Bodybuilders obsess over obscure muscles that nobody has even heard of. Most gym bros are happy with 6-pack abs. But Bodybuilders? No. They’ve got to have an 8-pack (genetics permitting) with some razor-sharp serratus anterior on the side. They’ll spend two hours a week working out a muscle that most people think is a bone!
Every muscle counts. Every muscle is an important part of the final masterpiece. So why isn’t anybody talking about the masseter? That’s the meaty muscle on the side of your jaw. The one Brad Pitt is famous for.
There are more articles, videos, and information about getting deep cuts in your hamstrings than there are about building your jawline! How many people see your hamstrings compared to your face? One for every hundred? One for every thousand?
I think I know why. It’s because people don’t think there’s anything you can do about your jawline:
“Sure, you can lose weight- but that’s about it. You can’t change your genetics.”
I get so annoyed when I hear that. You are a Bodybuilder. Your job is to build muscle and deny your genetics. Having a strong jawline is mainly due to having developed masseter muscles. It’s a muscle, and it can be grown just like any other. There’s just not a lot of information on how.
Do Those Rubber “Jawline Exercisers” Work?
You’ve probably seen the rise of jawline exercisers over the years. You may have even tried them. In any case, these rubber squash ball-type things are popping up all over everybody’s Instagram feeds. Do they work? Not in my own personal experience. But there are before and after photos floating that show mixed results. I don’t doubt that they give your face a workout… just not the type of workout that you actually want.
The problem is: it’s not a natural movement. Our jaw structures weren’t designed to bite down with our incisor teeth repeatedly with our mouth wide open- that’s essentially the range of motion these things simulate. It places a lot of stress on the jaw hinge and will ultimately lead to TMJ (Temporomandibular Joint). Not only that- it doesn’t even train the right muscle!
Chewing with your mouth wide open like that puts more stress on the temporalis muscle than it does on the masseter. The temporalis is higher up on the side of your head, and not particularly “aesthetically pleasing”. You don’t exactly want to build it, because it contributes to a “round face” look.
You want to solely emphasize the masseter. It’s stimulated when your teeth are closer together and you’re chewing and grinding something like tough meat. That’s the motion you want to repeatedly simulate to stress the masseter into growing.
The temporalis muscle on the side of your head is NOT a muscle you want to grow!
The SAFE Jawline Workout That Actually Works
Believe it or not, chewing gum is a great way to improve your jawline. It’s a natural movement (just like chewing food) and you don’t have to dedicate part of your day to do it. You can chew gum while you’re working, driving, or training. Apart from actually being effective, it’s a far more convenient way to work out your jaw muscles than any rubber tool.
But obviously chewing gum doesn’t provide much of a workout. You could chew for hours and hardly stress your muscles. It’s like trying to build muscle by running a marathon. You’ve got to add weight and increase the resistance.
You’ve got to chew a harder type of gum. Natural tree resins and saps are the best you’ll find. Mastic gum, for example, is 10x harder than regular gum. It’s sugar and calorie-free. And it’s 100% natural. It’s literally a sap picked from a tree on the Greek island Chios. It’s had wars fought over it and it was even once more valuable gold- but that’s another story.
10x harder means 10x more resistance for your masseter. It turns the chewing movement from cardio to a power lift. I’ve seen firsthand how effective it can be. And I’ve yet to hear of anyone complaining of TMJ or a clicking jaw. It seems to be safe and there hasn’t been a backlash against it from the Orthodontics community like there was with the other jawline exercisers.
If you want to work out your “sexiest” muscle, then chewing mastic gum is a good bet. It’s one I’m taking, and I’ve seen newbie gains even though I’ve been lifting for 10 years. That seems to be common because it’s a muscle most people haven’t trained before.
Get Lean & Stay Lean
Just because you’ve built the muscle, doesn’t mean you can see the muscle- you know that. You’ve got to cut after a bulk in order to see the definition. Same for your jawline.
Chewing mastic gum (or whatever hard gum you like) will build mass in your masseter. The next step is to get lean so that all your hard work is visible. It’s worthless having a strong, muscular jawline if it’s covered in fat and invisible. How you do that is up to you. I don’t have any new innovative tips or concoctions to help. What works for me might not work for you.
All I know is every time I get lean I get compliments on how defined my face is. And every time, I make a mental note that I should stay lean forever… but then I get keen to build muscle and bulk again. It’s a crazy, endless cycle.
But even if you’re not too concerned with improving your jawline- don’t forget that losing weight is the best thing you can do to improve your entire appearance. Period.
Conclusion
Building and sculpting the jawline is still in the experimental phase. It’s not like building barn-door lats where everyone knows to Deadlift, Row and Pull-up. I think many of the current jaw exercisers will be revealed to be dangerous for the jaw joint in the long run. Perhaps chewing hard gum will be too. But if you want to build your jaw muscles, I’m betting that it’s at least a lot safer than anything else. It’s already proven to be more effective.