Chest Exercises For Men – PhD Scientist Says Most Are Wrong

Article by Raffy Chan

Most people probably wouldn’t associate chemical engineering with creating a better body, but for a scientist in England, the connection is obvious. Dr. Nick Hallale, a former lecturer at the University of Manchester, believes that the fundamental chemical and physical processes used to transform raw materials into finished products are just as applicable to the human body as they are to any other manufacturing process.

In his mid-30s, Hallale applied his scientific knowledge to the challenge of getting back to his college-age shape, with startling results. He has recently released his system, which he calls “The Apollo Program” because of the strong influence of ancient Greek athletes. His research into classical training methods showed him how many of today’s diet and exercise beliefs are wrong – including the favourite chest exercises for men.

“I wasn’t interested in looking enormous or ‘ripped’ like a modern bodybuilder,” he says. “But I had always admired the toned, streamlined physiques on Greek statues, and I hit the museums and libraries to see how I could achieve the same.”

His quest for the ideal Greek body led him to revive some almost-extinct concepts, like the “tetrad” method for creating a workout program, and exercises like the ancient Greek long jump and the archer. The latter involves mimicking the actions of shooting a bow and arrow, and is, in his experience, one of the best ways to lead into chest exercises for men.

“The archer movement is done without actually holding a bow and arrow in the hands,” he explains, “but the movement is the same.” By repeating these actions on the left and right sides in quick succession, the chest muscles are warmed up and receive a dynamic stretch, preparing them for harder training. The rapid changes from left to right also enhance coordination and mental focus.

Perhaps surprisingly, the ever-popular bench press doesn’t feature in The Apollo Program’s armory of chest exercises for men. “I’d always believed that the bench press was how to build chest muscles, but found out that this isn’t necessarily true.” His experimentation showed that it tends to build bulk in the lower and mid chest, which can often make the chest look out of proportion.

“None of the Greek statues I saw in museums had massive chest muscles,” he recalls. “In fact, the classical ideal body had a chest that is much smaller and less pronounced than what is seen on bodybuilders today.” Because of this, Hallale’s recommended chest exercises for men tend to favor bodyweight workouts, with some use of dumbbells.

Although his findings may draw the wrath of many professional bodybuilders, at least one big name seems to agree. Vince Gironda, a famous competitor and coach from the 20th century, wrote something similar in his classic book, Unleashing the Wild Physique (Sterling Publishing Co., 1986). His advice on how to build chest muscles is to make them look like “slabs” rather than “bulging and hanging from sheer weight.” He too was not a fan of the bench press and advocated other exercises instead.

Gironda (a.k.a. “The Iron Guru”) had an impressive list of students, including many bodybuilding champions, as well as actors like Clint Eastwood, Kurt Russell and Carl Weathers (who played Apollo in the Rocky movies!). So it seems that the ancient Greeks still have some support when it comes to chest exercises for men.

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