Lung Busters
by David Gentle
Build the chest expansion of a champion, with our exercise suggestions....
A top priority for those wishing to become an award winning bodybuilder, is
the attainment of a large muscular chest...epitomized by the latest Olympian or
Universe line up... All have the enviable combination of muscle mass, vital
chest expansion and huge lung capacity, developed by both muscle fibre pumping
and thorax stretching exercises. Its a fact, champions of whatever sport
chosen, gain vitality through deep breathing and the acquisition of powerful
lungs through the practise of cardiovascular exercise...
Life is Breath
All life requires oxygen. We have to breathe to stay alive, obtaining an average 1 to 2 k of oxygen daily from the air, absorbing it into the blood stream. With an average rate of respiration for adults being from 16 to 18 per minute, a rate which may be increased by emotions or exercise. We breathe during an average lifetime 500 million times, feeding oxygen into 13,000 million nerve cells via 60,000 miles of arteries, veins and tine capillaries... The increased circulation aids in the repairing and rebuilding up of the tissues and removing lactic acid and other fatigue poisons from the body...The lungs follow the fundamental physiology law, that the functional efficiency of an organ or system improves WITH USE...
Breathing or respiration is divided into inspiration and expiration...inhaling and exhaling. Fresh air normally contains one fifth oxygen and four fifths nitrogen. When expiration takes place one fifth of its oxygen is exchanged for an equal amount of carbon dioxide.
When we inhale air reaches the lungs who's walls are designed to carry oxygen to nourish the blood and to take away carbon dioxide. Air breathed in through the nose warms the air and filters dust, and dirt with small hairs and germ killing mucus. Passing through the nose (mouth breathing is of course similarly directed, but not warmed or filtered) through the pharynx and trachea dividing into two bronchi, each of which enters a lung, protected by the RIB BOX...
The rib box or THORAX is a bony case formed in front by the sternum and costal cartilages with ribs on each side and the thoracic vertebra behind. The THORAX supports the upper extremities and shoulder girdle, containing and protecting the vital heart and lungs. The larger, with exercise and sport, or weight training, you stretch the thorax, the greater the capacity for the vital organs through developed CHEST EXPANSION...
Champion Chest Expansion
It is a paradox of pumping iron, that the larger your chest becomes, the smaller your measurable chest expansion...i.e. from normal to inflated. Way back in the pioneer days of bodybuilding when Eugen Sandow was king, he boasted of a 14 inch chest expansion. What he really meant was the differential between his contracted, i.e. when made as SMALL as possible, to inflated chest size...
Sandow would then demonstrate this quite substantial variation in chest size by expanding his chest, which included flexing his latissimus dorsi (lats), and in this position strap a leather belt around his chest, he would then exhale contracting his chest to such an extent, that it was possible to slip in between the belt and his contracted chest a full size 'bowler' hat. Many moons later the legendary John Grimek, who is celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of his Mr. America win this year, demonstrated the same ability and chest control, reporting a similar wide range from contraction to expansion.
A fifty inch chest was once considered enormous, now hosts of top stars boast of such measurements, from short to tall classes. Most bodybuilders when measuring chest normally tense the 'lats', if only just a little...resulting in little difference between normal and chest expanded. One of the largest chest in modern times must have belonged, in his peak to Arnold Schwarzenegger, now famed for his movie roles...Arnold increased his chest size from an average 39 inches to a massive 60 inches expanded. Arnold admitted that in his early training days, he made the common mistake of paying most attention, in his chest workouts, of pumping pectorals, and little if any effort spent on expanding his rib box...the real basis of chest size. Once he realized the importance of expanding the THORAX, total increase was over 20 inches in under 5 years of training...at the same time increasing his bodyweight by 88 lbs of muscle. The main chest expansion exercise Arnold used at that important period of his career was the straight arm pullover. Further chest related exercises, were squats, in high repetitions to ensure high, deep and forced breathing...bench presses in all of their varieties, dips, decline bench presses (for the lower pecs) dumbbell flyes, pullovers, both straight and bent arm , over all types of benches, including cross over bench pullovers, lying dumbbells press and parallel bar dips, great for lats, pecs and triceps.
Breathing Exercises
Although no one would deny the development of the external chest muscles...the pectorals et al, is important, or indeed even essential, to win physique to figure contests. It is a mistake to place less emphasis on true chest EXPANSION...on true chest health, lung capacity, via a spacious rib box, the true foundation to chest size. Very few people really stretch their chests or use anywhere near the true capacity of their lungs, thus leaving untapped a great reservoir of vitality and energy.
