Hey All! Hope you enjoy and find the content useful in some way! Feel free to check out the Alpha Progression App: alphaprogression.com/HouseofHypertrophy Timestamps + Further thoughts from the video below: 0:00 Intro 0:51 Part 1: Understanding the Pecs 1:59 Part 2: Maximizing Middle Pec Hypertrophy 18:26 Part 3: Maximizing Upper Pec Hypertrophy 27:53 Part 4: Maximizing Lower Pec Hypertrophy 31:17 Part 5: Isolation for the Pecs (Flys and Pullovers) 42:32 Part 6: A Surprising Study 46:30 Part 7: Summary Note about electromyography: As noted in the video, here are some extra details about electromyography. We know that electromyography measures the electrical activity of a muscle. This is what fundamentally causes the muscle to be activated, and we know high activation of a muscle (high muscle fiber recruitment and tension from the fibers) is important for growth. However, this is far from meaning electromyography perfectly and consistently tells us what will be better for building muscle. There are a range of considerations, as described in this paper ( pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35006527/ ). In the past, I've been highly critical of electromyography, but my thoughts have somewhat loosened depending on the context. Let me describe some evidence/reasoning: We have a paper ( pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37461495/ ) finding electromyographic recordings failed to correlate with actual muscle hypertrophy. One consideration of this paper is it compared a squat and hip thrust. Here, we are comparing two exercises that are quite different, particularly with regard to the muscle length being stimulated. Squats better stimulate the glutes at relatively longer muscle lengths, while hip thrusts better stimulate the glutes at relatively shorter muscle lengths. My personal thinking is that EMG may be less accurate and useful in this context, since there's some data electromyography just tends to obtain higher readings during shorter muscle lengths. However, I don't believe this means EMG is completely useless. When we're comparing exercises that train a muscle over a more similar length, EMG could provide some valid insight. As one example, some electromyography papers ( content.iospress.com/articles/isokinetics-and-exercise-science/ies654 + pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20581696/ ) find calf raising with the feet outwards elicits higher medial gastrocnemius activity, while calf raising with the feet inwards elicits higher lateral gastrocnemius activity. Indeed, research ( pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32735428/ ) actually measuring muscle growth found this to occur: medial gastrocnemius growth was better with feet outwards, while lateral gastrocnemius growth was better with feet inwards. Accordingly, electromyography could be more reliable when we're comparing subtler shifts. Therefore, I suspect studies that compare different bench incline angles, different grip widths and hand positions, or just biomechanically similar pressing movements in general might not be terrible. On top of this, some well-controlled electromyography studies that have isometric force generated in different directions probably more or less accurately tell us how these force directions influence muscle excitation. I think such studies could be used to speculate (not make definitive conclusions) pertaining to exercise selection.

Flat bench, incline bench and weighted dips. These three exercises have pushed me to comfortably bench 100kgs in a short turnaround time. Weighted dips simplifies life for me. It's my upper body go to exercise. I rarely do machines.

I'm halfway through this video and I commend you for having a fine balance between science and giving advice that may not have that much evidence but still is practical while not sounding condescending like some other science based lifters.

This is incredible. You should do one of these for back, like all the different parts and the best ways to hit them all

I have two chest days per week. A "heavy" (4-8 reps) and a "light" (10-16 reps) day. Heavy day is flat BB bench - 4 sets, Weighted Dips - 3 sets, DB Flys - 3 sets, and shoulder / triceps exercises (irrelevant to chest convo) and light day is 30 degree Incline DB Bench - 2 sets, Bodyweight dips (I get 20-28 reps here for 2 sets), and seated cable flys - 2 sets, plus OH triceps work and delt work (again, irrelevant). I train to 100% failure on every single set (I have a spotter / partner). This is my current macro cycle routine anyways. I do 6 week meso cycles, deload week, and another 6 week meso before taking a two week active recovery phase. After that I adjust exercise selection for a new macrocycle. I've had absolutely fantastic results. After 6 months of lifting 6 days / week I'm benching 245 lbs x 5 reps at a bodyweight of 178lbs. Sitting at about 12-13% bodyfat.

