DENNIS WOLF - 4 EXERCISES FOR A BIGGER CHEST
4 Exercises for a Bigger Chest
By Ron Harris
How His Chest Training Evolved
For years, Dennis Wolf used mainly barbells and Smith machines for his pressing movements for chest, because the collective consensus was that these are the most productive for building mass. “The problem with that in my case was that my shoulders have a tendency to take over when I press with a bar,” Wolf explains. “I started using more dumbbells, and now I only press with a bar every fourth workout. For me it’s been all about isolating the chest and feeling it work, and dumbbells were the key to doing that.”
Another productive technique that’s helped beef up Dennis’ chest is to constantly switch things up. You might have to watch 20 or 30 of his chest workouts to find two that are the same in terms of exercises performed and the order he does them in. “Some guys can go in and do the same thing over and over again and they grow, but I found I needed more variety to keep gains coming,” he says. Now, let’s look at some of the most commonly used weapons in Wolf’s chest training arsenal.
1) Dumbbell Press
Seventy-five percent of the time, Dennis begins his chest workout with a dumbbell press. One formula he doesn’t divert from now, as it seems to be working quite well, is to alternate starting with either a flat press or an incline press from week to week. As we said, dumbbells have been his go-to tool for pressing in recent years since they allow him to connect better with his pecs and prevent his massive melon delts from jumping in and taking over.
“You can’t go as heavy with dumbbells as you can with a barbell, but that doesn’t matter,” Dennis notes. “I used to be more concerned with moving weight and with how much I could move, but my chest has improved a lot since I got away from that type of thinking.”
Some bodybuilders prefer to bring the dumbbells together as they press them up, but not Wolf. “I don’t feel any better contraction that way in my chest, but I do feel my front delts working more, so I just press straight up.”
2) Barbell Bench Press
The bench press is an exercise Dennis has been using successfully in his training for over 15 years now, and he continues to use it— but only occasionally. “I bench press once a month now, and even then I don’t like to go very heavy.” Of course, four good sets of 10-12 reps with 315 would be considered very heavy by plenty of guys, but it’s not a tendon-straining amount of iron for the Big Bad Wolf, and that’s the whole point. “I like to do the reps in very good form, with a solid squeeze of the pecs at the top of each rep and a good stretch as I lower the bar slowly.”
And even though he doesn’t do it very often anymore, Dennis still recommends that beginners pay their dues on the bench press. “This is the big daddy of chest exercises. It allows you to use the greatest loads and work the most amount of muscle. Do the reps slowly and squeeze the chest, or else you will get stronger but your chest probably won’t grow much.”
3) Hammer Strength Machine Press
Machines were something Dennis once looked down on somewhat when it came to pressing, until he started thinking more for himself and stopped worrying about what others did and advocated. “The Hammer Strength incline press machine has been very valuable for me because it targets my upper chest perfectly,” he tells us. “If I avoided it because people say machines are no good, I wouldn’t have been able to get the extra thickness up there that I have now.”
Dennis likes the machine so much that even if he started his workout with incline dumbbells, he will usually make his way to the incline Hammer piece later on also. That’s not to say he doesn’t make use of other Hammer Strength chest machines too. “Sometimes if I feel my outer or lower pecs need to be a little thicker and fuller, I use the wide or the decline press machines.”
4) Cable Crossover
First, in the interest of keeping it real, I need to say that Wolf does flyes more often than crossovers. “Flat and incline dumbbell flyes work the chest in a different way than presses, and help fill in the inner and outer pec regions,” he says. But there are times when he doesn’t do flyes, and that’s when Dennis makes use of the cable station for crossovers. He actually has three different ways of doing them, which he will often do one set each of in a given workout. “For one set, I will lean forward, another I stand straight up, and for the third I will set the cable pulleys down at the level of my chest and come out with my arms almost perfectly straight. Those will all work the chest in slightly different ways.”
He does have some precautions about both flyes and crossovers. “Don’t bend the arms too much and turn these into another press. Get a good stretch, but be careful never to stretch beyond your limits with a heavy weight, especially with dumbbells.”
