-wear, such as supportive t-shirts, can help with comfort and reduce pain and rubbing while exercising. Modify your diet. Especially when it comes to alcohol, added sugars, and processed fats. Do stretches after your workout to increase your flexibility and reduce muscle soreness. Reach for the ceiling with interlaced fingers, palms facing upward for an upper-body stretch.

Drop one arm behind your back and press your hand on the opposite side against the elbow of your dropped arm to increase the stretch. Repeat on the other side. Bring one arm across your body at chest height and press against the forearm with your opposite hand. Repeat on the opposite side. Kim Nunley has been screenwriting and working as an online health and fitness writer since Prior to writing full-time, she worked as a strength coach, athletic coach and college instructor.

She holds a master's degree in kinesiology from California State University, Fullerton. Thank you for signing up. Your information has been successfully processed! I want content for Muscle and Fitness Promotions. Muscle and Fitness Hers Promotions. Follow us Facebook Twitter Youtube Pinterest. More Fitness. When you workout, you deplete muscle glycogen, which is sciencespeak for the stored form of carbohydrates. And glycogen is the main fuel your muscles use to produce energy, so you have to make sure you have the resources to both lift the heavy thing up then recover from lifting the heavy thing up.

It felt odd at first because I'd spent so long without carbs, but Tom's "feed" days must be working because there have been some big changes as I enter week eight. And the more the numbers change the more I'm inclined to say "no thanks" to my delicious, albeit wobbly old life. All the stuff that makes life worth living.

The thing with pecs is that they need special attention to get bigger. A big chest eventually appears as the by-product of general strength, but only sometimes and rarely by accident. Soft, weak humans enter, sculpted Apollos leave, but how? Food was whittled down to green veg, lean protein steamed chicken, oily fish, that sort of thing , three litres of water of day, black coffee and a fistful of supplements literally - my daily tablet intake is 1x vitamin D, 4x omega fish oil, 4x zinc, 2x blood sugar control, 3x magnesium and 1x multivit.

Then there was the training, three times a week at Embody. For the first week it was bloody hell. One time, I nearly cried. But after about seven days there was a shift. Most of the evil had been purged from my body and I could do things like walk up curbs without making an involuntary noise.

I felt lighter on my feet, my recovery time dropped from days to hours to minutes. I even hated Tom fractionally less. Instead of measurements like grams and ounces, they use hands. I'm allowed a palm-sized puck of lean protein, finger size of "good" fat like coconut butter to cook it in and as many green vegetables as I like apart from the ones with flavour, like peas, obviously.