The Chest Exercises and Workouts You Need to Build Bigger Pecs
Rest 1-2 minutes with more reps and up to 3 minutes for higher weight, lower rep sets.
- Barbell bench press. Equipment needed: barbell. ...
- Pec deck. Resist the urge to add extra weight. ...
- Bent forward cable crossover. Equipment needed: high pulley machine. ...
- Chest press. ...
- Inclined dumbbell flies. ...
- Dips. ...
- Pushups.
For most men, a chest workout centres around three moves: a bench press completed in the flat, incline and decline positions, but there are so many chest exercises and workouts to try, there's really no need for chest day to be so boring.
In other words, we want you to be better than the bench press, but why should you expand your repertoire of chest exercises? Well, hitting you chest for more angles than the humble bench allows will result in a bigger, stronger chest, and having a bigger chest will (obviously) make you more adept at pushing heavy objects — from barbells to broken-down cars. But it's not all about strength, concentrating on chest exercises and workouts will also encourage better posture, as well as making you look taller by adding height to your chest wall.
Moreover, a bigger chest just looks impressive, and not just to us. A study published in Plos One found that women's, as well as men's, perception of the ideal male body included a muscular, wide chest circumference that creates an overall V-shaped torso.
Convinced? We thought you might be, so, whether you're at home or in the gym, here are the chest exercise and workouts you need to develop serious pecs appeal.
1. Dumbbell Pullover
Some people might argue that this exercise is meant for the purpose of building a back, but it can definitely help you build a better chest as well. Apart from the other chest workouts, the dumbbell pullover is one of the few exercises that provides its focus on the chest from a completely different angle and with a top to bottom contraction.
Recommended: 8 Exercises For Those Sexy Six Pack Abs
How to do it: Lie on a bench with your upper back, head and neck supported and your feet flat on the floor. Hold a dumbbell with your arms extended above your face. Slowly lower the dumbbell backward, maintaining a slight bend in your elbows and allowing them to come down to a point at which they align with your ears. When you’ve stretched as far as you can without bending your elbows, flex through your chest and lats to reverse direction and bring the dumbbell back overhead.
2. Barbell bench press
The most common yet effective gym workout to help you build your middle pecs. Barbell bench press is also considered to be one of the most favorite workout one likes to opt for on a chest day. It might look ordinary but this exercise usually provides an intensive focus on your trunk’s muscle.
Recommended: 10 Best Lower Back Exercises For Strong Lower Back
How to do it: Lie back on a flat bench. Using a medium width grip, lift the bar from the rack and hold it straight over you with your arms locked. This will be your starting position. From the starting position, breathe in and begin coming down slowly until the bar touches your middle chest. After a brief pause, push the bar back to the starting position as you breathe out to complete one rep.
3. Inclined Dumbbell Fly
The inclined dumbbell fly is an effective chest exercise that overall builds up your pectorals. In the incline flye, the motion directly engages with your muscles, and because you’re performing it in an inclined position, you’re further providing an intense focus on all your upper-chest muscles.
How to do it: Lie on a bench to form a 30 to 45-degree angle with your feet flat on the floor. Hold a dumbbell in each hand with a neutral grip then extend your arms above your chest, bending your elbows slightly. Slowly lower the dumbbells in a wide arc motion down to your sides. Stop when your elbows reach your shoulder level and reverse the motion to complete a rep.
4. Pushups
One of the most effective and traditional chest workout ever. Push Ups not only help you build your chest muscles but they also help provide focus on other parts of your torso, such as the back, shoulders, tricps and even on the biceps. Being one of the most traditional exercise in the history of chest workouts, Push-ups are still considered to be one of the most intense chest workout for men.
Another great thing about push-ups is that they come in a lot of varieties such as weighted pushups, arc pushups, pike pushups, etcetera.
Recommended: 5 Dumbbell Workouts To Get Attractive Arms
How to do it: In a plank position, place your feet together, toes on the floor, with your hands wider than your shoulder width and flat on the floor and your elbows extended. Keeping your head neutral and abs tight, lower yourself by bending your elbows until your chest gently touches the ground, then push through your palms until your arms are straight once again.
The inclined dumbbell pullover puts your chest muscles under tension for a longer range of motion. Pull-over exercises work as per the shoulder-extension movement pattern, which can really build the pecs since they're one of the primary chest muscle groups involved in this action.
How to do it: Hold with hands under the inner plate of the dumbbell. Position the dumbbell over your chest with elbows slightly bent. Slowly lower the dumbbell over and beyond your head until your upper arms are in-line with your torso, or below. Breathe in deeply while doing this.
6. Cable Crossover Chest Workout
This single-joint movement provides constant tension on the lower pecs. Also, If you bend a little too much at the waist, you can shift the focus of the exercise from the lower pecs to the middle pecs. One highly intensive and energetic chest exercise for men.
How to do it: Stand in the direct center of a cable-cross station with your feet staggered, knees slightly bent and your focus forward, and grasp the D-handles attached to the upper pulleys. Starting with your palms facing downward and elbows slightly bent, flex your pecs to draw the handles down and together, meeting below your waist. Try to keep your elbows up throughout the movement. Pause for a moment during the peak contraction, then slowly allow the handles to return to the start position.
7. Pec-Deck Flye
The pec-deck flye places better focus on almost all of your chest muscles. It makes the muscle fibers at the center of your breastplate to spring completely with great potential. The pec-deck pits your pectorals directly against resistance while offering a broad range of motion and a reduced risk of injury when compared with other exercises which include free weights.
How to do it: Sit with your lower back fully in contact with the pad and your feet flat on the floor. Keep your elbows at 90 degrees and forearms flushed against the pads. Move your arms slightly forward to disengage the weight from the stack. From here, deliberately flex your pecs to bring the handles out in an arc until they meet in front of your body. Pull hard, then slowly return to the initial position. Repeat for another rep.
8. Chest Dips
Chest dips provide a great emphasize on your chest muscles. They are considered to be one of the most intense and hardcore bodyweight chest exercises for men. They completely rely on your own body weight, but additional weight can be attached to the body in order to increase the level of intensity. Chest dips are a great spotter-free alternative to the decline press.
How to do it: Put your feet up behind you, lean forward as far as possible, and allow your elbows to flare out as you dip.
9. Decline Bench Press
The decline bench press is equal to its two more celebrated siblings, the incline and flat bench press. It targets the pectorals, and provides the major focus on the lower-pec area rather than the more prominent and more aesthetically critical upper and middle regions.
How to do it: Lie on a decline bench. Grasp the bar with a wide, overhand grip. Bend your arms and slowly lower the bar toward your lower chest. When the bar reaches chest level, forcefully extend your arms, elevating the bar back to the starting position. Repeat for another rep.
10. Seated Machine Chest Press
The seated machine chest press is a great free weight chest exercise for men and provides some unique benefits. This exercise allows you to really target your pecs. The intensity and push really helps you build up your side chest muscles and bring that V shape into position.
How to do it: Grab the handles with a palms-down grip and lift your elbows so that your upper arms are parallel to the floor to the sides of your torso. Now bring the handles back towards you as you breathe in. Push the handles away from you as you flex your pecs and you breathe out. Hold the contraction for a second before going back to the starting position. Repeat for the recommended amount of reps.
So, this is our list of the top 10 best chest exercises for men. You can do these most followed up chest workout routines to get your desirable Macho-Man pectorals.
Choose from more than a plethora of different chest workouts for men and reach your desired fitness goals with .
Comments
Post a Comment