Finally, he cautions that those still in dire need of chest thickness spend more of their time and energy on basic movements like presses and dips. “I see too many beginners spending too much time on cable crossovers,” he notes. “But for a guy who has already been training a few years and has some good mass already, the cables can be a great way to etch in more detail. Really hold the squeeze in the middle to get the most out of this.”
Get Your Best Chest
Dennis Wolf has experimented and found the best exercises for him. They may or not be the best for you— that’s for you to discover in the gym on your own. Meanwhile we include Dennis’s suggested routines for beginners and intermediates. What follows are the in-the-trenches factors that Dennis has learned over the years so that you can apply them in order to get your own kick-ass set of thick, nasty pecs!
Words of Chest-Training Wisdom From Wolf
When to Train Chest
“You can pair chest up with something like biceps or triceps, or do it on its own day. I don’t think it is a good idea to train it at the same time as shoulders. There is too much overlap with pressing for the two muscle groups, and they both suffer as a result. As with any muscle group, if your chest is a weak area I suggest training it first in your workout after a full day or two of rest.”
Common Chest-Training Errors
Not Focusing on Weak Areas
“Depending on your genetics, either your upper or lower chest will respond easier. It can be either, although with most guys it is the upper that’s tougher to build. Take a good look at your chest and figure out what needs work, and that’s what you need to put your main priority on.”
Never Changing Your Workout
“This goes for any body part, really. I see guys doing the same exact routine and using the same weights month after month, year after year, and of course they always look the same. Your muscles adapt to certain workouts and you have to change things up like the exercises you do, the order you do them in, the rep range, etc.”
Lack of Mind-Muscle Connection
“Again, this applies to everything, but I see it a lot with chest training. Guys are so concerned with using a lot of weight and impressing everybody at the gym that they become weightlifters instead of bodybuilders. Feel the pecs contract and stretch as you do the reps. You should feel the chest work and get a pump, or else you aren’t doing it right. Never be afraid to use a bit less weight if that will actually allow you to work the muscle better.”
Must-Do Factors for a Big Bad Chest
1. Start With Free Weights
“Free weights require balance and coordination, and both tend to fade as a workout progresses. Always begin with your barbell and dumbbell movements, and save machines and cables for the end.”
2. Ditch the Ego
“Bodybuilders are judged by our physiques, not how much weight we can lift. Use a weight that you can handle with good form and feel, or you will compromise your results and also be at risk of injury.”
3. Use a Spotter
“This is most important on heavy barbell movements like the flat and incline bench press. With a spotter, you can push to failure without worrying about getting stuck under a heavy bar.”
4. Pose and Stretch
“Posing and stretching between sets definitely increases both your mind-muscle connection and your separation and detail. It only takes a few seconds.”
Suggested Beginner Routine*
Bench Press 4 x 8-12
Incline Bench Press 4 x 8-12
Dumbbell Flyes 4 x 8-12
Alternate flat or incline bench from week to week on flyes.
Suggested Intermediate Routine*
Flat Dumbbell Press 4 x 8-12
Incline Barbell Press 4 x 8-12
Dumbbell Flyes 4 x 8-12
Alternate flat or incline bench from week to week on flyes.
Cable Crossovers 3 x 10-12
*Warm-up sets are not shown, but always warm up thoroughly with at least two or three very light sets of a pressing movement before beginning heavy work sets.
A Typical Dennis Wolf Chest Workout
Flat Barbell Bench Press Warm-up: 2 x 18-20 4 x 10-12
Flat Dumbbell Flyes 3 x 12-14
Incline Hammer Strength Press 4 x 12
Dumbbell Pullover Across Bench 4 x 12
Machine Dips 4 x 10-12
Ron Harris got his start in the bodybuilding industry during the eight years he worked in Los Angeles as Associate Producer for ESPN’s “American Muscle Magazine” show in the 1990s. Since 1992 he has published nearly 3,000 articles in bodybuilding and fitness magazines, making him the most prolific bodybuilding writer ever. Ron has been training since the age of 14 and competing as a bodybuilder since 1989, and maintains the popular website www.ronharrismuscle.com, most notable for its blog “The Daily Pump.” He lives with his wife and two children in the Boston area.
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