POF Chest Routine

Q: I have a flat chest. I’ve been using your Positions-of-Flexion training for a while, and it’s given me some new detail, but I’m just not getting the size. I do two heavy sets of bench presses for midrange, then cable crossovers for stretch and contracted. I follow that with incline presses [upper midrange], then incline cable flyes [upper stretch and contracted]. Do I need more sets, higher reps or what? I want big, striated pecs.

A: You’re using a full-range POF chest routine that I recommend for trainees who have decent growth potential in their pecs. You’re not in that category. You no doubt have low neuromuscular efficiency, or nerve force, in your chest and/or you have fewer fast-twitch growth fibers there. The solution: Pump up the volume and flesh out the positions—one for stretch and one for contracted.

Here are two more-explicit POF chest routines you can alternate from workout to workout:

Chest Workout 1

Midrange: Bench presses

or decline presses (pyramid) 3 x 9, 7, 5

Stretch: Flat-bench flyes 2 x 10-12

Contracted: Cable crossovers (4X style) 3 x 12

Midrange: Incline dumbbell presses 2 x 8-10

Stretch & Contracted: Incline cable flyes 2 x 12

Chest Workout 2

Midrange: Smith-machine incline

presses (pyramid) 3 x 9, 7, 5

Stretch: Incline flyes 2 x 10-12

Contracted: High cable flyes (4X style) 3 x 12

Midrange: Dumbbell bench presses 2 x 8-10

Stretch & Contracted: Cable flyes 2 x 12

So at workout 1 you give the middle and lower chest a full-on three-exercise POF attack. Upper chest gets the back end and less work with abbreviated POF.

At workout 2 you flip-flop—full three-exercise POF for upper pecs lead off the program. Then your middle and lower sections get hit on the back end with abbreviated POF.

That may look like a lot of sets and exercises, but most trainees need to think of the chest as two body-parts—upper pecs and middle/lower pecs. The chest is a fan-shaped muscle, so you can attack different areas with different angles of pull—unique stress for an incredible chest.

Editor’s note: Steve Holman is the author of many bodybuilding best-sellers and the creator of Positions-of-Flexion muscle training. For information on the POF DVD and Size Surge programs, visit www.Home-Gym.com. Also visit www.X-Rep.com and X-Workouts.com for info on X-Rep, 4X and 3D POF methods and e-books.  IM