Understanding your Chest Muscles Gives You That Extra Edge Over Everyone Else in the Gym...You'll Know How You Should Do Your Chest Exercises!

About Your Chest Muscles

Most people collectively refer to the chest muscles as the "pecs". This term includes the Pectoralis major and the Pectoralis minor. So what do they do?

Pectoralis major

This is the large muscle which gives that large, barrel-chested appearance that many men strive for. It is, however, required for some very basic movements and its easiest to understand these movements if you know where the muscle attaches.

The Pectoralis major is triangular in shape and attaches to the sternum (breastbone) and the clavicle (collar-bone) on the medial and superior (upper edges) of the muscle. It also attaches to the anterior (front) part of the humerus bone (the upper arm) at a specific location anatomically known as the greater tubercle.

Further, the lowest part of the muscle (or inferior region) interacts with a sheet of fibers (called an aponeurosis) continuous with the anterior oblique muscle (an abdominal muscle). With this statement, it's obvious that your abdominals should be worked synonymously with your chest so as to prevent injuries.

When the muscle contracts, it rotates and pulls the arm towards the body. Wrapping your arms around something or someone (such as a hug), loosening a bolt with a screwdriver or pushing open a heavy door all require the pec major. But let's not kid ourselves, we're not going to work our chest for a hug, are we?

Pectoralis minor

This one isn't directly seen on the surface as it resides underneath the pec major. It does, however, have some very different functions, all involving stabilization of the trunk.

The Pectoralis minor attaches to your 3rd and 4th ribs and proceeds superiorly (upward) and laterally attaching at a point on the scapula known as the coracoid process. The coracoid process is a convergence point for the pectoralis minor, short head of the biceps and the coracobrachialis (many of the muscle names give indications of where they attached - for example, this is a brachial [upper arm] muscle that attaches to the coracoid process of the shoulder blade).

So, given that the pec minor attaches to the upper, front portion of the scapula and the ribs, it's natural to believe that a contraction of the muscle would pull the scapula forward and raise ribs.

It's important to remember that your pectorals don't work alone! As you develop your chest, it's critical to also maintain your shoulders, triceps and biceps strength for support. If not, you'll hit an unbreakable bench press plateau. Well, at least unbreakable until you develop these supporting muscles!

Some variations of the bench press exist such as wide and narrow grips. These different configurations require increased shoulder and triceps strength to perform. In this case, the plateau will occur because you're limited by your arm and shoulder strength as to how much you can press.

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