Are you visiting the gym and paying a heavy fee to your trainer just to get an ideal and muscular chest? Although trainer’s can be helpful and push you in the gym, you really don’t need one. This article will focus on some of the best chest workouts so you can build your chest on your own.
Bench Press
The bench press is the most traditional exercise thought of when one thinks of building their chest. This exercise is important, but should not be focused on over other chest exercises, such as the incline press, which is a more important lift for shaping and strengthening the chest.
To perform this exercise, you will lie on flat bench and use a medium grip on the bar. Lift the bar and slowly bring it to your chest and explode upwards. You should focus on using strict form and keeping your elbows tight and close to your body. It is recommended to focus on bringing the bar to your chest in a slow and controlled manner so as to gain the positive effects of negative reps, which exhaust the muscle. Use a weight that you can only lift 10-12 reps.
Incline Bench Press
The incline press is probably the most essential chest exercises for building strength in your chest. It allows you to develop that full look in your upper chest that sets up the pec muscles for their shape as they come down the chest. This exercises requires the most amount of strength to complete, so it is recommended to perform incline presses first during a chest workout.
To perform the incline press, lay back on the incline bench that is tilted at 30-45 degrees. Lift the weight off the rack directly above your chest. Bring the weight straight up at upper chest level and then bring it slowly back down. Right before the weight touches your upper pec explode upwards again and repeat. It is important to focus on form and bringing the weight to the chest slowly. This will provide a better overall workout to the pec muscles and ensure that you are performing the exercise until failure. The incline press targets the upper pectoral muscles, and it also works the triceps and front and back of the shoulders. This lift is great for adding overall chest strength, size, and shape.
Decline Bench Press
This is an important exercise when it comes to building your chest and maintaining definition, yet it is often overlooked. It’ll define your chest in ways that other chest exercises cannot and provide that deep cut under the pec you see with physique models. However, safety is required when undertaking such an exercise. Its method is quite simple. First of all, position yourself on a decline bench and lay down. Use a medium grip. This should be your starting position. Next, take a deep breath and lift the weight perpendicularly. The angle of lifting should be 90 degrees. Remain in this position for one to two seconds. After that, let the weight come down. This exercise can be done with dumb bells as well. Use an amount of weight that you can lift for 10-12 repetitions. Since this exercise is focused on adding definition to your chest, it is recommended to use lighter weight and focus on strict form.
Decline bench press builds strength in the lower chest and the triceps. Specifically, the primary muscles this exercise works are the pectorals and the secondary muscles are the triceps. Also, decline bench press works the rhomboid muscles in the back, deltoids of the shoulders, and serratus anterior muscles, which are present on the upper side of the torso.
Push Ups
Push ups are an important and a popular exercise that targets shoulder, chest and arm muscles. For this exercise, position yourself in such a way that only your hands and toes are touching the ground. With your body lying flat, lower yourself till your chest almost touches the ground. Remain in this position for a few seconds and come back up slowly. You can also do variations of pushups by performing it at different angles. When doing push ups, focus on strict form and perform as many reps as possible until failure.
The main muscles, which are developed as the result of pushups, are the pectoralis major muscles of the chest. This muscle consists of two heads. The first is called the upper chest and the second is termed as the lower chest. When a person does a traditional push up, the lower chest is strengthened. In some variations of pushups, like decline pushups, the upper chest muscles are also strengthened. Other than the primary chest muscles, the secondary muscles that are worked include: anterior parts of deltoid muscles of the shoulders, triceps brachii, and the biceps.
Chest Fly
The chest fly is another popular exercise used for increasing the strength of your chest. To perform this exercise, you should first place yourself on a bench. All of your body should be resting comfortably on the bench. You should bend your knees with the feet flat. Hold a dumb bell in each of your hands. Take a few deep breaths to relax your body. Now, look up at the ceiling and make a T with your upper body. Remain in this position for a second or two. After that, bring the dumbbells to their original position i.e. close to the chest. Ideally, this exercise should be repeated 10 to 20 times. But if it’s your first time doing this exercise, you should restrict yourself to 10 repetitions. After that, you can increase the repetitions to as much you like.
The major muscles, which are worked during this exercise are the pectoralis major and minor muscles i.e. chest muscles. Other muscles, such as the deltoid muscles, are also strengthened.
Barbell vs. Dumbbell Exercises
Experts claim that dumbbell exercises are better than barbell exercises. Dumbbell exercises have various advantages over barbells. Dumbbells provide a more natural movement than barbells. With the use of dumbbells, you can easily move both of your sides independently. With barbells, you are forced to lift weight while remaining in a fixed position. Dumbbells are also safer and easier to use as compared to barbells. For example, let’s consider that you are stuck in a bench press exercise and you don’t have the capacity to do any more reps. If you have dumbbells, you can easily drop them but with barbells, you will be in trouble. Dumbbells can also improve your strength more and prevent muscle imbalances.
But this is only one side of the picture. Some experts are also in favor of barbell exercises. They claim that barbell exercises are more practical. They also claim that a beginner can progress at a faster rate by using barbells. Both of these exercises are considered among the best chest exercises for definition of the chest muscles. In addition, these exercises work your shoulder and arm muscles.
Conclusion
This article has mentioned some of the best chest exercises for size. Other than these, many exercises can be opted for. The main purpose of these exercises are to develop and shape the chest muscles. These exercises, if done properly and with appropriate repetitions, will improve the strength and definition of your chest. The key point that should be noted here is that you should progress slowly and steadily while lifting weights. If you try to lift heavy weights with improper form, it could potentially result in injury. So be wise, and be safe.
References:
http://www.aworkoutroutine.com/dumbbells-vs-barbells/
http://www.livestrong.com/article/144213-what-muscles-does-incline-bench-press-work/
http://healthyliving.azcentral.com/muscles-used-pushup-exercises-4836.html
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/5_chest_sculpting_steps.htmspan style=”color: #000000;”