The most effective exercises for the pectoral muscles thread. The best pectoral exercises. Pumping pectoral muscles: why there is no result

A set of exercises for the pectoral muscles the most effective. Exercises for the chest in pictures for men and women. Description as correct pump pectoral muscles.

1. Exercise: bench press from the chest, lying on a horizontal bench

Bench press from the chest - one of the most popular exercises in the gym, this is due to the technical simplicity of the exercise and the rapid progress in this movement, subject to the correct execution technique.

The illustration above shows a diagram of the bench press and shows which muscles are involved in the work:
The scheme for performing the bench press lying:
Lie on your back on a horizontal bench. The buttocks and shoulder blades should be tightly pressed against the surface of the bench, the legs should be placed on the floor with the entire feet:
- take the bar with a grip on top wider than the shoulders;
- take a breath and slowly lower the bar to chest level, controlling the movement;
- squeeze the barbell and exhale at the end of the movement.

Bench press develops all the big pectoral muscle , pectoralis minor , triceps, anterior deltoid muscle, dentate and coracohumeral muscles.

Prerequisites for a correct and powerful bench press:

Grasp the barbell firmly and tightly with your hands to give a stable position to your wrists. The brushes should remain straight during the press, do not fold them back.
- Press your head against the bench as tightly as possible.
- Bend your back in the lower back, so that the buttocks and shoulder blades remain tightly pressed against the bench. The deflection in the lower back allows you to reduce the trajectory of lowering the barbell, and to give the chest a position in which the lower part of the chest muscles is maximally involved in the work.
- The buttocks during the entire movement, lowering and raising the bar, should be tightly pressed against the bench
- The feet should be motionless, the heels are fully pressed to the floor, this position ensures the stability of the trunk during the exercise.

Execution optionsbench press:

1. By arching your back, you emphasize the load on the lower pectoral muscles and will be able to squeeze out more weight. Perform the exercise carefully to avoid injury to your lower back.

Performing a bench press with an arched back allows you to reduce the trajectory of lowering the bar and helps to lift heavier weight, since in this case a very powerful lower part of the chest muscles is actively turned on, Keep your head and legs still. Press the buttocks firmly against the bench. For lower back pain, this exercise should be excluded.
2. Pressing your elbows to your sides, you mainly work out the front of the deltoid muscle and the triceps of the arms

3. Changing the grip width loads:
- narrow grip: middle pectoral muscles and triceps;
- wide grip: the outside of the pectoral muscles.

4. Changing the trajectory of movement of the bar of the bar loads:

Lowering the bar to the lower edge of the chest, work out the lower pectoral muscles;
- lowering the bar to the middle of the chest, work out the middle section of the pectoral muscles;
- lowering the bar onto the clavicular bundles of the pectoral muscle, work out the upper section of the pectoral muscles.

2. Incline Barbell Press 40

Bench press lying on an incline bench 40 degrees - this exercise loads the clavicular region of the pectoralis major muscle, the front parts of the deltoid muscles; triceps, serratus anterior and pectoralis minor.

The mechanics of performing the exercise bench press lying on an incline bench:

The exercise is performed lying on a bench with an incline angle of 45 ° to 60 ° (the incline angle should be less than 60 ° to avoid too much deltoid muscle tension). Hold the bar with a grip wider than shoulder width:
- take a breath and lower the bar to the level of the collarbones;
- squeeze the barbell until the arms are fully extended;

3. Bench press with a narrow grip, lying on a bench

The narrow grip barbell press is an excellent exercise that develops and develops the pectoral muscle and triceps well.

The mechanics of doing the exercise bench press with a narrow grip:

The exercise is performed lying with your back on a horizontal bench. Press the buttocks and shoulder blades tightly to the surface of the bench, put your feet on the floor with your entire feet. Take the bar with an overhead grip with a distance between the hands of 10 to 40 cm, depending on the flexibility of your wrists:
- take a breath and slowly lower the bar to chest level, controlling the movement;
- squeeze the barbell and exhale at the end of the movement.

4. Bench press lying on a bench with a reverse incline of 20-40 degrees

Bench press lying on a bench with a reverse slope - exerts a load on the pectoralis major muscles (primarily their lower parts), triceps, front parts of the deltoid muscles.

Bench press lying on a bench with a reverse slope - perfectly forms the lower undercut of the pectoral muscles. In addition, lowering the bar to the neck stretches the pectoralis major muscle, which increases its elasticity.

