The Best Chest Exercises page lists great chest exercises.
The Best Chest Exercises page also links to other beneficial articles on the
topic.
Chest muscles are among the largest in your upper body, and
that is why it is better to perform more sets of exercises with these muscles
than with the smaller muscle groups. Do 7 to 12 sets of chest exercises per
workout, although true beginners should start with one set. By the way, 12 sets
doesn't mean a dozen sets of the same exercise; you may want to do 3 or 4
different exercises. Also, remember to begin each exercise with an easy warm-up
set.
There are 3 parts to an overall good chest workout. One exercise
needs to be a size builder; a compound movement where you use as much weight as
you can and still do 6-10 controlled reps. The best exercise for this is either
flat bench presses or dumbbells. I don't think you can go wrong either way as
long as your watching you're form.
Second, every chest routine needs an exercise for the upper
chest. Incline flies, incline dumbbell press or incline barbell press all work
well.
Finally, to carve out the valley between your pecs, no chest
routine should would be complete without some sort of cross-over movement.
Experienced bodybuilders who already have a good base of mass can go into cable
movements. For the rest of us who are still building a base of muscle, dumbbell
flies work best here.
The general rule for the number of repetitions is 8 to 15.
However, if you want to find out what your max bench press is (one of the
oldest bodybuilding traditions), you need to press the maximum amount of weight
in one rep. If you're going for your one-rep max, do a few warm-up sets and
gradually increasing the weight.
Bench Press
For dumbbell press, start seated on a bench with the weights
resting up and down on your quads. Lay back and swing the weights back to the
point where the corners of each dumbbell are just touching your outer pecs.
Push the weight up, bringing them slightly closer together at the top of the
movement. Lower the weight back down slowly; two seconds on the way down for
every second on the way up. Repeat.
For barbell press, Lie on your back on a flat bench, feet
flat on the floor either side. Grip barbell with hands a little more than
shoulder width apart. Hold barbell above your upper chest, arms straight.
Bending elbows, slowly lower barbell towards your chest without touching it.
Push barbell straight up over your chest; straighten arms and lock elbows.
Slowly lower barbell and repeat. Use a spotter to hold the barbell for you at
the start and end of this exercise.
Comments -
You may want to try alternating between the barbell and
dumbbells to get the best of both worlds. If you have symmetry problems then
use the barbell. The bar will keep your hands the same distance apart and force
your arms to go through exactly the same motion. By keeping the bar straight,
you will distribute the load more evenly and allow the weaker side to catch up.
Incline Bench Press
For dumbbells, lie squarely on an incline bench set at about
40 degrees, dumbbells should be no wider than shoulder width, grasp the
dumbbells with an overhand grip. Keep your feet flat on the floor and your back
straight. Now for the motion, press slowly upwards toward the ceiling, just
until your arms lock out, Pause, and then lower the dumbbells until they reach
chest height. Repeat movement. For barbell press, lie back on an incline bench
set at about 40 degrees, with your back and head on the incline, feet flat on
the floor. Grip barbell with hands a little more than shoulder width apart.
Hold barbell above your upper chest, arms straight. Bending elbows, slowly
lower barbell towards your upper chest just enough to make light contact. Push
barbell straight up over your chest; straighten arms and lock elbows. Slowly
lower barbell and repeat. Use a spotter to hold the barbell for you at the
start and end of this exercise. arms and lock elbows. Slowly lower barbell and
repeat. Use a spotter to
hold the barbell for you at the start and end of this exercise.
Decline Bench Press
Lie back on a decline bench. Grip barbell with hands a
little more than shoulder width apart. Hold barbell above your lower chest,
arms straight. Bending elbows, slowly lower barbell towards your lower chest,
about level with the lower limit of your pectorals. Push barbell straight up,
slowly lower and repeat, keeping your head and back flat on the bench. Use a
spotter to hold the barbell for you at the start and end of this exercise.
Comments -
Decline bench press works mostly your lower pecs. This
exercise is not necessary for a complete chest routine. Most bodybuilders have
a much harder time developing the upper pecs compared to the lower pecs. This
exercise is good to throw you're your workout as a substitute for incline or
flat presses just to add some variety. Variety is good up to a point because it
prevents your muscles from getting use to the same routine.
Dumbbell Flies
Lie back on a bench grasping two dumbbells, arms straight
above your shoulders, palms facing inwards. Keeping straight arms but elbows
unlocked, slowly lower dumbbells in an arc out and down to either side,
stretching your chest muscles. Slowly lift dumbbells in the same arc, lower
back to starting position and repeat, keeping your head and back flat on the
bench. Release weights by sitting up and positioning on top of knees before
putting them down. This ensures no injury will take place. Comments -
Dumbbell flies will mostly work your outer pecs. I always
include a crossing movement in my chest routine, I feel as though it provides
the largest pump for my chest.
Dips |
Really, the only thing to remember about dips is that you
need to go all the way down to see the full benefit of the exercise. If you're
getting sets of 10 and 15 without straining too hard then you probably need to
add some more resistance. Do this by either attaching a plate to your belt with
a cord of some sort or by simply cradling a dumbbell between your legs.
To increase the role the pecs play in this movement, point
your elbows outward. Keeping them tucked in and pointed back forces your
triceps to bear the brunt of the load; not necessarily bad, but you need to
decide whether you're doing it for your chest or your triceps.
Comments -
This excersise works particularly outer pecs, strong
emphasis on triceps. Don't become so fixated on reps that you try and whip them
out super-fast by dropping down quickly and bouncing back up to the top. Keep
the motion slow, especially on the negative portion of the rep.
Cable Cross-Overs
Now standing in the center of a cable rack. Make sure both
attachments are connected to the upper cable pulleys. Always keep one leg in
front of the other. Now keep your arms slightly bent, this helps contracts the
chest muscles, when you bring the cables to the middle of your chest. Never
cross your hands as this decreases emphasis on the chest. Once you have done
this slowly take them back to the starting position, and repeat.
Bend your elbows slightly and lean forward at about a 60
degree angle. Pull your hands across your body so that they meet in front of
you. For an even greater squeeze, cross one hand under the other and alternate
which hand goes on top each rep.
Comments -
This excersise works particularly inner pecs. There are so
many variations on this movement. It would be impossible for me to describe all
of them. If you have already built massive pectorals and you're concentrating
on developing the striations, then by all means experiment with this movement.
Bent Arm Dumbbell Pullovers
Lie on your back on a flat bench, feet flat on the floor
either side, and your head at the end. Grasp a dumbbell with both hands. With
elbows slightly bent and kept in, lift the dumbbell up over your head in a
semi-circle and slowly lower towards floor as far as comfortable. Keeping your
head down, back flat and elbows in, lift dumbbell back over your head in the
same semi-circular path.
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