Exercise #1 Pec deck ...lol the 90's Mentzer HIT tapes still rolling in my head

This channel is like a diamond in the coal mine

Wow, Your editing keeps improving as well as the content!! The video is arranged in a perfect way and unpacks every scientific question about the pecs! amazing work as usual🎉

WOW! I've found THE best fitness channel ever. no one else shows all the conflicting information and makes educated observations and conclusions about it. you also showed where we don't know a lot and did not jump into conclusions. you deserve a sub and share. continue the good work

On international chest day, how appropriate! Let's go 🍿

Sometimes it’s hard to cut through all the different information and opinions one is exposed to and actually stay consistent. Your videos help tremendously! Hoping to see similar comparison videos for other muscles in the future.

Chest Day with a Chest Video! Super!

Here's the summery, enjoy 🙂 00:00 *🏋️ Maximizing Chest Development: An In-depth Analysis* - Comprehensive exploration of chest hypertrophy through dissecting scientific findings. - Discussion on the anatomy of the pectoral muscles and their functional separability. - Analysis of various chest exercises focusing on shoulder horizontal flexion. 02:03 *📊 Middle Pectoral Region: Leveraging Shoulder Horizontal Flexion* - Importance of leverage in activating the middle pectoral region during shoulder horizontal flexion. - Examination of electromyographic research to understand muscle activation patterns. - Evaluation of compound exercises like bench presses and their effectiveness for middle chest development. 06:09 *💪 Considerations for Exercise Selection* - Rep range flexibility (6-35 reps) for effective muscle hypertrophy. - Factors influencing exercise selection, including push-ups, dumbbell bench press, and machine variations. - Importance of training proximity to failure and managing fatigue for optimal growth. 13:18 *🏋️‍♂️ Maximizing Stretch for Chest Hypertrophy* - Exploration of the anabolic benefits of exercises that reach a deep stretch position. - Discussion on muscle stretch and its role in stimulating hypertrophy. - Consideration of exercise variations to achieve a better stretch for chest development. 18:08 *📈 Targeting Upper Pectoral Region* - Evaluation of horizontal pressing exercises' effectiveness for upper chest development. - Examination of incline bench pressing and its ability to preferentially target the upper pecs. - Analysis of exercise variations and techniques to effectively stimulate the upper chest. 23:17 *💪 Upper Pectoral Training Options* - Various grip widths in bench pressing preferentially target upper pecs. - Closer grips and reverse grips recruit triceps more efficiently. - Incline bench press with a closer grip may match or surpass wider grip incline for upper pec activation. 26:12 *🤔 Personalized Upper Pectoral Training* - Individual preference and perception play a role in selecting the most effective upper pec exercises. - Experimentation with different variations is encouraged to determine personal effectiveness. - Subjective sensations like pump and soreness can provide indirect insights into muscle activation. 28:02 *📉 Lower Pectoral Training Considerations* - Horizontal pressing exercises effectively target lower pecs. - Dedicated lower pec training may not be essential due to the involvement of lower pecs in horizontal presses. - Exercises like decline bench press and dips can specifically target the lower pec region. 31:27 *🏋️‍♂️ Compound vs. Isolation Exercises for Pectoral Growth* - Compound exercises like bench press and incline press are likely sufficient for substantial pec hypertrophy. - Isolation exercises may not significantly contribute to pec growth compared to compounds. - Programs can be sensibly varied to include both compound and isolation exercises based on individual preferences and needs. 34:43 *💡 Pectoral Isolation Exercise Effectiveness* - Various isolation exercises effectively target different parts of the pectoral muscles. - Cable and machine variations provide tension throughout different muscle positions. - Personal comfort and preference should guide exercise selection. 41:04 *📚 Critical Evaluation of Research on Pectoral Hypertrophy* - Critical analysis of research findings is essential to draw accurate conclusions. - Anomalies in study results should be scrutinized for potential methodological flaws. - Replication and validation of research findings are crucial for establishing evidence-based recommendations.

Superb encyclopedia of chest! I've preached the benefits to both abs and serratus anterior activation from pushups to people over the years from personal experience, great to see the studies to back that up. Thanks for the plethora of information in this vid House Of Hypertrophy.

As a newbie I've pretty much only done benches with dumbbells because I want the coordination of both hands being free to move (also being able to train to failure without risking the bar falling on me). My experience certainly lines up with the data. I tried doing triceps isolation work for the first time recently and the amount of soreness is eye-opening.

I was wondering where you went since you haven't uploaded for quite some time. Glad to see you back!

I always enjoy these videos. Every time I see a new one I know it’s going to be a good watch.