The mechanics of doing the exercise bench press lying on a bench with a reverse slope:

The exercise is performed in the position - lying head down on a bench with an incline of 20-40 °. Hold the bar with a grip from above shoulder-width apart or slightly wider:
- take a breath and lower the barbell until it touches the lower edge of the pectoral muscles;
- squeeze the barbell away from you, exhaling at the end of the movement.

5. Pushups

The floor push-up is an exercise in which contraction of the serratus anterior muscles presses the shoulder blades against the rib cage, combining the action of the arms and trunk.

The exercise is performed in a face down position, resting with straight arms on the floor, palms shoulder-width apart or slightly wider. Legs together or slightly apart:
- take a breath and bend the elbows, bringing the chest closer to the floor, while the spine in the lumbar spine does not bend much;
- push up until the arms are fully extended;
- at the end of the movement, exhale.

Load localization options when changing body positions:

On the upper part of the pectoralis major muscle: the legs are placed on an elevation;
- on the lower part of the pectoralis major muscle: with the body raised.

Variants of load localization when changing the distance between the palms:

On the outside of the pectoralis major muscle: with palms wide apart;
- on the inside of the pectoralis major muscle: with narrowly spaced palms.

6. Dips on the uneven bars

Dips are an indispensable exercise that perfectly stretches the pectoralis major muscles and increases the elasticity of the shoulder girdle muscles.

It is not recommended for beginners, as it requires significant effort and reliable, safe movements. For this purpose, simulators should be used that allow you to work out the appropriate technique.
Performing the exercise 10-20 times gives the optimal result. To increase the volume and strength of the muscles, experienced athletes hang fixed dumbbells or discs from the barbell to a special belt.

The mechanics of doing a push-up exercise on the uneven bars:

Leaning on the handles of parallel bars with straight arms, body in an upright position, legs overhang:
- take a breath and, bending your elbows, go down;
- push up and exhale at the end of the movement.

The more the torso bends forward, the more the pectoral muscles are involved. Conversely, the straighter the position of the trunk, the more the triceps are involved in the work.

7.

- dumbbell chest exercise similar to the bench press, except that the dumbbell exercise is characterized by a greater amplitude, which contributes to better stretching of the pectoralis major muscles. At the same time, the triceps and the front parts of the deltoid muscles are also involved (although not so intensively).

The mechanics of doing the dumbbell bench press exercise:

The exercise is performed lying with your back on a horizontal bench. Press the buttocks tightly to the surface of the bench, put your feet on the floor with your entire feet. Keep the dumbbells near the chest with the elbows bent and lowered arms, the hands are in the pronation position:

Inhale and straighten your arms up; turning the forearms, brushes towards each other;

When the hands are in position, achieve an isometric contraction to focus the load on the inside of the pectoral muscles.

8. Breeding dumbbells lying

Lying Dumbbell Raises - This exercise localizes the effort mainly on the pectoralis major muscle. This is a basic exercise for increasing breast volume and helping to increase lung capacity. It also gives elasticity to the muscles.

The mechanics of the lying dumbbell breeding exercise:

The exercise is performed lying with your back on a narrow bench that allows you to move your shoulders freely. Hold the dumbbells on slightly bent arms to reduce their tension in the elbow joint:
- take a breath and spread your arms to the sides, so that the elbows are at shoulder level horizontally;
- raise your arms straight up, while exhaling;
- in an upright position of the arms, do a short isometric tension in order to concentrate the main emphasis on the inner part of the pectoralis major muscle.

9. Dumbbell press lying on an incline bench

Incline Dumbbell Press - This exercise is like an intermediate exercise between the incline bench press and the incline dumbbell breeding and primarily involves the clavicle of the pectoral muscles. It also engages the anterior deltoids, the serratus anterior and pectoralis minor (holding both shoulder blades and allowing the arms to interact with the trunk), and the triceps, but to a lesser extent than barbell push-ups.

The mechanics of doing the exercise dumbbell press lying on an incline bench:

The exercise is performed lying on a bench with an incline angle of 45 ° to 60 ° (the incline angle should be less than 60 ° to avoid too much deltoid muscle tension). Keep the dumbbells near the chest in the arms lowered down, bent at the elbows, the hands are in the pronation position
- take a breath and straighten your arms up;
- exhale at the end of the movement.
10. Breeding dumbbells lying on an incline bench

Breeding dumbbells lying on an incline bench - the exercise localizes the effort mainly on the upper parts of the pectoralis major muscle. Along with the "pull-over", this is the basic exercise for chest augmentation.

