The MIDDLE Chest Solution (GET DEFINED PECS!) – ATHLEAN-X™

by YouTube Team

If you want to develop the middle chest or the inner chest to get more defined pecs, you need to watch this video. Here I’m going to show you the only way you can effectively improve the visual appearance of this portion of the chest muscle. Here’s a spoiler, you cannot directly improve only this portion of the pecs but because of the contrast this area provides, you can get it to start looking better quickly if you do the right things.

First thing again that you need to realize is that the inner chest or middle chest is not something you can directly hypertrophy. This is simply the attachment point or the origin of the pec major muscle. As with all muscular attachments however, we are talking about a tendon connecting to a bone (in this case the sternum) at this inner most portion of the pectoralis major.

As we know, tendons are not capable of the hypertrophy that a muscle is. At the point of attachment, the muscle is going to be essentially sutured down to the bone and stay close to that point even as the muscle itself starts to grow. It is the visual differential in depth that is created as the muscle starts to grow away from the ribcage that gives the deepening effect of the middle chest.

This means, if you want to get your middle chest to look more defined and better overall, you are going to have to grow the entire chest muscle.

That said, as with any muscle that you are seeking to improve the way it looks you should always start with looking at your diet. If you have too high body fat levels you are never going to get the chest to look as ripped and muscular as you would like. Higher body fat levels tend to accumulate in chest fat for men making even a larger chest look less desirable than one that is smaller but more lean.

Beyond the chest anatomy however is the way you train it and the type of chest workouts and chest exercises you perform.

One of the most important things you can do if you want to build a bigger chest is remember to not just focus on strength building exercises. Some of the most classic chest strength exercises like the bench press, incline bench press, weighted dips and weighted pushups are all lacking one very important element – chest adduction capability. Because your hands are in a fixed position on every one of those chest exercises you are not able to bring them close together or across midline to get a complete chest contraction.

When you are trying to build the inner chest or any portion of your chest really, you have to make sure you don’t forget to include some exercises that allow your hands the freedom of motion to do this. That said, take an exercise like the cable crossover. Even if you perform this regularly in your chest workouts but stop your arm as soon as it gets to the point of your midline you won’t get the type of results you would if you brought it all the way across your midline.

When looking to build your chest you have to remember to take it to a point of a complete pec contraction.

Now of course you will visually see the improvement of the inner chest appearance just by getting into this position. Don’t be confused. This is just the shortening of the muscle due to this increased contraction that makes it stand out more. However, the repeated repetitions that you will accumulate by doing this the right way on your chest exercises will allow the overall growth of the muscle to be higher which is going to result in the depth of the line increasing over time.

There is some additional science that supports the need for more adduction of the arm across the body if you want to grow a bigger chest. The existence of something called non-spanning fibers. When these fibers are engaged by the contraction of the fully spanning fibers that run from your arm to your sternum, they too can participate in the contraction and experience the same growth that typical fibers do.

If you don’t engage them by ever bringing your arm far enough across your body to do so, they will never experience the growth stimulation possible and the overall size of the chest will remain smaller. Remember, if you want to get your middle chest to look more defined you have to be sure you are growing the muscle as much as possible. Maximum stimulation of the muscle across the chest exercises you perform is the goal always.

If you are looking for more advanced training techniques built on muscle science to get more than just defined inner pecs, be sure to head to athleanx.com via the link below and use the program selector to find the program that matches your current goals.

For more videos on chest workouts for the middle chest and the best inner chest exercises, be sure to subscribe to our youtube channel via the link below and remember to turn on your notifications so you never miss a new video when it’s published.

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26 comments

ATHLEAN-X™ May 13, 2021 - 5:45 pm

NOTIFICATION SQUAD GIVEAWAY – It’s back!! Alright guys, I’m giving away a complete 30 Day Workout program to 100 lucky clickers within the first hour this video is published! Remember, this is NOT THE FIRST 100, but those randomly selected within the first hour the video is published. Click the link to see if you’ve won. No strings attached! 
https://giveaway.athleanx.com/ytg/middle-chest-solution

If you don’t win, no worries, you’re not going away empty handed. Just be sure you have your notifications turned on so you can get to my next video quickly and try again. Good luck and thanks for being a loyal subscriber…

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IA AMARA July 20, 2021 - 5:41 pm

Hello, is this movement duable on the peck deck machine ? cheers !

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Amin_hd July 21, 2021 - 9:50 pm

⭐Join my arm and abs challenge 💪😉

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Michael Riley July 29, 2021 - 11:36 am

Clear & concise. Always great stuff.

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Sarma Kota July 30, 2021 - 4:40 am

Thanks for all useful tips 🤝

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Ben August 10, 2021 - 8:39 pm

The thumbnail is misleading. As jeff mentions in this video you cant neccessarily focus on developing the "inner chest". You can only increase the force of contraction into a fully adducted position from varying angles.

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Byron Rogers August 22, 2021 - 4:05 pm

Any tips for someone with pectus excavatum?

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SUHAS KIRAN August 28, 2021 - 1:52 pm

Parents to kids : don't write on your body it's bad..
Ma man : hold my dumbbell…

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erion preme August 30, 2021 - 5:34 am

is there a pushup variation that can do this effect?

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Anatole Navarro August 31, 2021 - 3:36 am

Is there a way to do this at home with only a kettle bell and dumb bells

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bryan donald September 7, 2021 - 2:42 pm

He talks too much , just show me exercises

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Leo for life September 8, 2021 - 8:48 am

Me : listening to peaceful music in high volume
Sees athleanx video
Forgets about the volume and clicks the video
Dead🤪

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Josh Feliciano October 5, 2021 - 3:31 am

Very smart and dedicated

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kaddour bilal October 11, 2021 - 2:52 pm

Merci

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UnderRatedEdits October 12, 2021 - 2:20 am

1 day of asking Jeff to upload how to fix your middle chest bone that connects your chest muscles. Please guys help me reach out to Jeff so he sees my comment as I’m having problems for almost 1 year in my middle chest bone it’s really really stiff.

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Albion Galaj October 13, 2021 - 10:39 pm

You cant focus on only the inner chest.

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CALAN KUSHAL October 16, 2021 - 4:26 pm

Always remember, no matter the exercise, if you do not exert yourself and give the body a reason to grow, it won't! And the b

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AHS FLA October 30, 2021 - 6:18 pm

Jeff, you're the man!

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huzair Ansari November 1, 2021 - 12:30 pm

Great explaining technique, helpful video

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spencer layne November 8, 2021 - 7:50 am

I've come to the conclusion that this guy is just a bullshitter chasing views and YouTube money. Who photo shops a man with no abs from a guy who has abs?

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Niraj nigum,neaion Thapa November 18, 2021 - 6:29 pm

It’s good 😊 !!

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Pooria Khoshnevisan December 2, 2021 - 12:36 am

Greetings from a University of Toronto Physical Therapy student sir! You’re a big part of what made me want to be a PT. Thanks for the amazing work Jeff! You’re in my top 5 PTs of all time.

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Vian Malaka December 2, 2021 - 2:34 am

Ik what workout to do but whats the best diet to build muscle

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Vian Malaka December 2, 2021 - 2:34 am

Ik what workout to do but whats the best diet to build muscle

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Edward Meaden-Cox December 13, 2021 - 1:36 pm

Will this close my chest gap, I swear my sternum is so prominent and there is no muscle over it

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Bala Saravanan December 26, 2021 - 3:26 pm

Thank you very much sir

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