Defining the chest has already become an obsession for many gym addicts. And it is relatively easy to beat yourself up to bench press every day, without stopping, until you make your chest routine boring, heavy, and even hate it. However, there are other types of exercises, in addition to the classic one, which, in addition to being more dynamic and enjoyable, will bring you closer to achieving your goal.
And remember that with chest exercises, being a large muscle group such as the back or legs, you can exercise it several times a week, focusing one day on very basic exercises such as the barbell bench press or flyes. dumbbells, and a second day for machine work giving the contractor, for example, and doing finishers with dips in parallel or dips and push-ups, which are also tops for the triceps exercises.
The 15 best exercises for your chest training.
1- Warm up with a resistance band
It is a simple exercise in which you will only have to flap like a fly. Use a resistance band and pass it through fixed support so that it serves as a stop when we go to stretch our arms. Then, with your back facing our tie-down bracket, grab each end of the band in the palm of your hand and press both arms together until both arms come together.
2. Dumbbells against the chest
Lie back on a bench holding a pair of dumbbells; stretch your arms vertically to her chest letting the weights touch each other. Hold the position with the dumbbells pressed together and then lower them back to your chest letting your full weight drop. Then repeat.
3- Incline Bench Press
Lie down on a bench at a 45-degree incline and hold a pair of dumbbells in your hands. Stretch your arms out from your chest, grasping both dumbbells with your palms facing your feet. Return to the starting position and repeat.
4- Push-ups with weight
The trick is to put weight on your back. You can use a disc, weighted vest, or sandbag, whichever you prefer.
Once decided, stand in the indicated position and flex your arms, lowering your body until your chest practically touches the ground.
5- Close grip bench press
Try to close your arms more when gripping the bar so as not to load your shoulders too much, that is, place your hands closer together. Generally, these exercises with barbells instead of dumbbells build more raw strength in your chest because they are more stable, and, doing them this way, people with a tendency to dislocations in the shoulder joint, will not have as many problems. In addition, you will activate your triceps too.
6- Curl with dumbbells
Place two dumbbells side by side (touching each other) and get into a push-up position. Bend your arms until your chest touches the weights. Do not forget that your position has to form a completely straight line from the ankles to the head. The trick is to keep the pressure of the dumbbells against each other throughout the movement of the pushup.
7- Flutter with cable
This exercise is to always do in the gym. It is very similar to the one we use as a warm-up but, on this occasion, we changed the elastic bands for a cable because of the constant tension it provides throughout the movement. Stand with one leg slightly in front of the other and, with your hips slightly tilted forward, flap your arms, exerting pressure on your body like a flying bird. A note: do not round your back at any time.
8- Decline bench press
Stretch out on a slight incline bench and support your legs by placing your shins on the corresponding support. Take a pair of dumbbells and hold them with the palms of your hands facing down and always outside the shoulders. Lower the weights to your chest, pause, and then repeat again.
9- Archer push-up
This exercise is not only powerful for your chest but also helps develop your triceps, core, and shoulders.
Get into a push-up position and fully stretch your right arm, letting all your weight fall on your left arm (you can place a medicine ball to support the one you have stretched out if you wish). Then, perform a traditional push-up but keep your balance and control your core without destabilizing yourself on the side that you have on the ground. Do as many reps as you can, then switch to the other arm.
10- Dumbbells flying over your body
To finish, lie down on a bench and hold two dumbbells with your palms facing the ceiling. It is a circular exercise so lift your weights simultaneously starting from the hips and continue, with your arms bent, around your torso until you reach the dumbbells above your shoulders. Then, repeat the path in reverse to the starting position.
11- Push-ups with a resistance band
Put on a resistance band that goes through your back, hold both ends with your hands, and perform classic push-ups as slowly as you can, taking advantage of the resistance offered by the elastic bands to activate your pecs well.
12- Crosses for chest on pulleys
A classic of chest training, which is usually done as a finisher, is to concentrate your chest as much as possible and look for great congestion. Remember: back straight, body slightly leaning forward, and try to join your hands at the end of the exercise.
13- Hexpress
To develop the internal chest. Due to the neutral grip and the closeness of the hands, the chest is in a state of constant contraction. The most common is to execute it with two dumbbells.
14- Push-ups Superman
Lower your body and explosively jump up doing the Superman fly gesture. It is essential to squeeze the glutes in each jump. Do as many repetitions as possible.
15- Openings with dumbbells
One of their favorite exercises for the chest of the great Arnold Schwarzenegger. Do it very slowly and bring the weights or dumbbells together at the top of the exercise. Do not lower your arms excessively to avoid injuries and calculate well how many kilos you can execute the movement.
