Hey guys, Sean Nalewanyj here of BodyTransformationTruth.com, and in this Q&A video I want to quickly discuss
inner chest training and answer the question of whether it’s even possible to specifically
target this area of the pecs for greater gains in size.
So if you run a search online, you’re going to find an endless number of different articles
and videos that outline various chest pressing and chest flye variations to supposedly “isolate”
the inner fibers of the pecs, however, if you take a look at the anatomy of the pectoral
muscle and the way in which the fibers run, then you’ll see that it’s actually not
possible to specifically isolate the inner chest without also hitting the middle and
outer fibers with the same overall amount of stimulation.
The pec muscle is basically made up of 2 sets of fibers: you have the upper clavicular fibers
and you have the lower sternocostal fibers.
The clavicular fibers originate on your humerus and attach onto your collarbone (and this
portion is typically referred to as your “upper chest”), while the sternocostal fibers also
originate on the humerus but attach onto the sternum (and this portion is typically referred
as the “lower chest”).
Now because each of these individual sets of fibers have their own unique origin and
insertion points and separate nerve innervations, it IS possible to specifically target the
upper and the lower chest by utilizing different pressing and flye angles.
Incline movements are going to shift the emphasis onto the upper clavicular fibers, while flat
and decline movements will specifically hit the lower sternocostal fibers.
In terms of targeting specific areas of the chest for increases in size, however, this
is really all that you have direct control over.
You can’t actually isolate or shift more emphasis onto the “inner chest” for the
simple reason that there really is no such thing as the inner chest.
And this is because when one strand of fibers contract along the pec muscle, the entire
fiber as a whole is going to contract.
So it doesn’t matter which specific exercises, angles or different training techniques that
you use; if you want to stimulate your “inner pecs”, then the “middle” and the “outer”
portion of those fibers also are going to fire as well.
Now this obviously doesn’t mean that you can’t build inner chest muscle, all it means
is that you can’t specifically target this area of the pecs at the exclusion of other
areas.
So in other words, in order for you tobuild inner pec mass, you simply have to focus on
building your entire chest as a whole.
As your chest gets bigger and stronger over time, your inner pecs are also going to grow
along with it.
The only possible factor to take into account here is that, since the lower sternocostal
fibers attach onto your sternum rather than your collarbone, building up these fibers
will likely have a more noticeable impact on your inner chest gains.
And for that reason, the best inner chest exercises would technically be any type of
pressing or flye movement performed at a flat or decline angle.
However, this is basically a redundant point, and the reason for that is because the sternocostal
fibers already make up the vast majority of your total pec mass anyway and they should
be treated as the focal point of your overall chest training routine regardless.
So the bottom line here is to stop worrying about building up your “inner” or “outer”
chest and to just focus on maximizing your overall chest gains as a whole through proper
exercise selection, form and a focus on progressive overload.
And if you dowant to learn how to add size and thickness to your entire chest in the
most effective and efficient way, then I will provide a couple of links down in the description
box below, the first one outlines what I consider to be the best overall sequence of 3 chest
exercises for your chest workout, and the second gives you 4 important tips that you
can employ when it comes to your compound pressing movements in terms of proper form.
So thanks for watching this video lesson, I hope you found the information useful here
today.
If you want to learn a ton of other highly effective, science-based, no B.S training
tips that you can employ as part of your overall muscle building progam in order to make the
most efficient gains possible, then make sure to head over to BodyTransformationTruth.com
and grab my complete “Body Transformation Blueprint” System, and you can do that by
clicking the icon at the top of the video or using the link in the description box below.
If you did enjoy the video, as always, please make sure to hit the LIKE button, leave a
comment and subscribe to stay up-to-date on future videos.
And make sure to check out my official blog over at SeanNal.com for all of my latest articles,
tips and other updates.
Talk to you again soon.