There are numerous chest exercises to choose from but only a few are great for building up and adding bulk to the chest area. The better exercises are the ones which require more effort such as Bench presses and parallel dips. Following on from the article about the best exercises for building muscle mass, we need a multi-joint exercise which allows for maximum stress on the chest muscle. A good choice is regular bench press. Flyes are a great exercise for the chest but do NOT have much ability to produce intense stress. For this reason they will not add much muscle size to the chest, the same goes for chest exercises like cable crossovers and pullovers.
Best exercises for building chest muscles
- Bench Press
- Incline Bench Press
- Decline Bench Press
- Parallel Dips
- Push Ups
- Dumbbell Flyes
Bench Press
Method
Lie back on the with your shoulders 3-4 inches from the rack supports and place your feet flat on the floor either side of the bench in order to balance your body during the bench press. Take an overhand grip on the barbell with your hands set at about 4-6 inches wider than your shoulders (or so the forearms are perpendicular to the floor in the lowered position). With the help from a training partner push the bar up until your elbows lock out and the bar is directly above the shoulder joints. This is the starting position for the bench press.
Slowly lower the weight while keeping elbows pointing outward, until you gently touch the chest area. Lower for a count of two seconds. Now push the barbell back up to the starting position. Repeat the movement for the desired number of reps. When completed let your training partner help you with placing the barbell back onto the racks.
Pushing the feet harder on the floor and lifting the butt off the bench will make the bench press easier. This is not recommended as it will also put your lower back at more risk of injury. Try to always use strict form for the bench press.
Try not to let the bar bounce off the chest when bench pressing, try to control the downward movement for every rep. Take a count of two when lowering the bar, and one count to push back up.
Try to keep the elbows pointing outwards during the entire movement, it wont matter if they point inwards a little as long as it feels comfortable.
Always have a training partner spot you when benching. He can also help you with a few forced reps when tiring.
Don't hold breath - breathe out when pressing the weight up.
Inclined Bench Press
Method
Lie down on a bench with an incline between 15 and 30 degrees. Make sure your bum and lower back is comfortably wedged in the angled corner on the bench. Once comfortable and securely in position, grasp the barbell about 6-8 inches further than shoulder width, so a fairly wide, but comfortable grip.
Have a training partner steady the barbell as you push it up to the starting position which is at arm's length above your shoulder joints. In the correct starting position your upper arms should feel as though they are perpendicular to the floor. With supervision from a training partner, slowly lower the barbell straight downward until it touches your upper chest area. As you lower the barbell, be sure your upper arms are held out directly to the sides. Now press the barbell back upwards to the starting position.
Incline Bench Press exercise tips:
Try not to let the bar bounce off the chest when bench pressing, try to control the downward movement for every rep.
Try to vary the angle of incline at different workouts, for example one workout angle the bench at 20 degrees, then increase it to 30 degrees next workout.
Try to keep the elbows pointing outwards during the entire movement, it wont matter if they point inwards a little as long as it feels comfortable.
Decline Bench Press
Method
Lie on your back on a declined bench and grip the barbell a little wider than shoulder width. Have a training partner help you move the barbell into starting position, which is when the bar is supported at arm's length directly above your shoulder joints.
Making sure you keep your elbows back, slowly lower the barbell directly downwards until it touches the upper chest area. Then press it steadily back to arm's length and repeat for the required number of reps.
Decline Bench Press exercise tips:
Don't let the bar bounce off the chest when bench pressing, try to control the downward movement for every rep.
Try pointing the elbows at various angle until you find which way feels more comfortable to you.
A wide grip on bench press (too wide may cause injury) may make it easier for some people.
The width of hand grip may be varied to suit preferences. For better results try changing hand grip position every so often.
Cable Cross Overs
Methods
Attach loop handles to two high pulleys, grasp the handles in your hands and stand directly between the two pulleys with your feet set about shoulder-width apart. Lean slightly forward at the waist and keep that torso angle throughout the exercise. Rotate your hands so your palms are facing towards the floor and extend your arms upwards from your shoulders at approximately forty-five degree angles on either side.
Use your pectoral strength to move your hands slowly downwards and towards each other in semicircular arcs until they touch each other in front of your hips. Hold your hands in this position for a few seconds, tensing your chest and deltoid muscles. Return your hands slowly back along the same arcs to the starting point and repeat the exercise.
Cable Crossover exercise tips:
Try doing half crossovers where your arms only go back half way. This will help develop a massive burn as the muscles pump.
There are a number of crossover variations that can be done, these include low and high cable crossovers. High crossovers is where the hands are brought together in front of the face, these tend to isolate the sternal portion of the pectorals more than any other variation of the crossover. Low crossovers are where the hands are together around the groin area, these help activate the clavicular pectoralis.
Parallel Bar Dips
Method
Grasp the parallel bars with your palms facing each other and jump up to support yourself above the bars with straight arms as illustrated. Tilt your head slightly forward and bend the legs. This will help you lean into the movement as you do it.
Slowly bend your arms until you are in a low, but comfortable position down between the bars. You should try to bend your arms well past the point where they make a 90-degree angle between the upper arm and forearm. Push back up to the starting position by straightening your arms and repeat the movement for the desired number of repetitions.
This is an advanced exercise and should only be done by experienced bodybuilders. It should also be performed only when the muscles involved in parallel dips are fully warmed up. A good idea to adapt the chest and arm muscles to doing parallel bar dips is to attempt half dips until you build up enough strength then go a little lower at each separate workout. When you can easily do 12 full repetitions of parallel dips then try adding extra weights to a weight-lifting belt in order to increase training intensity.
Dumbell Flyes
Method
Grasp two light dumbbells in your hands, lie back on a flat bench with your feet placed firmly on the floor to balance the body. Extend the arms straight upwards with the palms facing towards each other. Bend your arms slightly throughout the movement.
Keeping the elbows back at all times, slowly lower the dumbbells out to the sides and downwards to as low a position as is comfortably possible. Use the chest muscles to drive the dumbbells back along the same arc and upwards until dumbbells almost touch each other directly above the middle of the chest.
Always hold the dumbbells strongly at all times. Try to keep the wrists held inwards during the lower phase of the exercise. Lower the dumbbells slowly and in a controlled manner, do not let them drop or jerk during any phase of the movement.