I have two different training days. It‘s upper/lower when I have a lot of time and know I can make at least 3 sessions per week and fully body if I only manage 1-2 sessions per week. Here‘s what I do: Day 1: - 5 sets of heavy dips (8 to 3 reps) (focusing on the eccentric part and going for a deep stretch) - 3 sets of incline dumbbell press (45 degrees) of 15 to 10 reps - only on upper sessions: 2 sets of dumbbell flies 20-15 reps Day 2: - 3 to 5 sets of deficit push-ups with 15 to 10 reps (if training at home done on yoga blocks and with a focus on a controlled eccentric and deep stretch, overall reduced and controlled tempo) - 3 to 5 sets of single arm kettlebell clean and press in the 15 to 8 rep range (great to build even strength in both arms) - 2-3 sets of dumbbell flies (20-15 reps) This alongside with some triceps and shoulder isolation work is the foundation of my push training and I really like that it’s covering all planes of motion of the chest and shoulders. As long as all prime motions/functions of a muscle are trained I think we can expect all relevant fibres to be trained as well.

The "surprising study" actually makes sense, incline has more ROM than flat.

Thank you this video is amazing 👏 we need to support this channel. Best detailed information.

Thank you for this video. You consistently present complex information in an exceptionally clear, well-reasoned manner.

The presentation on your videos remains unmatched. As a content creator myself, I am absolutely floored by your editing and graphics, and I have no idea how you do these videos on a consistent basis while maintaining such high quality. You deserve a million subs.

As someone who just started going back to the gym, I find machines are great for reestablishing the mind-muscle connection. On the flip side, I also find that they are designed for shorter people than me and so I'm already migrating to everything else now that I'm more comfortable with the movements.

Finnaly been waiting for this thnx man

Taking notes right now! I hope for a FOREARM building video soon!

various cable presses and cable flyes. done.

Flat bench, incline, flyers. That’s all I do 3x10 reps on each. I’m going to adjust the angle of the incline based on this video, thanks 😊

IMO, the best point you brought up was the section about individual differences. I've always been pretty strong in the triceps. No matter how strict I perform my presses, they always tend to take over the work from my pecs. Lately I only perform 3 cable isolation exercises and I experience a much better connection and DOMs.

I've been waiting for this video for too long, thank you!

started doing partials for 12-15 reps after pulldowns to help me build my lats as i’ve had a hard time connecting to them and it’s helped a lot

Been waiting for this video for so long. And now it’s finally here 🙏

We also need an ab guide. While many people in the fitness industry believe, that you only need to do compound lifts to get ab, I'm not that sure. I managed to get a 10-pack and seriously doubt that I would have ever achieved that without ab exercises. But I'd like to hear your science based opinion on that.

Deficit pushups on yoga blocks & dips are doing it for me at the moment.

30:48 Ring Dips just activating every muscle in the upper body seems accurate lol I think it's fair to say that there's an argument for RTO Dips with the rings hung wider than shoulder width being a great overall chest builder, even the upper pecs

Thanks for all the information! I always watch the entire of your videos with little to no skipping. Can you please do a quad and hamstring one? Or just thigh mass in general including abductors/adductors

I love how this channel has never discussed anything lower body ❤

This video's quality was superbly high. Such a pleasure to watch.

Very good and detailed video! Admittedly, my goals have always revolved around having a big 1RM bench more than chest hypertrophy, but I have to say that heavy flat barbell benching for years has made my chest my best feature. It might not be the best or most efficient way to build the pecs, certainly, but I definitely find myself sore across all 3 areas of the pecs for a couple of days following a few sets of max effort bench triples and heavy singles. I''ll usually do a supplementary movement on chest day, such as an incline dumbbell press or a floor press, but my chest program is probably 75 percent flat barbell, mostly because it's my favorite lift at the gym, period. I find that dumbbell incline press hits my upper chest well and I really feel dumbbell floor flys in my inner pecs. Dumbbell floor flys right into a set of dumbbell floor presses really fries the triceps as well, if you are doing a chest/tri day. I have to track down your lat video next. :)

Amazing video as always

Dumbells provided me with the greatest gains.

if you are having trouble with initial upper peck growth I found doing an elevated cable cross over at about just overhead level was super helpful.

My New Meta workout: One-Armed Barbell Floor presses. I start laying under the barbell on my chest and press while rocking left to right in the rep to maximize stretch and squeeze. Failure lands you in start position for other arm. Then I roll out at the end. 😅

Anecdotal, but in terms of the bench I've found a 20 degree incline the perfect sweet spot as per hitting the full chest in terms of overall development of the mid and upper. I've not bothered with a flat bench since around 2005 a slight (20 degrees) incline is my default 'flat'

I have long arms and I always feel my pecs better on the DB Bench Press when I DONT lockout at the end. If I lockout, my triceps getting more.

