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Febrary 21...Jim P. is working out hard and consistently and has been making sound progress for over three years. He's 53 and looking for upper pec development. Think of it a minute and you realize you never see a bodybuilder with under developed lower pectorals. Our favorites, the classic bench press, the flat dumbbell press and dips see to that. It's high across the clavicle and into the front delt where most bodybuilders struggle. By origin there's not lot of muscle tissue in this region with which to work. And remember, muscular-skeletal structure and genetics play an important part in all of this.

Front delt and upper pec, though separate in action, are often engaged in the same exercise. Jim, for muscle mass try steep dumbbell inclines (60% to 75%) - with palms forward and upper arms coming down to just past parallel position, elbows at 90%, dumbbells parallel to the floor. Press up with a 2 count to a position directly over your forehead for 4 or 5 sets of 15, 12, 10, 8 rep variation. I like supersets - throw in dumbbell shrugs starting with a moderate weight, working up the rack for sets of 6 to 8. This keeps you moving, focused and works traps and upper pec. Perform the shrugs as follows to emphasize upper chest mass recruitment: with dumbbells in front of the body, stoop slightly allowing shoulders to drop forward. Take in a deep breath and with might, roll shoulders up fully and lean back as you do. Finalize your motion by assuming a fully flexed erect military position. This brings in some spinalis, mid back, spinatus, and lots of traps and upper pec.

I don't recommend rigid barbell inclines as I view this exercise a threat to the rotator cuff. I suggest, however, that you experiment with the front press on the Smith machine going as deep as possible without endangering the shoulder, elbow or lower back. Go for light weight, reps and pumping - not power.

Cable crossovers work well to recruit the entire chest. Stand in the center of the apparatus with cables in hand. Take a giant step forward and with stiff arms, draw handles high and straight forward, leaning as you do to counter balance the resistance. Continue with full range of motion, extending and contracting evenly and deliberately. Focus on upper pec contraction for 6 reps until the burn is significant and then shift handle movement 45% toward the floor. This engages more pec mass and allows another 6 reps to burnout. Look for rhythm here.

Pulldowns to the front, wide grip, elbows drawn back as you pull the bar toward your chin (keeping a nice concave arch in the back) also engages minor pec. Specifically a lat movement, this incidentally benefits high pec/delt tie-in. Sweet bonus.

Another real possibility is the forward plate raise. This is a meaningful movement that serves as both a warm up and muscle builder. It's spliced into my mid-section routine; usually supersetted with incline leg raises as prep for my forth-coming delt/chest workout. Grab a 10lb plate and with stiff arms raise the plate from the waist to somewhere nearly straight overhead. Work up to a 25lb plate with reps at 12, 10, and 8. Four sets work well to effect the target region. A regulated body thrust enables you to go heavier (35-45lbs) and the movement takes on the action of a "clean." Your handgrip vigorously pressing inward is what accounts for the chest-specific action. Tough stuff as you go heavy. Focus on the negatives. This selection of exercises should be a regular part of your repertoire. Strategically placed, they are full of purpose with an emphasis on the resistant upper chest area.

Hit it, kiddo, you've only go another 50 years to go.