My Best Top 4 Chest Exercises

Let’s look at 4 chest exercises to maximize the width and volume of the pectoral muscles.

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Chest muscle anatomy

The pectoral muscles are among the three largest muscles in the human body, after the muscles of the legs and back.

Main pectoral muscles:

The muscles of the chest can be roughly divided into 3 zones of muscle fibers:

• Upper chest (least grow and is the progress);
• Middle chest (the largest area of the chest muscle);
• Lower chest (the lowest part of the pectoral muscle, emphasizes the chest).

1. Small pectoral. A small muscle of a triangular shape, located in the upper part of the chest under the pectoralis major muscle, pumping the chest, you also pump the minor muscle, thanks to which the pectorals will be more powerful and voluminous.

The functional of the pectoral muscles – activates the arms, which can be brought closer and further away from the body.

2. Serrated muscles. Located under the pectoral muscles.

3. Subclavian muscle. Responsible for the movement of the clavicle.

Good growth of these muscle groups increases pectoral volume.

Top 4 basic pectoral exercises

The number of basic exercises for a muscle group is quite large, but in most cases, all movements are related to the bench press. They are used not only to train the pectoral muscles for mass but also to develop the entire shoulder girdle.

1. Bench press

This is a classic basic pectoral exercise for men. It is used in all types of strength sports and is the main competitive movement in several disciplines. It has many variations that are used to comprehensively target each part of the chest:

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• Classic Bench Press;
• Incline Bench Press – to work out the upper chest;
• Decline Bench Press – reverse load on the lower chest;
• In Smith Machine – to stabilize the position of the bar and increase the working weights.

All these exercises for the mass of the pectoral muscles should be included in the training program, alternating by day.

2. Dumbbell bench press

Despite the fact that when using dumbbells, additional muscles are included in the work (to stabilize the position of the arms), doing presses with dumbbells more target works the chest muscle. This is due to the fact that you can increase the amplitude and use the most comfortable trajectory of movements, taking into account the physiological characteristics.

Execution technique:

• Use a bench, grab the dumbbells of the weight you need.
• Lie on a bench, push the dumbbells up with your hips, or ask your spotter to hand you dumbbells (the safest method is to use a spotter).
• Hold the dumbbells at a 90-degree angle to your elbows.
• The grip is the same as for the barbell press.

At the top point, it is necessary to exclude the contact of the dumbbell (including the bend), and also maintain a slight bend at the elbow. The main difference when working with dumbbells is that when lowering the weight, the arms are pulled to the sides, creating additional stretch.

3. Push-up on the Uneven Bars

A very underrated exercise. Despite its high effectiveness, push-ups are rarely added to chest training programs. The movement is performed not only in the gym but also on sports grounds, as well as at home (if a simulator is available).

Execution technique:

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• Step on the uneven bars and tilt your body forward slightly (legs can be bent or pulled back to maintain balance).
• Start slowly descending due to the strength of the pectoral muscles, the elbows drop strictly back or slightly to the sides, it all depends on the width of the uneven bars.
• With a quick movement, push the body to the starting position, without uncurling the elbows completely at the top point.
• It is important to observe the angle of inclination of the body (in a completely vertical position, the load goes to the triceps).

| Read more about Chest Dips Exercises

It is almost impossible to progress in push-ups on the bars by performing more repetitions in sets. This option will only worsen the development of muscle mass. Try to perform 7-10 reps with strict adherence to the technique, using additional weights for development (chains, or weight plates).

| Also read more difference between Chest & Triceps Workouts with Push-us Dips

4. Push-ups

While bodyweight training is not popular in the gym, push-ups can provide excellent muscle growth.
Push-ups are one of the most versatile and effective basic chest exercises. It can be done anywhere, from the gym to the home, ensuring excellent development of not only the chest muscle group but the entire upper body.

The huge benefit of push-ups is:

• Adaptation of the load for any level of physical fitness.
• Lots of variations for load and all-round group training muscle of the chest.
• As with the parallel bars, in push-ups, it is important to progress within the 8-12 reps in the set. For this, any weights are used, from weight plates to bodyweight.

Chest training program:

• A warm-up complex (with the implementation of several sets of bench press with an empty bar).
• Bench press – 4 * 8-10.
• Incline bench dumbbell press – 4 * 10.
• Dips on the uneven bars – 4 * 10.

Conclusion

Performing these 4 basic chest exercises in the gym, you can see a noticeable increase in muscle mass in 3-4 months!