Body Building... No. 1 of a Series Developing (i BEGINNING this serics of bodybuilding articles T[osst wit cover alt part ofthe ty, 1 have selected thle chest to start beeause I firmly believe the chest is one of the most important sections of the body to know ‘and understand. ‘With a large chest one is almost certain to have greater lung power and capacity, which is vitally important to health and longevity. Furthermore, anyone anxious to retain robust health and be physically fit should take every means to acquire larger and stronger lungs and a spacious ribbox. On the other hand some of the present- day bodybuilders are apt to misconstrue my point and assume I am encouraging larger chests through develop- ment of the external muscles that envelop it. This con- | clusion is far from being factual, and though we all agree that such muscles are essential to the makeup of the ‘chest, to a degree of course, they mean very little com- pared to actual ling size and power and could even hinder capacity chest expansion if such muscles were acquired through “muscle spinning” exereises that do not activate the ribs themselves, However, when such mus- cles are acquired by exercises employed for ribbox ex- pansion, such movements help rather than hinder, Ex- ercises that help to expand the chest are far more impor- tant than those which build only massive pectorals and spreading latissimus dorsi, Because of its importance on this treatise of chest development I will divide it into two parts, permitting more space to be alloted to the structure and foundation this month, while exereiscs that help to shape the chest will be discussed more thoroughly in the next issue Tam fully convinced that anyone who is inter in building a powerful looking chest will agree wh say that developing a sound and spacious ribbox is the true foundation of an outstanding chest, while the devel- opment of external muscles are much easier to acquire ‘and definitely less important. Nevertheless, opinions vary and there are many weight men who feel a large and well developed chest implies nothing more than ‘physical impressiveness.” However, I can assure read- ers that it is more than that, and the more you learn about the chest and its structure, the more successful will be your efforts to build a perfect body. ‘Let me impress upon you this ono point; any chest which has a voluminous ribbox will allow more freedom for the lungs, heart and other organs located in this aed ay eeraaetal region, to function more efficiently for the vigorous doo Nista, Jr.. of Brooklyn, demonstrates the most feral health. ‘The fact is, most people use only a small frac~ useebent bese having. 908 Ot aero tion of their lung capacity which weakens the lungs and je serratus magnut muscles, which elways accompanies complete ches! davelopment ‘makes them more susceptible to infection. Strong lungs 2% STRENGTH AND HEALTHThe secret of @ harmonious muscular development lation. became the greatest bodybuilder of ‘explains the fundamentals of Sensible Physical T BY JOHN C. GRIMEK In building TW was not by mere chance that John Grimek era. This series of articles ing building from the INSIDE OUT instead of the Monster-Building Technia of Cheat le er sree ois oe gece eockcmen es ese eee Serene ee ee ee eee ee | height te Caos ee ree oe eens tates tg tree ee eee FREES on eed | eee eee eo ees Bee re 0 ES pce Pe cese oe ee conee rec ees on es fee eee coe es ee eee ee a pling pee res ao a Toa lege ee oo eo ooo. Soe eis pe agi aid a aes oe (ete ae a es Sees ieee ec sai oe THE CHEST BOX 1. First section of the ster- num and clavioular chest space, 2. Second section of the sternum and intercostal chest space. $. Third section of the sternum. 4. Diaphragm Section of the ‘chest space. Note merging of ribs into. the ‘major cartilage.” § and. 7, The gristly cartilage which joins the ribs to the sternum bone. 6. The ribs. + JANUARY, 1957 fing from the OUTSIDE IN. ek shows depth of chest and Note the serratus magnus muscles indication of chest” and tungproper exercise is employed to bring about deep, forceful breathing, However, those who have shallow chests wil show a different chest type than those who possess deeper chests, ‘This structive is particularly noti you lift the arms overhead and take a deep breath, which retracts the abdomen, revealing the shape and size of the thoracic arch, In shallow chests the ribs extend much lower into the abdominal region, while larger chests show the thoracie arch in a higher position with more breadth, proving that ribbox expansion is aided by the ble when the ribbox. Note thet hips are of bench. 30 ribs being pulled up and out. ‘This brings to mind another point, Most men who have outstanding “V" shapes do not usually have deep ehests, because the smaller the ribbox is in the abdominal region, the more pronounced will be the tapering effect. Therefore, as the ribbox grows and expands in the area between the waist and chest, more broadness is acquired which cuts down the tapering effect, unless the shoulders and back are broadened proportionately, resulting in a more massive upper body. Moreover, men with the best shaped abdomens are usually those with narrower chests, since this structural type favors shaplier ab- domens and tapering torsos. However there are others who have the ability to control their ribs and compress. them while flexing their abdomens, and expand them remarkably well when they lift their chests in that old familiar chest pose! ‘The untrained man is always impressed by measure~ ments. When he hears about a chest girth of 50 inches, he is intrigued, because he knows his own chest is less than 40 inches, Today a 50 inch chest appears to be quite common, or at least many bodybuilders make such claims, yet it may not be as impressive as it sounds, because many such chests are derived from lat-flexing and bulging pectorals, muscles which are still rather flat looking when one observes them, Many men have broad shoulders but lack sufficient depth to bring the chest to better proportions. Such men should specialize on ex- panding the ribbox instead of secking means to broaden their shoulders and widening their backs, or attempting to deepen their chests by thickening the pectoral muscles only... which cannot be done! A good chest must be built from the inside owt instead of from the outside in. How can you enlarge the ribbox most effectively? ‘There are a number of exercises for chest development, but some are more suecessful than others. Many of these movements work directly on the chest itself, which is important to be sure, but the ribbox is influenced more through exereises that force deeyer breathing than. by dipping exereises that work the muscles alone, and therein lice the whole secret of chest enlarging. In fact, movements which raise the arms overhead activate the strong serratus magnus muscles which lie along each side of the ribs and are directly attached to them, and these help to lift the ribs up and out in alll overhead STRENGTH AND HEALTH