The exercise is performed while sitting on a bench with an inclination angle of 45 ° to 60 °. Hold the dumbbells on slightly bent arms to reduce their tension in the elbow joint:
- take a breath and spread your arms to the sides, so that the elbows are on the same horizontal level with the shoulders;
- raise your arms straight up, while exhaling;
- in the upright position of the arms to do short-term isometric muscle tension in order to concentrate the effort on the clavicular part of the pectoralis major muscle.

11. Dumbbell press lying with elbows pressed along the body.

This is one of the rare exercises that can be performed by those suffering from the famous "joint syndrome".

Moreover, this exercise can be used as a recovery after a rupture of the pectoralis major muscle, since pressing with the elbows along the body reduces the stretching of the pectoralis major muscle and thereby reduces the risk of ruptures in the affected area.

Exercise:

Lying on your back. Bend the chest, close the shoulder blades slightly. Hold dumbbells in both hands, put your feet on the floor, bend your elbows and press them against the body:

Inhale and squeeze the dumbbells up;

At the end of the movement, exhale.

Return to starting position, control movement

12 . Dumbbell row from behind the head "PULL-OVER"

Lying dumbbell row from behind the head "semi-ver" - the exercise develops the inner part of the pectoralis major muscle, the long head of the triceps, the large circular muscle, the broadest muscle of the back, as well as the anterior dentate, rhomboid and pectoralis minor muscles. These last three muscle groups give the shoulder blades a stable position.

This exercise can be done to strengthen the chest.
In order not to overload the triceps, use light dumbbells.
If possible, lie down across a horizontal bench so that the level of the pelvis is lowered below the level of the shoulder girdle.
It is very important to take a deep breath before the movement, and exhale only at the very end of the movement.

The mechanics of the exercise Dumbbell pull from behind the head "PULL-OVER":

The exercise is performed while lying on a bench. Put your feet on the floor. Hold one dumbbell with both hands on straight arms; placing your palms on the inner surface of the dumbbell discs. Grasp the handle of the dumbbell with the thumbs and forefingers of both hands:
- take a breath and lower the dumbbell behind your head, slightly bending your elbows, then return to the starting position, straightening your arms;
- at the end of the movement, exhale.

13. Barbell Row "PULL-OVER"

Lying barbell pull "PULL-OVER" - the exercise develops the pectoralis major muscle, the long head of the triceps, the large round muscle; the broadest muscle of the back, as well as the serratus anterior, rhomboid muscle and pectoralis minor.

It expands the chest perfectly.
When doing it, use light weight loads and monitor the position of the trunk and correct breathing.

The mechanics of the exercise "PULL-OVER" lying barbell pull:

The exercise is performed while lying on a bench. Put your feet on the floor. Hold the bar with straight arms with a grip on top not wider than your shoulders:
- take a breath, fill your lungs with air as much as possible, lower the barbell behind your head, slightly bending your arms at the elbows;

16. Crossover mixing

Attach the handles to the crossover cables through the upper blocks and grip them from above. Stand exactly halfway between the crossover struts and take a small step forward with one foot. This will give the body a more stable position.
Bend your knees slightly and tilt your torso forward 10-20 °. Bend your elbows slightly and fix the elbow joint in this position until the end of the set.
Take a deep breath and, holding your breath, bring the arms in front of your stomach, just below your chest. At the top, the handles should touch each other or cross.
Pause, exhale and smoothly return to the starting position.
Throughout the set, the torso, legs, elbows, and wrists are locked. All movement occurs exclusively in the shoulder joint. Exercises for the abs.

Shoulder exercises

Exercises with an expander.

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Hello! Let's take a look at the very best chest exercises that can take you to a whole new level. Naturally, I will give specific practical schemes for different levels of training and I will note many interesting features in training the pectoral muscles.

On the anatomy and growth rules for the pectoral muscles

The most important thing that must be paid attention to and must be remembered is that the pectoral muscles consist of:

• LARGE CHEST MUSCLE(m. pectoralis major);
• SMALL CHEST MUSCLE(m. pectoralis minor);
• Serratus anterior muscle(m. serratus anterior);

Another VERY IMPORTANT MOMENT is that the pectoral (pectoral) muscles are unique to some extent, because they are attached at different angles to the sternum and collarbone, FORMING the LETTER "G", which is why they must be trained at different angles.

As you can see, everything is not complicated enough. We must train different sections of the pectoral muscles at different angles.

Now a little about the rules for the growth of not only pectoral muscles, but all muscle groups, in principle.