Thanks. Great video. One of the best fitness guides. It would be good do similar videos for Quads, Glutes, and Delts.

For powerbuilding, I will usually start with the bench press, then some kind of incline press that has a larger ROM and then some kind of fly exercise to hit the chest a different way. My chest is super pumped and absolutely fried after that.

Incline dumbbell chest press seems to be the most popular choice among bodybuilders including CBum, when asked for essential exercises.

nice about to hit gym within an hour and today is chest day

Is there an ultimate guide for glutes and/or hamstrings? Or maybe a comparison between best exercises that augment sprinting?

Your video was very helpful my friend 🙏🏼

Has there ever been a study that compares a program that includes only pressing motion vs a program that only includes flies vs a program that mixes both for pec hypertroohy?

The best KZfaqr out here .

Thank you so much for this holy grail of a guide

We know that extrastretch excercices are superior, but we also have classical, fundamental principle of variability of training resources and that's probably what it's all about.

The amount of effort that goes into these videos is insane, only criticism i have of this channel is that you tend to repeat the same point just worded differently. However thats a consequence of using predominately science based resources as they also do this so its not a major criticism

Essentially, you would do well to hit every muscle at every angle, in every rep range, at every volume, in every frequency through the course of your life. Look at it like this. We have a lifetime to discover and create all of the exercises and gains that are possible. Enjoy every huge pump and each little gain and just relax. It's a marathon not a sprint.

For those who want so save time. One flat press of your choice One incline press of your choice One fly of your choice That’s it. No magic. More is useless.

Flat barbell and dumbell press are best for progressive overload. Get a big bench and you will have big chesticles.

Love this! 💪

when doing calisthenics, i do the one that's the toughest for me, because that means the muscles involved must work harder.

Ring push ups are underrated. If you adapt to stabilizing rings (it is easy to adapt) it will blow up your chest. Also abs work pretty good at ring push ups.

Bridge on the ground when you floor press to give more stretch, it also reinforces your scapula 14:35

could you back as well, like chest supported rows vs t-bar and free bar rows, also the importance of deadlifts and if one can use a straight bar or hex bar

Failed to uncover the reasoning behind fly movements which is for targeting pectoralis minor which is a deep muscle and not superficial like the pec major. I like this channel but you missed on this one unfortunately and no mention of guillotine's although I will say that even the researchers probably have no knowledge of such techniques because it is fairly niche conversation.

Now that's a lot of studies 😮

A 50 min video is def helpful but you may want to consider getting out of the weeds in some areas for the sake of time. Especially given the overall conclusions. The sections named and time stamped is excellent. A more advanced lifter might want to skip to the summary to see if the rest is for them.

Great job!

Love your videos man

Inclined db,cable fly,decline db,machine flys great pump.

I'll literally watch every video this long if they're all like this.

I am hoping there's a video for glutes. I find it hard to focus on those muscles because I've never focused on this set of workouts. All I know is that the elliptical machine, skating, and hip thrusts workouts are some of the useful workouts.

Can you make a muscle imbalance video?

yan you do a vid on back thickness exercises

Yes

Great info, subbed!

Incline bench and OHP for upper Flat bench and DB flies for mid Dips for lower

thanks for the amazing content

Your videos are like the old strength theory articles (now stronger by science) but in video format instead of article. Given that Greg is my favorite fitness guy I really like this channel. I enjoy learning more about the science and studies. Quick question. Is there a limit of how much muscle our bodies can gain in a short amount of time. So if I do 20 sets/week for everything and my sleep and eating are amazing. Will I grow all areas by x amount. Or if I do 20 sets for biceps and the other muscle groups 6 sets my biceps will grow more than they would if everything was trained hard?

Love the video! Would love to have one for the back!

i dont know if its too late to comment, but in his video on inner chest training michael from dr gains referenced region specific hypertrophy studies on triceps and quads. the result was that different exercises were causing hypertrophy on different parts of the muscle. so regional hypertrophy is real that being extrapolated on chest training, he said that outward pressing (direction away from middle of the chest) would involve the outer chest more and inward pressing (hand in the direction of and past the middle of the chest) would involve inner chest more. i know its very theoretical but worth trying out on my opinion. ive been doing cable chest flys going past the middle of the chest to grow my inner chest for some 6 months now.

