Bodybuilding Legend Frank Zane Shares His Favourite Exercises for Sculpting a Perfect Chest

2022-10-02 18:49:45 By : Mr. Zway Zhou

Frank Zane, one of the most well-known bodybuilders of all time, has recently shared some advice for increasing chest size.

He suggests that all lifters drop the bench press from their routine and incorporate more flyes into their chest workout. Zane says that as you age, you will see a lot more definition in your chest if you ditch the bench press. Read on to learn why.

Early in his career, when leanness was his primary objective, Zane trained with light weights and high repetitions. However, as he aged, he used a combination of heavy weights and high reps to build a complete physique and maintain his clean lines while maximizing his muscularity.

After years of experimenting and learning the best ways to train, Zane came to the conclusion that how much you bench matters only during the early stages of training. So building big pecs might not be such a great idea. Even though it might sound unbearable, Zane makes a solid point.

He offers a surprisingly simple solution to chest-size problems: don't build massive pecs in the first place. That's a little easier said than done, though, considering that many lifters invest countless hours into increasing their chest size.

To keep their pecs in shape, he advises them to continue regularly training their pecs with a combination of chest exercises as long as they can still move. Which exercises are best for that?

Zane found that machine exercises like the pec deck, dip, and incline press were ideal for keeping his chest in great condition. He now trains his chest only once or twice per week with the three exercises, working up in weight and down in reps for three sets.

To isolate his upper chest fibers, Zane inclines the bench by using dumbbells with a neutral grip. He also uses rubber bands on a peck deck machine to increase tension on the last few reps of each set.

If you don’t have access to a peck deck, dumbbell flyes on a slight decline will do the trick. He performs his third chest exercise - parallel dips - on a pin-loaded drip machine. He works up in weight and down in reps for three sets.

Frank Zane's physique was a result of both light and intense training sessions. In the beginning of his bodybuilding career, when leanness was his key selling point, he trained with low weights and performed high repetitions. This strategy proved to be successful: he got in great shape and won many bodybuilding championships, including three Mr. Olympia.

Frank Zane has always been open to new ideas, methods, and training. His list of best leg exercises could easily apply to an Arnold Schwarzenegger or Sergio Oliva, and his chest routine is right in line with today's leading bodybuilding workout ideals.

If you're looking for a few cues on how to sculpt a marvelous chest, pay Frank Zane some attention. He never got caught in the trends, and his knowledge remains timeless.

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