For high-quality powerful growth of any muscle group, only three basic rules must be observed:

I already talked about this in the article, about training the pectoral muscles at home, I gave the link above, read it.

You must recover well (often eat 6-12 times a day and sleep well for 8-10 hours).

You should feel the muscles you are training, and turn off all other muscles from work.

That is, in fact, all that can be said about this.

The main mistakes when training pectoral muscles

Many people make the same mistakes when training their breasts. These mistakes severely inhibit possible progress.

Too much weight on the projectile

In any gym, you can see a similar error when, even not always a beginner, uses too much weight on a barbell or dumbbells.

He writhes, bends, helps himself with his legs, back, all parts of the body, just to squeeze out the weight, believing that the more he presses, the better the progress of the pectoral muscles.

This is not true. The load in this way is simply "smeared" over other muscles, leaving the chest. Naturally, the breast does not grow.

The body always strives to save energy, therefore, will seek to disrupt the exercise technique.

Your task is to monitor the progression of the load, but so that at the same time you keep the correct technique.

Using only a horizontal bench in exercises

Many people overestimate the importance of the flat bench press for chest growth.

As we said, the pectoral muscles (pectorals) are attached to the clavicle and sternum at different angles, respectively, they must be trained at different angles of the bench.

The bench press on a horizontal bench affects mainly the lower chest region, which itself grows much easier than the upper one, but it is much smaller in size.

Accordingly, for the development of the pectoral muscles, this is not the most preferred bench press option.

Only by experimenting with the sensations of the pectoral muscles at different angles of inclination of the bench can one achieve their all-round development.

By the way, I don’t press the bar at all on a horizontal bench, but only press on an incline (20-30 degrees), and my chest often look better than many people who focus on the press on a horizontal bench.

Few basic exercises and lots of isolation exercises

Some beginners focus on isolation exercises, believing that in this way they will expand the chest, and work "in shape." THIS IS MISTAKE!

It is possible, but not in the form in which they do it. More on this a little later, but in general, a classic version: FIRST BASIC EXERCISES (presses), and THEN ISOLATING (dumbbell spreading, information in a crossover, pullover, etc.).

It is the basic exercises that will allow you to take more weight on the apparatus and it is easier to progress the load.

Then there are isolation exercises that can tire your muscles even more deeply, and fill them with blood.

There is an option when you can do isolating exercises instead of basic ones, namely, when training SLOW MUSCLE FIBERS! This is the so-called STATODYNAMICS!

In order for the pressure in your body not to create problems during the MMV training, you need to focus on isolating exercises and give preference to "sitting" exercises instead of "standing" ones.

However, we talked about this ... And we'll talk in even more detail in other articles.

Too much rest between sets and exercises

This point is very important. If you want beautiful, aesthetic breasts for yourself, then you shouldn't rest more than 1-1.5 minutes. Maximum 2 minutes!

With each approach, the fatigue should get stronger and stronger.

A good indicator that you are doing everything right will be a REDUCTION IN THE NUMBER OF REPEATS IN EACH APPROACH!

If you do a set to failure every time, then you most likely will not be able to complete the same number of repetitions in the next set. It will be something like this:

1. 80 kg x 10;
2. 80 kg x 9;
3. 80 kg x 8;
4. 80 kg x 7;
5. 80 kg x 6;

Too Much Exercise in Chest Workout

This dissipates your efforts. I always believe that it is better to do 3-4 of the most effective exercises for one muscle group, but increase the number of approaches to 5-6, or even 7, than to perform 7-8 exercises, doing 2-3 approaches in each.

When people run from one simulator to another, first the barbell press, then the dumbbell press, then the uneven bars, then the hummer, then the wiring, then the crossover, etc., then, most likely, as strange as it sounds, they give insufficient load.

I'm not talking about professional athletes who can train for 2 hours or more. I am counting on the average person who wants to develop impressive breasts.

And in the training of professionals, you can often find only 4-5 exercises for 1 muscle group.

THE CORRECT "bodybuilding" technique

These tips are for the bodybuilder, not the powerlifter. The main goal of bodybuilding is to increase muscle volume while maintaining an aesthetic physique.

NOT OVERCOMING THE MAXIMUM WEIGHT, BUT INCREASING MUSCLE VOLUME, WHILE MAINTAINING IDEAL PROPORTIONS! Do you feel the difference?

In order for the muscles to grow, the load must grow, we talked about this at the very beginning of the article. But the load should grow not only stupidly due to the increase in weight on the apparatus, but also due to the "shutdown" of the rest of the muscles from the work and the complication of work for the target group, i.e. chest.