Greater efficiency and expansion of the thorax, comes from regular practise of heavy exercises, those which place a genuine DEMAND upon the cardiovascular system. This demand coupled with exercises such as the pre-mentioned pullovers, which stretch the cartilage masses encourage true flexibility of the ribs. Because the ribs are flexible and connected to the breast and backbone with cartilages it is possible to increase them after normal maturity or when maximum height has occurred.
Both physique and fitness experts agree the chest should be developed, from the inside out...including exercises in your schedule which combine both essentials, i.e. vigorous demands leading to forced breathing...as for example...with oxygen demanding squats and other heavy movements which activate the serratus magnus, those small but important muscles which help to lift the ribs overhead, upwards and outwards. The leg work prior to the light stretching exercises, must be in high enough repetitions, normally 12 to 25 reps. with medium poundages, followed IMMEDIATELY, whilst breathing deeply, with the expansion exercise, using light resistance only, so as not to interfere with the genuine action of the thorax. In this special article relating to CHEST EXPANSION, we are not interested or concentrating on capillary pump, or power...simply the stretching and expansion of the chest wall.
Squats Build Lung Power
Some early bodybuilders discovered that they made great gains in chest SIZE plus all over muscle mass, with the ONE exercise system of the classic breathing squat. This proven system, consisted of the exercises, doing just one set of squats, using approximately his or her bodyweight for resistance for high reps, usually 20 to 25...The difference from normal, deep knee bends for reps, being that in-between EACH REP, from commencement of the exercise to the end of the set, the trainee paused and took 3 or 4 forced deep breaths, so that by the time the final repetitions was reached, the lungs were almost fit to burst...This system, combined with a high carb diet (usually lots of milk protein) was when in vogue, responsible for thousands of happy 'bulk' gainers, and it is still worth trying out if you just wish to gain some fast weight. As an improvement the best known combination of all for chest size, is that happy duo of one set of squats of say 15 reps followed without pause by one set of dumbell/barbell or swingbell (centrally loaded dumbell rod)...pullovers with a light weight, to expand chest, using again about 15 reps, then it is back to the knee bends...super set the two exercises for 4 to 5 sets...and it WILL bring results.
For our purpose, that been gaining extra stretch and mobility of the thorax, we recommend the straight arm version of the pullover, but of course the bent arm pullover, with dumbbell or barbell serves equally well, as it is also a tough triceps and lat builder. A great exercise RICHARD GASPARI, LEE HANEY, THE MIGHTY QUINN all use in their schedules one version or another of the pullover, to pump and swell their mighty chests and build up lung power.
Lung Busters
It takes powerful lungs to squat or bench press heavy, but consider also some of the following demonstrations of INTERNAL chest power...Holding breath underwater, an attribute required by professional divers usually at least double that of the 'normal' person is a tough test...Some amazing times have been claimed and recorded in the past without the aid of pre oxygen build ups...James Finney in 1886 in London stayed submerged for 4 minutes, 29 seconds in a water tank. In l893 Prof. E. Lowell is recorded as holding his breath for 4 mins, 46 seconds...and more recently a Frenchman Monsieur Palu Quen remained under water for an amazing 6 mins, 29 seconds. For updated records, I suggest to refer to the Guinness Book of World Records as facts and figures constantly change.
Even more amazing are some of the claims of various YOGI or FAKIRS, claiming to have the ability to hold the breath for long periods...but beware, some are suspected of trickery, and come into the realms of circus performers. Not trickery is the now well known demonstration of blowing up water bottles, as performed by Peter Lindop or BILL PEARL, CHUCK SIPES, JOHN CITRONE and many other title holders past and present...It takes a LOT of lung power to be able to burst a rubber water bottle, and it is also a dangerous stunt, so take care if you attempt such a test of inner strength.
Chest Shape Up
Pectoral building is a popular pastime amongst iron pumpers, probably because of the comparative ease with which these muscles respond to exercise...Scrawny chests can soon be covered with armour plated pecs...Those unfortunates amongst us (and we are not talking of drug users...) who by genetics may have a hormone imbalance, namely gynecosmastia (which steroid users call bitch tits) should seek medical attention i.e. surgery, if diet or sensible exercises failed to cure their special problem.
Dumbbell flyes, the choice exercise of the champions work the pecs in all heads, outer, inner and upper chest. Incline for upper pectorals, decline for lower. The standard flat bench press is best used for the main and outer muscle belly of the pectorals. Bench presses with wide grip/hand spacing, gets the outer pecs, and for most allows the use of more weight...for power, try lots of descending sets of low reps, pyramiding the poundages and reps. For more size...on the tape, chest circumference..further muscle can be acquired if you include in your training schedule, exercise for the latissimus dorsi, e.g. plenty of barbell/dumbbell rowing, chins, dips and pull ups... All or any of these will add SIZE, but for real lung busting power, build the solid foundation of a strong RIB BOX first.
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