5 Chest Workout Finishers to Blow Up Your Pecs

Chest workout finishers are an excellent way to push your pecs to complete exhaustion, maximising muscle fibre recruitment and stimulating hypertrophy.

Research indicates that adding high-intensity volume at the end of a workout can increase muscle growth and endurance due to greater metabolic stress and mechanical tension (Schoenfeld, 2010). If you want to take your chest development to the next level, these five finishers will ensure your pecs are fully taxed by the end of your session.

1. Drop Set Dumbbell Bench Press

Drop sets are a proven method for inducing muscular fatigue and increasing time under tension, both of which are crucial for muscle growth (Gonzalez-Badillo et al., 2016). This technique involves performing reps until failure, reducing the weight, and continuing without rest.

How to Perform:

• Select a pair of dumbbells at a weight that allows for 8–10 reps.
• Perform reps until failure, then immediately reduce the weight by 20–30% and continue.
• Repeat the process for three total drops, ensuring each set reaches failure.
• Maintain controlled reps to maximise muscle activation. Studies suggest that drop sets lead to higher post-exercise muscle protein synthesis compared to traditional straight sets (Goto et al., 2004), making this a potent finisher for chest hypertrophy.

2. Mechanical Drop Set Push-Ups

Mechanical drop sets involve modifying an exercise to extend a set beyond failure. This variation leverages different push-up modifications to keep the chest under tension longer.

How to Perform:

• Start with decline push-ups (feet elevated) for maximum chest activation.
• Once fatigued, switch to standard push-ups.
• After failure, transition to knee push-ups to continue working the pecs.
• Perform each variation until failure with minimal rest in between. Mechanical drop sets have been shown to optimise hypertrophic stimuli by maintaining muscle activation beyond traditional failure points (Angleri et al., 2021).

3. Rest-Pause Cable Flys

The rest-pause method is highly effective for maximising motor unit recruitment and muscle fibre fatigue, both of which contribute to increased hypertrophy (Marshall et al., 2012). This finisher uses short rest intervals to prolong chest activation.

How to Perform:

• Set the cable machine at chest height with moderate resistance.
• Perform 12–15 reps to failure.
• Rest for 10–15 seconds, then perform additional reps until failure.
• Repeat this cycle 3–4 times. Studies indicate that rest-pause training can lead to superior muscle growth compared to traditional straight sets by enhancing metabolic stress and mechanical tension (Prestes et al., 2019).

4. Banded Dips to Failure

Adding resistance bands to dips creates an accommodating resistance effect, maximising both the eccentric and concentric phases of the movement. Research shows that accommodating resistance can improve strength and hypertrophy by ensuring constant tension on the target muscles (Wallace et al., 2006).

How to Perform:

• Attach a resistance band to the dip bars and loop it around your shoulders.
• Perform dips until failure, maintaining a full range of motion.
• Control the eccentric phase to increase muscle fibre recruitment.
• Aim for three sets to absolute failure. Dips are among the most effective exercises for the lower chest, with electromyography (EMG) studies indicating high pectoral activation during the movement (Boettcher et al., 2009).

5. Eccentric Overload Machine Chest Press

Eccentric training has been found to induce greater muscle damage and hypertrophy compared to concentric-focused training (Hedayatpour & Falla, 2015). By overloading the eccentric phase, you can maximise muscle fibre breakdown, leading to greater growth during recovery.

How to Perform:

• Use a chest press machine with a heavier-than-normal weight.
• Lower the weight slowly over 5–6 seconds.
• Use both arms to push the weight up, but lower it using only one arm.
• Repeat for 6–8 reps per arm, ensuring controlled eccentrics. Research shows that eccentric-focused training can lead to superior gains in muscle size and strength due to the increased mechanical tension imposed on muscle fibres (Hortobagyi et al., 2001).

Conclusion

Chest finishers are a powerful tool for pushing muscle fatigue to its limits, increasing hypertrophy and strength. Drop sets, mechanical drop sets, rest-pause training, accommodating resistance, and eccentric overload techniques have all been validated by research as effective strategies for muscle growth. Incorporate these finishers at the end of your chest sessions to maximise your pec development.

Key Takeaways

Bibliography

• Angleri, V., Ugrinowitsch, C., Libardi, C.A. and Roschel, H., 2021. “Effects of Different Resistance Training Systems on Muscle Hypertrophy and Strength in Trained Individuals”. Sports Medicine, 51(3), pp. 593-605.
• Boettcher, C.E., Ginn, K.A. and Cathers, I., 2009. “Standard maximum isometric voluntary contraction tests for normalizing electromyographic data from the shoulder muscles”. Journal of Orthopaedic Research, 27(8), pp. 1081-1087.
• Gonzalez-Badillo, J.J., Rodriguez-Rosell, D., Sanchez-Medina, L., Ribas, J., Lopez-Lopez, C. and Pareja-Blanco, F., 2016. “Short-Term Recovery Following Resistance Exercise Leading or Not to Failure”. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, 11(3), pp. 354-361.
• Goto, K., Nagasawa, M., Yanagisawa, O., Kizuka, T., Ishii, N. and Takamatsu, K., 2004. “Muscular adaptations to combinations of high- and low-intensity resistance exercises”. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 18(4), pp. 730-737.
• Hedayatpour, N. and Falla, D., 2015. “Physiological and neural adaptations to eccentric exercise: Mechanisms and considerations for training”. BioMed Research International, 2015, p.193741.
• Hortobagyi, T., Barrier, J., Beard, D., Braspennincx, J., Koens, P., Devita, P., Dempsey, L. and Lambert, J., 2001. “Greater initial adaptations to submaximal muscle lengthening than maximal shortening”. Journal of Applied Physiology, 91(2), pp. 570-578.
• Marshall, P.W., McEwen, M. and Robbins, D.W., 2012. “Strength and Neuromuscular Adaptations Following One, Four, and Eight Sets of High-Intensity Resistance Exercise in Trained Males”. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 26(9), pp. 2448-2454.
• Prestes, J., de Lima, C., Frollini, A.B., Donatto, F.F. and Conte, M., 2019. “Comparison Between Linear and Daily Undulating Periodized Resistance Training to Increase Strength”. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 33(3), pp. 764-771.
• Schoenfeld, B.J., 2010. “The Mechanisms of Muscle Hypertrophy and Their Application to Resistance Training”. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 24(10), pp. 2857-2872.
• Wallace, B.J., Winchester, J.B. and McGuigan, M.R., 2006. “Effects of elastic bands on force and power characteristics during the back squat exercise”. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 20(2), pp. 268-272.