Decline Bench Press
The decline barbell press is a great resistance exercise to build muscles in the lower part of the chest. The muscle fibbers in the lower chest is the most powerful, so you can push larger loads than the classical Barbell press.
How to perform a decline barbell press:
Lie down on an incline bench between 15 ° and 40 °, place your feet flat on the floor or on a platform. Take the bar, palms downwards, with a spacing greater than that of the shoulders.
- inspire and slowly lower the bar to clavicle (upper pectorals) without bouncing the bar on the chest
- inspire at the end of movement
Dips
Dips are a very effective resistance exercise to build muscles in the lower part of the pectorals. This movement can work the lower part of the pectorals with a maximum stretch, making this exercise even more effective. This exercise is usually performed with your body weight, but you can also add weights to increase the difficulty.
How to perform Dips:
Hold on to two bars with arms extended but not locked.
- lean forward
- bend your knees and cross your legs
- breathe in and lower the body until your arms are roughly parallel to the ground
- push the body up until your arms are fully extended again
- exhale at the end of effort
Dumbbell flys
The dumbbell fly is a resistance exercise that helps build the chest. This movement with dumbbells allows you to work with a maximum range of movement which allows you to properly stretch the muscles of the chest.
How to perform dumbbell flys:
Lying on a bench, arms outstretched or elbows slightly bent to relieve the joint.
- inspire, then lower the arm to the horizontal
- raise the arms to vertical as you exhale
Incline Dumbbell Flys
The incline dumbbell fly is a variant of the usual dumbbell fly. This resistance exercise can target the mid-chest but targets the upper chest a lot more.
How to perform Incline dumbbell flys:
lie down on an incline bench between 15 ° and 30 °, arms stretched vertically or slightly bent to relieve the elbow joint.
- lower the dumbbells controlling the movement,you should feel a good stretch in your chest.
- make a brief pause
- contracting the chest, bring the loads over the chest in a semicircular path.
Cable Crossovers
The cable crossover is a resistance which is very effective for isolating the pectorals. This movement can work the mid-chest really well due to the continuous tension. If you have a hollow part in the middle of the chest, this exercise will help you a lot.
How to perform cable crossovers:
Stand with legs apart or with one leg before the other, the chest slightly bent forward, arms outstretched, hands holding handles, elbows slightly bent.
- inspire and contract the arms to bring the handles in touch
- expire at the end of contraction
- return smoothly to the starting position and repeat
Incline Dumbbell Press
The incline dumbbell press is a resistance exercise that works the mid-chest. This variation of the barbell press allows to target the centre of the chest. In fact, the weights can strengthen the arms up which increases the stimulation of muscle fibbers inside the chest.
How to perform an incline dumbbell press:
Sitting on a bench inclined between 15 ° and 40 ° (not over 45 ° not to work on the deltoids), elbows bent, dumbbells held with hands.
- Inhale and stretch your arms by bringing the dumbbells vertically.
- Contract your chest up at the top.
- Descend slowly exhaling.
Dumbbell Press
The dumbbell press is a resistance exercise that targets the chest with a bigger range of movement. This movement is much more effective than conventional bench press to target the centre of the chest. However, with this variant, not much weight can be involved.
How to perform a dumbbell press:
Lying flat on the horizontal bench, feet on the ground for stability, elbows bent, palms downwards, holding the dumbbells to chest.
- Inspire and reach out vertically (without locking the elbows at the end) by rotating forearms to bring the hands facing each other.
- When the arms are outstretched hand and facing each other, you can perform an isometric contraction to also work the inside part of pectorals.
- During the return phase, the elbows should be directed to the sides
- Expire at the end of movement.
- Down, keep loads close to the bust, do not let them get too low.
Bench Press
The bench press is the mass builder for the pectorals. This exercise targets all the muscles in the chest. The bench press is a very effective exercise to gain pectoral muscle mass because it allows you to work with heavy loads.
How to perform a bench press:
Lying on a horizontal bench, the buttocks in contact with the bench, feet on the bench, floor or raised legs.
- take the bar, palms downwards taking a spacing greater than shoulder width
- inspire and lower the bar, controlling the movement to the chest
- expire at the end of effort
Push Ups
Arguably, push ups is the foundation exercise to building pecs. Push ups can be modified to target the pecs from all angles. Decline push ups (the feet are placed on a bench or other stable surface) targets the upper portion of the pectorals. Using your hands farther apart, you will work out the pectorals. If you move them closer, you will work more in the mid-chest. If you practise the four variants above your chest building potential will increase as well as your muscle mass.
How to perform push ups:
In position facing down, arms outstretched, hands spread to shoulder width (or more) with feet together or slightly apart
- inspire and bend the arm to bring the chest to the ground
- push to full extension of arm
- expire at the end of movement
