When trying to build muscle mass, you should focus on multi-joint “compound” exercises. Compound exercises are movements that recruit multiple muscle groups. So in regards to chest training, a compound exercise would be the bench press and an isolation movement would be the cable.

The bench press exercise, and pressing movements in general, are excellent mass builders and therefore you really need to implement them in your workouts. You can, and should, mix it up too. Use a combination of barbell presses, dumbbell presses, and use adjustable benches to target your chest from various angles.

Pressing on a slope will target your upper chest region and pressing on a decline will target your lower chest. For optimal chest development, the best thing to do is hit the chest from all angles. And for me personally, I got amazing results with the flat bar press, although it’s always a good idea to mix it up and keep your body guessing.

The flat bar press is an amazing exercise and when done correctly, it will do wonders for your chest development. You just need to make sure you are using the proper technique and implementing the proper loading patterns (reps, number of sets, rest between sets, etc.).

There are actually many little tricks you can do while bench pressing that can trigger both an increase in muscle development and an immediate increase in strength. And when I say a lot, I mean a lot!