Naturally, this will reduce your weight on the bar, but the load will hit right on target.

To complicate the work of our breasts, the following conditions must be met:

• Partial range of motion - an excellent solution for bodybuilding, because allows you to keep the muscles in constant tension (no rest). By reducing the amplitude, the weight on the bar will practically not drop. You can work with your previous working weight.
• Boom trajectory - the bar should move IN AN ARC! Beginning at the bottom of the pectorals, and at the end at the top of the pectorals.
• Leg position - the legs of the bodybuilder should be higher than that of the powerlifter. You can put them on a stand or move the bench to the dumbbell row and put them there. Thus, you remove the "bridge" (do not bend in the back), thereby further isolating the pectoral muscles. Plus, in this position, you do not help yourself with your legs, without involving other muscles in the work.
• Breast reduction at rest - you must learn to contract the pectoral muscles in a calm state, i.e. how to "twitch" them. Focus on cutting them down so you can feel them more easily as you work in the gym.
• Grip width and forearm position - the width of the grip should be such that at the lowest point of the range of motion of the barbell, the forearms become PARALLEL to each other. If you are working in partial range, then the grip should be slightly wider than usual.
• Do not flatten the shoulder blades- it helps to squeeze out more weight, but takes the strain off the chest. You will squeeze more weight, but your chest will receive less stress.
• Bench tilt- about 20-30 degrees up from the horizontal allows you to distribute the load more evenly over the entire chest.
• The number of approaches and reps- the classic reps for the bodybuilder 6-12. This applies to training fast muscle fibers. For slow ones, the range is slightly different (there they are guided by the time of failure of 30-50 seconds). As a rule, approaches should not be done less than 4. The chest is still a large muscle group.
• Open grip- This is a grip when the thumb does not close the hands in a ring around the bar. It helps to better focus on pectoral contraction, BUT THIS GAP IS DANGEROUS FOR BEGINNERS, therefore only suitable for more advanced athletes.

Exercises for the muscles of the chest

Exercises for the muscles of the chest should be divided into two large groups:

1. PRESS (barbells, dumbbells, in Smith).
2. Breeding (dumbbells, crossovers, hummers, etc.).

Presses are basic exercises (2 joints work: shoulder + elbow), and dilutions are isolating (1 joint works: shoulder). That is why we will begin our workout with bench presses and finish with dilutions for deeper fatigue.

PRESS (depending on the projectile):

• Barbell;
• Dumbbells;
• Frame (in Smith);

PRESS (depending on the angle of the bench):

• Head up;
• Horizontal;
• Head down;

PRESS (depending on the width of the grip):

• Wide;
• Middle;
• Narrow;

As you can see, there are a lot of options.

The higher the incline of your body, the more the upper chest works and the lower the lower. But the slope should not be more than 40-45 degrees, because the higher the tilt of the head, the more they are included in the work and triceps.

Therefore, I advise you to tilt your torso at about 20-30 degrees. So the load will fall more evenly than in the absence of a tilt angle.

If the tilt of the trunk, on the contrary, is lower than the horizontal, then the lower chest works more, but the triceps are more involved in the work. The deltas are switched off at a negative tilt angle.

The narrower the grip, the greater the range of motion and the harder it becomes to press. But the narrower the grip becomes, the more triceps are included in the work.

Accordingly, if you highlight some ideal formula, then from the point of view of efficiency, you need to reap:

Medium grip, on a bench with a positive incline of 20-30 degrees from the horizontal.

Now let's pick the best chest exercises in terms of effectiveness.

The most powerful chest exercises

These chest exercises should be in the arsenal of every bodybuilder.

Incline bench press

Perhaps the # 1 exercise for building huge pectoral muscles.

As I said, a tilt of about 20-30 degrees is optimal. Above is not necessary, because deltas will be included in the work.

Very often, sports equipment manufacturers make a fixed bench angle of 45 degrees. It really sucks because necessarily includes delta in the work.

Therefore, I would advise you to take a regular incline bench with the ability to change the incline angle and put squat racks on the sides of it, put the bar there and voila. The bench we need is ready.

About the width of the grip. We take the bar with a MEDIUM GRIP, because this gives us a large amplitude of movement, and accordingly complicates the work, and does not allow the triceps to engage in work.

We try to work INSIDE THE AMPLITUDE (do not touch the chest with the bar and do not straighten the elbows completely at the top point), this will not allow the chest to turn off.

