Build a Bear, Not an Ego
Build a Bear, Not an Ego:
Bust the Chest Supremacy Myth by Working on Your Upper Frame Instead
Everyone has fitness goals; Venice beach type muscle bods, getting rid of those rolls, shifting belly fat etc. One of the more go to fitness trends in male fitness is one that focuses exclusively on the chest area. I can see why – pecs are cool; they can give you confidence navigating the twin hazards of beach and bedroom (although rarely at the same time – sand) as well as singlehandedly keeping the slightly-too-small-but-handily-revealing vest market afloat.
Is it the end game though? If you want to feel strong rather than just look it, you will need to look at working all the muscles in your upper body. Let’s have a look at each area and how to work them.
Chest
Let’s start with the chest – it’s all the upper body muscles, after all. There are three major muscles here – your pectoralis major and minor as well as the oft-underappreciated Serratus anterior muscle (think of it as an anatomical version of the drummer from 80’s synth-pop three-piece Depeche Mode). The idea is to work all three muscles in this area to gain the best results, so mixing barbell or dumbbell chest presses at different inclines with dumbbell chest flyes and wide dips. This way, your training trifecta is achieved as all three are targeted.
Shoulders
Your shoulders are made up of a few different muscle groups - your deltoids (anterior, medial and posterior) and your rotator cuff muscles (supraspinatus, infraspinatus, subscapularis and Teres minor). There’s a wide array of exercises out there to work these areas; lateral raises, front raises and reverse fly’s all work your delts. Elsewhere, using Turkish sit-ups with kettlebells, a bit of cable work incorporating - for example - a lateral raise (either behind or in front of the body) or doorway stretches will all target the rotator cuff muscles. You can even go for a seated dumbbell press or lying dumbbell external rotation. But I’ll let you decide.
Biceps and Triceps
For a double impact on these muscles, a good way of training these two is via a superset. It’s essentially one exercise immediately followed by another without rest. A bit punishing, yes, but it does work. A good starting point (depending on experience) would be doing a bicep curl for 8 -12 reps immediately followed by dual arm overhead triceps lift. Working both muscles simultaneously will help stimulate growth; when you’re working your bicep, your tricep is switched on and supporting that movement, in turn, the opposite will happen when you swap the muscle you’re working.
Upper Back
Arguably just as sought after as defined pecs is a thick back – targeting this area will help unleash that bear within. The muscles you want to target here are your traps, lats and rhomboids. There’s an array of exercises out there that will help you work these muscles; if you’re able to do so, I would utilise wide grip pull ups. If you don’t feel ready for this just yet, you can even start on the weighted smith machine and work your way up to your own body weight. There’s no need to overdo it here; you don’t want to end up on the injury list by pushing your body too far when it’s not ready, so take full advantage of the equipment in your local gym until you’re ready to take on that pull up. A lat pull down machine works the same muscles as pull-ups while also targeting different areas of your back – change it up intermittently by adjusting your grip position (supinated or pronated, or alternatively mix up your hand positioning shoulder width apart then a close grip). A barbell row is also a really important exercise for your back, so keep this in mind when planning a gym session. Word of advice - if you can’t pause when you lift the bar towards your body, it means that the weight is too heavy. Start off lighter, get the tempo right, then progress.
Military Press/Overhead Press
If you’re (military)pressed for time, make sure you get this lift into your routine. The military press - which is done with your feet together whereas with the overhead press your feet are shoulder width apart is a great catch-all compound lift that works all three delts, your upper back and your biceps and triceps. That’s a 5 in 1 package exercise folks – it’s like an all-day breakfast in a tin; except the military press helps you get ripped rather than giving you heart disease. Positives all around.
It’s time to ditch the tunnel vision when it comes to upper body workouts and feed your inner bear; by equally distributing the exercise across all important muscle groups you will avoid any potential posture issues later on, plus you will notice a distinct improvement in your headlock technique - perfect for annoying little brothers(Johnny’s 30 now, but it’s important to assert your fraternal dominance periodically).
The choice is clear - build the bear inside you instead of pandering to the ITV2 fitness myth and see the results for yourself. Remember; if you’re unfamiliar with any of the exercises listed in this article, you can check out some pointers on technique under the training section.