5 Best Exercises For The Chest
We are here to pump- you up with the best exercises for the chest. Your chest is a big muscle group. The chest muscle comprises the two muscles pectoralis major and the pectoralis minor. The pectoralis major has larger muscles, a clavicular head (the upper chest), and a sternal head (the middle chest and lower chest). The chest muscle is one of every human’s most attractive front muscles. The best exercises for the chest we are going to discuss below.
Here below are the 5 best exercises for the chest.
1. Barbell Bench Press
The barbell bench press is a classical exercise for your overall chest development. The bench press is a popular movement, and every athlete knows it well. It is the foremost exercise for building mass and strength in the chest. It is a compound movement exercise. The primary muscles used in this exercise are the pec, shoulders, and the trap, and the secondary muscle back used in this exercise.
It is the king of all the exercises and it is one of the 5 best exercises for the chest
Benefits of Barbell Bench Press
1. The barbell bench press recruits your chest, shoulders, and triceps muscles.
2. It improves your postures and prevents you from injuries.
3. It helps to improve your muscular endurance.
4. It also helps to increase the thickness of your chest.
How to Do the Barbell Bench Press
1. Lie down flat on your back on the bench with your knees bent.
2. Grab the barbell with both hands wider than your shoulder.
3. Bring the barbell slowly down to your chest.
4. Return the barbell to above the chest and repeat the exercise.
2. Incline Dumbbell Press
The inclined dumbbell press exercise targets the upper chest and independently hits each side of the body. This exercise increases chest strength and size. This is a greater exercise for the muscle growth of the upper chest when done correctly and performed regularly in your chest workout routine. In this exercise, the shoulders and triceps will be involved indirectly.
Benefits of Incline Dumbbell Press
1. A dumbbell promotes balanced and equal strength among both sides of the chest.
2. Performing presses from the dumbbells helps prevent shoulder and pec injuries.
3. The main benefit of performing incline presses is to develop the upper portion of the pectoral muscles.
How to Do the Incline Dumbbell Press
1. Set the incline bench between 30 to 45 degrees angle.
2. Grab a dumbbell in each hand, sit down on a bench, and lean back.
3. Hand positioned at your shoulders, bent and angled down below your ribs. Keep your feet flat on the floor.
4. Press both dumbbells straight up over your chest as you exhale.
5. Then slowly lower the dumbbells back to your chest as you inhale.
6. Repeat the exercise.
3. Cable crossover
As we all know, cable crossover is a popular exercise for the chest at the gym. It is an isolation movement that will directly target your chest muscle. Using a cable pulley machine, you can perform this exercise from high to low and low to high. It is a favorite exercise of every bodybuilder because it is a wonderful exercise for the chest definition of your chest. Cable crossover sculpts your chest, and this exercise develops the fiber in your chest muscle. It is one of the 5 best exercises for the chest, and all bodybuilders add this exercise to their workout routine.
Benefits of Cable Crossover
1. Cable crossover exercise helps to define your chest muscles and increase your upper body strength.
2. Another benefit of this exercise is moving your body at different angles.
3. It works on your stability to maximize contraction and minimize injury.
How to Do the Cable Crossover
1. Set the handles of the cable pulley at the highest level of both ends.
2. Grab both handles and stand in the machine’s center with shoulder-width apart.
3. Bend your torso slightly, and your back will be straight, and bend your elbows slightly.
4. Pull both handles down across your body and squeeze your chest muscles.
5. Then slowly reverse to the start position.
4. Incline Dumbbell Fly
This exercise mainly targets your upper chest of the body. It is a great exercise to improve upper chest development. It is an isolation movement. The shoulders play a secondary role in this exercise while the triceps stabilize the movement.
Benefits of Incline Dumbbell Fly
1. The main benefit of this exercise is to increase the width of your chest muscles.
2. It helps you to open up your chest.
3. It helps you to gain strength in the shoulder region.
4. It increases the range of motion and reduces the tightness in the upper body.
How to Do the Incline Dumbbell Fly
1. Set your bench to a 30 to 45-degree incline position.
2. Grab a dumbbell in both hands, lie down on a bench, and lean back.
3. Raise your dumbbell above your chest with your palm facing together and slightly bend your elbows.
4. Inhale and slowly down the dumbbell in a maintained arc position.
5. Exhale and slowly bring the dumbbell back to the starting position.
5. Decline Dumbbell Bench Press
The decline dumbbell bench press targets the lower part of the chest and indirectly targets the shoulders, triceps, and core. It is a compound movement. It is a very effective exercise for the development of your lower chest. Using dumbbells during a decline bench press allows a greater range of motion.
Benefits of Decline Dumbbell Bench Press
1. It helps to improve your core strength and stability.
2. The decline dumbbell bench press is less stressful on the back and shoulders.
3. The main benefit of this exercise is to decrease your chest fat and give a shape to your chest.
4. It is the best exercise to improve your lower chest.
How to perform the Decline Dumbbell Bench Press
1. Set a bench to 15 to 30 degrees on a decline before starting this exercise.
2. Take a pair of dumbbells and lie down on a decline bench.
3. Push the dumbbell upward to your lower chest and inhale when slowly lowering the dumbbell.
4. Exhale when pushing the dumbbell to the starting position.
So, that are the 5 best exercises for the chest. Apply these exercises to your workout routine and see the difference in your chest muscles.
