Q: I need to build up the inside of my chest, the cleavage, so to speak. A training friend told me that really squeezing and flexing at the bottom of cable crossovers will get my inner pecs popping. Is that true?
A: While full-range cable crossovers can help develop the entire pec muscle—even the inner sections—believe it or not, the BEST way to attack that insertion point of the target muscle is by emphasizing stretch overload…
The insertion is where the muscle attaches to the bone—inner chest, lower lats, lower biceps, bottom point of the delts, etc. So the solution to your inner-pec problem is best solved with dumbbell flyes, which stretch the pecs against resistance best…
Here’s what top researchers Jacob Wilson, BSc., MSc., has observed [from our X-Rep Update #1 e-book]:
Partial-range reps in the lower range [stretch point] of a muscle, can actually add sarcomeres to a muscle fiber, which would fill out the area of a muscle where it is inserted.
His statement backs our position that stretch exercises add a lot to full-muscle development, especially at the insertion. And it’s the reason we often recommend the Double-X Overload (DXO) tactic on stretch moves, like flyes. Here’s the DXO drill [from the Beyond X-Rep Muscle Building e-book]…
DXO Flyes: Start the flyes with the dumbbells over your chest with a slight bend at your elbows. Lower in an arc, maintaining the constant elbow bend, until the dumbbells are on the same plane as your torso. Don’t pause at the bottom spot, but instead immediately raise the dumbbells about 10 inches, lower back to the stretch, then pull them all the way up over your chest. That’s one rep. You essentially get a double “hitch” in the stretch position, which emphasizes development at the insertion.
You can use that DXO tactic on any stretch-position exercise for a new mass surge, especially at the insertion, like lower quads with sissy squats…
Another major mass-building benefit of emphasizing the stretch is the possibility of hyperplasia, or fiber splitting. Here’s a quote from the Beyond X e-book that will get you very excited about the major MASS-BOOSTING power of stretch overload…
One study done by Antonio and Gonyea in 1994 showed that fiber splitting can occur from stretch overload—more fibers would equal more mass potential…. They used weights to progressively overload one wing and stretch the anterior latissimus dorsi muscles…. After 28 stretch days, the study recorded the greatest gains in muscle mass ever in an animal or human model of tension-induced overload—A 334 PERCENT INCREASE IN MUSCLE MASS with a 90 percent increase in fiber number.
That should be reason enough to use stretch-position exercises, which are included in all Positions-of-Flexion routines. And you should also integrate the DXO mass tactic often—like on flyes for your pec problem. We guarantee you’ll have new soreness down the middle of your pecs, a good sign that jagged separation will soon be etching your chest.
NOTE: The Beyond X-Rep Muscle Building e-book includes all of the X-hybrid tactics, like X Fade, Double-X Overload, and X/Pause. Plus, you get our complete Ripping Phase Workout along with the Split-Positions POF Mass Workout. There’s also an entire chapter on 8-time Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman’s training and more techniques you can use in your quest to get huge. Get more info HERE.
Till next time, train hard—and smart—for BIG results.
—Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson
www.X-Rep.com
Get Ripped with Anabolic Fasting
With proper intermittent fasting, you can transform your physique faster than ever…
Brad Pilon’s book Eat Stop Eat is THE book on Intermittent Fasting. Besides the nuts and bolts of what to do and when to burn fat and build muscle simultaneously, Brad covers all the research on IF-related topics…
From how fasting affects blood glucose/insulin/leptin/testosterone to how it jacks the muscle-building process. You’ll see all the latest science.
Grab your copy now because Eat Stop Eat is only $10 till the end of this month (it’s a $49 value!). Check it out here…
> Get THE Book on Intermittent Fasting (only $10 for a few more days)