How to Get a Super-Defined Chest

A while ago, a listener named Jock wrote in and asked:

You know those pecs that go all the way up to the neck and look like two giant squares with nipples? How do I get those?

This is an interesting way of describing defined chest muscles, but it's also not all that inaccurate, when I think about it. The muscles in the pectoral region do form a square (or rectangle) on either side of your sternum if you combine all four of them equally.

The four muscles that we call our “pecs” include:

Pectoralis major

The pectoralis major is a large fan-shaped muscle composed of a sternal head and a clavicular head. It's also the muscle that is closest to the skin. It's used to adduct and medially rotate the upper arm.

Pectoralis minor

The pectoralis minor is just under the pectoralis major and forms part of the anterior wall of the axilla region. It mostly stabilizes your scapula by drawing it against your thoracic wall.

It should be noted that even though the pec is divided into these two parts, there are actually six separate sets of muscle fibres in the pectoralis muscle. This is important because these sets of fibres allow separate portions of the muscle to be moved independently by our nervous system. This is one of the reasons why our arms are so useful and powerful at many different angles and in many different positions. 

Serratus anterior

The serratus anterior originates at the first to eighth ribs (at the side of the chest) and inserts along the entire anterior length of the medial border of the scapula. It is used to rotate the scapula, which basically allows us to raise our arms over 90 degrees. 

Subclavius

The subclavius is a small muscle located directly underneath the clavicle, running horizontally. It is mostly used to anchor and depress the clavicle.

Why a strong chest is important

Every day you also use the pectoral muscles to do things like pushing a heavy door open, washing your hair, or simply getting out of bed.

As you can guess, your chest muscles are important for many everyday things including flexing your upper arm when you swim, moving your arm inward when you ride a bike, rotating your arm bone toward your body while you walk or run, and also simply helping you take a deep breath.

Every day you also use the pectoral muscles to do things like pushing a heavy door open, heaving a heavy load of laundry over your head, washing your hair, or simply getting out of bed. Even though they're not exerting the primary force, your pecs are even active when you pick a bag up off the floor, throw a ball, or push a grocery cart.

Because of those everyday actions (and more), getting a stronger chest is advantageous whether...

Keep reading on Quick and Dirty Tips