BIg Chest! Big Video!

INSANE CHEAT PUMP = 1. Incline DB Bench superset w/Deficit push ups 2. Pec Fly using LLP’s superset w/Regular push ups 3. Flat Bench superset w/Deficit push ups 3-6 sets each combo and reps are determined by effort. Thank me later

Push ups should be a staple in everyone’s routine. So much u can do for push ups, I can rep 225 for 4 on bench. I told myself, I’m done with flat. I’m gonna do dumbbells and push ups and machines.

I'm finding rev grip dumbell flat bench quite good for the upper pecs

How do pushups involve horizontal flexion? If you don't flare out elbows you're just pushing like in a dip. A pushup is more like raising your arm in front of you. Keep your arm close to the body, bend elbow 90. And now extend your arm such that is straight and parallele to the ground. That doesn't really involve any horizontal movement like a straight arm chest fly would? It's basically just a front raise from a bent elbow positon.

Great stuff. Glad to see you mentioned landmine presses. What about Viking presses though? They use a wider grip for a better stretch. Thanks for your useful/educational videos!

Chest day today and this video comes up 👍👌

Great video!! I curious if dumbbell flyes are inherently slightly better than other pressing and isolation movements as they are the most difficult at the streached part. Eventhough all the exercises probably streach the pecs the same as dumbbell flies, with dumbbells the movement is most difficult at the start. This is just a hypothesis, but tension in initial range of motion might be more effective at growing muscle instead of performing movements which streach the muscle more (preacher curls vs incline curls study) I am curious to know your opinion on this one though!!

Subjectively, no other exercise lights up my entire pec region like dips.

I fell asleep two times while the video was rolling. Is there an abstract?...

Can you do a video on training density? For example, studies usually show that it's best to rest longer for maximum hypertrophy but this is when you equate volume. But with the equivalent volume low rest periods would take like half the time as long rest periods for a workout. So based on this, someone who does low rest periods could do a lot more sets in the same amount of time. So is more dense training with less set quality, but more total sets near failure, superior or inferior? I find it hard to believe that, for example, 3 sets of curls to failure with 3 minutes rest is superior to 5~ sets with shorter rest periods that takes the same 10 minutes. Sure the 3 set group will get more reps in those 3 sets, but they get 2 less sets so it's unlikely they will achieve more stimulus by getting to failure 3 times versus 5. To me it just makes sense intuitively that supersetting or giantsetting (with antagonist muscle groups) and making my training more dense will result in more gains because I get more volume in the same amount of time. But study bros always say that it's better to rest 3-5 minutes and get as much quality out of every set as possible. Have there been any studies where they equated gym time instead of volume, and then had a group try to squeeze as much juice out of every set as possible with longer rest times and the other try to squeeze as much juice as possible out of the time they're given? I feel like density is overlooked in this sense, let's say Person A did 10 minute EMOM of pushups to failure and Person B did 3 sets of pushups to failure with 3-5 minutes rest so they both took 10 minutes. Person A might get like 100 total reps, and person B might get like 70 total reps assuming the same rep max of pushups. Person A gets more total reps, and because he's got less rest his reps are actually closer to failure on average, so the ratio of 'effective' reps is skewed in his favour too. How can more rest be superior to more volume in the same timeframe? It seems like more rest is only better if you have a limited amount of sets that you're sticking to no matter what, IE you have only three sets to work with but outside of this limitation it intuitively seems like maximising volume within a timeframe through supersetting, low rest periods etc is superior.

Don’t have a bench can do like 60 or more pushups so it looks like we are going to need a weighted vest

Incline press at 45° Feels like a shoulder exercise to me. However, doing LANDMINE PRESS, feels like upper chest, until I go too heavy! I also like the reverse grip press, but it is scary to perform. I love decline presses, they feel so nice. You can press like 20% more doing a decline.

I started at 140lb for my max in bench press, and it took me 8 months for me to get 220lb by only using bench press

Grate video! I wish you add some Periodize/volum for a week for best results.

It depends how you do the overhead pullover. It can be chest or lat

what is the best type of push up for each muscle 🥺

There is no lover chest exercises. If You train middle chest You get all the lower chest too. I do only Chest Fly Machine (peck deck) and Incline chest press Machine. This is all You need for your chest 🎉

I'm a simple man. I see a HOH video, and I like it.

I think that the injury risks of pec training is because of enhanced individuals not having their connective tissue growing as fast as their muscle and then ripping of