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Posts filed under PECTORAL(CHEST) WORKOUTS
- Get on the floor and position your hands slightly wider than your shoulders.
- Raise up onto your toes so you are balanced on your hands and toes.
- Keep your body in a straight line from head to toe without sagging in the middle or arching your back.
- Your feet can be close together or a bit wider depending upon what is most comfortable for you.
- Before you begin any movement, contract your abs and tighten your core by pulling your belly button toward your spine.
- Keep a tight core throughout the entire push up.
- Inhale as you slowly bend your elbows and lower yourself until your elbows are at a 90 degree angle.
- Exhale as you begin pushing back up to the start position
- Don't lock out the elbows; keep them slightly bent.
- Repeat for as many repetitions as your workout routine requires.
Exercise Instructions
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Grasp a set of dumbbells and sit on the end of a flat bench with the dumbbells resting on your thighs.
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Lay back on the bench and extend your arms out, holding the dumbbells
above your body with a neutral grip (palms facing each other). The
dumbbells should not be touching. Keep your feet planted on the floor
for balance. Bend your arms slightly. This is the starting position for
the exercise.
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Slowly lower the dumbbells out to your sides in a semi-circle. Rotate at the shoulders only, keep your arms slightly bent.
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Once the dumbbells get about level with your chest, squeeze the chest
muscles and raise the dumbbells back up using the same path of motion
(semi circle) as you did on the way down.
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Without letting the dumbbells touch, slowly lower them again.
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Repeat for desired reps.
Dumbbell Fly Tips:
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This exercise should be done slowly, focusing on the stretch and contraction of the pectoral muscles.
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Don't pause or let the dumbbells touch at the top of the exercise.
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Use a full range of motion by lowering the dumbbells as far as comfortably possible.
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Always use a wide semi circle motion when doing this exercise, and don't allow the dumbbells to come too close to the body.
- For this exercise you will need access to parallel bars. To get
yourself into the starting position, hold your body at arms length (arms
locked) above the bars.
- While breathing in, lower yourself slowly with your torso leaning
forward around 30 degrees or so and your elbows flared out slightly
until you feel a slight stretch in the chest.
- Once you feel the stretch, use your chest to bring your body back to
the starting position as you breathe out. Tip: Remember to squeeze the
chest at the top of the movement for a second.
- Repeat the movement for the prescribed amount of repetitions.
Variations:
If you are new at this exercise and do not have the strength to
perform it, use a dip assist machine if available. These machines use
weight to help you push your bodyweight.
Otherwise, a spotter holding your legs can help.
More advanced lifters can add weight to the exercise by using a weight belt that allows the addition of weighted plates.
- Lie back on an incline bench. Using a medium-width grip (a grip
that creates a 90-degree angle in the middle of the movement between the
forearms and the upper arms), lift the bar from the rack and hold it
straight over you with your arms locked. This will be your starting
position.
- As you breathe in, come down slowly until you feel the bar on you upper chest.
- After a second pause, bring the bar back to the starting position
as you breathe out and push the bar using your chest muscles. Lock your
arms in the contracted position, squeeze your chest, hold for a second
and then start coming down slowly again. Tip: it should take at least twice as long to go down than to come up.
- Repeat the movement for the prescribed amount of repetitions.
- When you are done, place the bar back in the rack.
Caution:
If you are new at this exercise, it is
advised that you use a spotter. If no spotter is available, then be
conservative with the amount of weight used. Also, beware of letting
the bar drift too far forward. You want the bar to fall on your upper
chest and nowhere else.
Variations:
You can use several angles on the incline bench if the one you are using is adjustable.
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Set up the cable machine for crossovers by adjusting the pulleys to
the highest point possible on both sides and attaching single grip
handles.
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Set your desired weight on the weight stacks and grasp each handle with your palms facing down.
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Take a step forward.
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Bend your arms slightly at the elbows. Keep your chest up and eyes
facing forwards. This is the starting position for the exercise.
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Rotating at the shoulders only and moving your arms in a circular
motion, slowly bring the handles together out in front of your body at
mid-chest height.
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Squeeze your chest as you bring the handles together.
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Slowly lower the weight back to the starting position and repeat for desired reps.
Exercise Tips:
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Form is more important that weight on this exercise.
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Focus on getting a good chest squeeze on the way down, and a good stretch on the way up.
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Keep your elbows slightly bent throughout the movement, and do not change the angle of your arms.
- Sit on the machine with your back flat on the pad.
- Take hold of the handles. Tip: Your upper arms should be positioned
parallel to the floor; adjust the machine accordingly. This will be
your starting position.
- Push the handles together slowly as you squeeze your chest in the
middle. Breathe out during this part of the motion and hold the
contraction for a second.
- Return back to the starting position slowly as you inhale until your chest muscles are fully stretched.
- Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.
Variations:
You can use pulleys or an exercise band
to perform this movement. Also, there is a variety of the Pec Deck
Machine where you place your forearms on the pad, with the elbow and a
90 degree angle. You then squeeze your elbows together.
The bench press is another great standard move for the large muscles of
the chest. The shoulders and triceps are also involved in this
exercise, making this a compound movement. For a variation, try this on
an incline bench, which will target the upper part of the chest.
- Lie down on a bench, step or the floor. Begin with the barbell
hovering just over the chest, elbows bent. Place the hands on the bar a
bit wider than the shoulders.
- Contract the chest and push the weight straight up over the chest without locking the elbows at the top.
- Bend the elbows and lower the weight down until the elbows are just below the level of the chest.
- Repeat for 1 to 3 sets of 8 to 16 reps.
Tips
- Keep the abs contracted throughout the movement to protect your back.
- Keep the motion slow and controlled -- try not to use momentum.
