There are literally dozens (84, according to BodyBuilding.com) of exercises you can do to firm up your chest, but in reality, most of us only do one or two until we really get good at them.
Many of these workouts are aerobic in nature, and many involve gym and home workout equipment, but overall, the key to building mass in your chest lies in doing a variety of exercises and sticking with them over time. It is also recommended that you swap exercises often and flip your routine every few weeks, working in a few new activities every seven days or so. There are many routines and plans to sign up for online.
In addition to offering certain scripted exercise moves, many plans will also recommend diet suggestions and supplements. For this blog, however, we will be concentrating on chest workouts exclusively.
Regardless of whether you are planning on buying a gym membership or signing up for an online subscription, you should always consult your doctor first (especially in the case of a plan that calls for supplements) before diving headlong into your new chest workout regimen.
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Some chest workouts are going to add a few workout machines, but you can also alter some of the exercises to work without them. Do you need devices to help you get ripped?
No, not necessarily, but some machines are specialized in what they do, and they are going to make the goal of getting ripped that much easier to achieve.
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So, hopefully, if you are still with us, you already have at least a vague goal of getting a ripped chest, and that is an excellent place to start.
Luckily, your job is much easier now that we have visited many of chest workout sites, parsed a lot of the plans, weighed the weights, and laid out the lists to formulate our own maximum muscle-building chest workout recommendations, ranked in no particular order.
For the following exercises, you should choose three or so to work into your routine and, then, rotate to alternative movements again every couple of weeks or so.
Let’s start our list with the band chest fly. This chest exercise involves two resistance bands that are tied to something stable. Start by placing a chair as far away from the anchor as you can while still grasping the bands.
The goal here is to set up in a spot where the bands get taut, but also where you can hold them steady without overexerting yourself. Expect this chest exercise to be of a warmup type of activity, and concentrate on making clean, measured movements to ensure concise reps for it to be the most effective.
The movement begins with you reaching as far back as is comfortable to relax the tension on the bands, and a rep is to pull the bands forward as far as possible and hold them steady as long as possible, returning to the relaxed position, before another rep.
Alternatively, you may stand as a crouched football player for this activity, and 3-4 reps should be plenty of movement to warm up your chest, shoulders, and arm.
Next, you will move onto some lifts. Lifts are great exercises to firm up and blast your chest, as the bar balances the weight for you. With these workouts, concentrate on the weight and your form.
Barbell lifts are something most people are familiar with, and you can generate a ton of power by adding them to your workout. That means you can generally move the most weight around in a routine with this classic exercise. Plus, a barbell is easier to control than dumbbells, so it is likely better for form, and there are a ton of different exercises that you can experiment with and mix into your routine.
Remember, though, even though barbell lifts are classic muscle-building exercises, don’t take them for granted. Always get a spotter when experimenting with new or added weight.
Next, kick up your workout with the Arnold press, an exercise that involves dumbbells or kettlebells and adds challenge and extra gain to the basic shoulder press.
Named after The Terminator himself, Arnold Schwarzenegger, these presses reportedly helped the movie-star-turned-governor get ripped and ready for Hollywood. The Arnold press targets your shoulders, deltoids, and chest muscles and starts with picking a comfortable yet slightly challenging weighted dumbbell for each hand.
Now, begin by bending your arms at the elbows, with your palms facing toward you. Keep your chest strong, with a natural arch in the lower back, and as you bring the weights up, turn your wrist to face outward so that the pinnacle of your movement is kind of like driving a punch into a target (only you are not stepping into it).
To get the best out of this workout, keep your abs tight and make concise fluid motions, coming to a full extension of the arms at the top of the exercise. If you are doing this exercise correctly, you will be feeling a stretch in your chest and deltoids. 10 sets of 3 to 4 reps daily should get you firmed up in no time.
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4. Seated Machine Chest Press
The seated machine chest press is a bench-style exercise that uses a machine to create hydraulic resistance that you will use your muscles to counter. The goal of this workout is to slow down the repetitions and concentrate on your form.
The upshot is that you can concentrate on your pecs without using your shoulder too much. Again, you can get similar results with a bench press, but you will always have to focus, at least in part, on balancing and counterbalancing the bar.
Next, we move on to the dead stop pushup. Everyone dreads pushups, but the reality is that a set of pushups provides a machine-free exercise that targets your pecs, shoulders, biceps, and core all day long in one activity. This version of the pushup is easy to perfect and represents a great way to concentrate on form.
Next, we will move on to some presses, so it is back to the bench for the dumbbell squeeze press and the incline dumbbell bench press. With the dumbbell squeeze, you are going to do all the things that you would do for a bench press and take a dumbbell in each hand and rest them on your chest.
Then you will push up to the ceiling, squeezing the weights together until you are at the top of your rep. Keep squeezing consistently throughout the rep to also involve your pecs and maximizing muscle growth.
The next press, the dumbbell bench press, is a variation of the bench press that also involves dumbbells.
For this workout, you should keep your motion simple, and start on your back with a dumbbell in each hand, and your arms bent at your elbows resting just outside of your body.
A rep is the full extension of the arms, in unison, back down to resting position with the weight. To increase the strain on your pecs, try this one with your bench raised 45 degrees, and remember to keep those shoulders squeezed tightly together.
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7. Batwing Fly
You’ve done the dumbbell fly before, right? Well, this is similar. You will see some serious gains here, and the key to the exercise is form. That means keeping your weights light and your arm position low.
Think traditional bench press movements here and extend your hands out to your sides for a maximum amount of burn.
8. Weighted Pushup
Pushups by themselves are a great way to strengthen your triceps and chest. But they can get a bit boring, so to shake things up, grab a workout partner and assume the pushup position. Place your hand directly below your shoulders and have your partner put a weight on your back between your shoulders.
Not only will the weight add a serious challenge to your routine, but it will also help you keep your back flat and reinforce proper form.
9. Decline Dumbbell Bench Press
For this one, place your feet firmly under a brace and lie back on the bench in the declined position while holding a dumbbell in each hand. With your back stabilized, lift the weights and hold them close together over your upper chest with your arms extended. Make sure that your palms are facing away from you.
Full extension represents the top of your rep and bringing your arms down so the weights are almost touching your chest is the motion you should follow. Smooth, slow movements and proper form are important here.
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Building a strong, defined chest with chest workouts may seem like an easy idea, but it takes a plan, dedication, and the proper muscle-blasting workout routines. Here, we have given you at least nine chest exercise workouts, but there are thousands of others out there, so do not be afraid to experiment.
Just remember that to build a ripped chest, you do not always need fancy machines, expensive DVDs, or multiple supplements. Be sure to consult your doctor before you start, drink plenty of water before, during, and after, and try to feel each movement and stretch.
If you keep these recommendations in mind and concentrate on your form, you’ll be well on your way to a blasted chest in no time at all.