The next big point, LIFT YOUR FEET! You can bring yourself a footrest, for example. This will prevent you from arching with a bridge so that the load does not go to your legs, back, etc. you need to press WITHOUT BRIDGE (back straight). You are deprived of the opportunity to "cheat".

Now about breathing... There is nothing unusual here. Exhale on effort, inhale when we lower the bar down.

As for the elbows, THERE SHOULD BE DISTRIBUTED TO THE SIDE! This will focus on the pectorals, not the triceps (when the elbows are parallel to the torso, the triceps work).

I also recommend doing 6-12 reps. I generally work in the 6-10 rep range. Although, if you are just starting out, then you can do even more reps, about 15-20. Adjust the weight so that muscle failure occurs precisely in this repetition range.

You DO NOT NEED to do any other barbell presses yet!

Let's structure a little of the information we received about this type of bench press.

Execution technique:

1. Lie down on the bench, REMOVE THE BRIDGE, press your back firmly against the bench! You can additionally FLY your legs UP to isolate the pectoral muscles. So you can lift less weight, but the LOAD WILL GO CLEAN INTO THE CHEST MUSCLES, and not spread over the front delta, triceps and back.
2. Take the bar slightly wider than your shoulders (at the bottom, your forearms should be parallel).
3. After that, we lower the barbell down without TOUCHING THE BREAST MUSCLES IN THE LOWER POINT! Feel your chest stretch. At the same time we draw air into the lungs.
4. Now with a POWERFUL MOVEMENT, focusing on the work of the pectoral muscles, squeeze the bar UP.

Important: DO NOT FULLY STRAIGHTEN THE ELBOWS, so as not to relieve the load from the pectoral muscles and not to take it to the elbow joints.

1. Now Squeeze YOUR BREASTS with a PEAK CONTRACT.

Important: Imagine that your arms are up to the elbows from the shoulder, it is just a LINK, and your arms end at the elbows. PUSH YOUR ELBOWS, NOT HANDS! So you will emphasize the load on the pectoral muscles, removing it from the front delta and triceps.

Exercises for the pectoral muscles are a great many different pressing and spreading-reducing movements, the purpose of which is a comprehensive high-quality study of the target muscle group at different angles. The chest muscles are one of the hallmarks of an athletic physique, and also one of the three largest muscle groups in the human body. Without its development, it is simply impossible to imagine a proportionally developed torso.

In this article, we will try to answer the most frequently asked questions about breast training in the broadest sense of the word. What exercises to do to build pectoral muscles? What are the most effective pectoral exercises? What basic pectoral exercises should you do? We will answer these and many other questions with our large list of the most important, effective and popular exercises with a full description of the technique and features of their implementation.

Bench press lying on a horizontal bench

The exercise engages the middle, lower and upper chest. It is the best basic exercise for pectoral growth, mass and strength. Recommended for everyone, from beginner to experienced athlete, at the very beginning of chest workout.

Exercise technique

1. Lie on a bench so that the bar is at eye level. The head, shoulders and buttocks are pressed against the bench, the back in the lower back is slightly rounded, the feet are wider than the shoulders and rest on the floor. 2. Grasp the bar with a wide grip so that the distance between your palms is wider than your shoulders. 3. Having removed the bar from the stops, the arms should be straight, but not blocked at the elbows. The bar should be over the middle of your chest. 4. Taking a deep breath, lower the barbell to your lower chest. As soon as the bar touches the chest, squeeze the bar upward as you exhale. 5. It is necessary to lower the bar at a slow or moderate pace. You need to squeeze it from the chest at a moderate or fast pace. 6. Don't pause at the bottom. As soon as the barbell touches the chest, immediately press it up.

Technique tips

• Relaxing at the bottom, you release tension from the chest, and in order to squeeze the barbell, you will have to make irrational efforts
• Holding your breath before exhaling will help you swing less and better balance the weight on the bench, which will make the exercise somewhat easier.
• As you press the bar, do it as you exhale, this will go a long way in helping you push the bar to the end. You can also ask a partner to help you.

Bench press lying on a bench with an upward slope

This exercise on the upper part of the pectoral muscles is shaping, expanding and lifting exactly the upper chest. Recommended for everyone, from beginner to experienced athlete, at the very beginning of chest workout, after or instead of bench presses on a horizontal bench.

Exercise technique

1. The exercise is performed on a bench with an inclination of 35-40 degrees relative to the horizontal. Lie on a bench, put your feet wider than your shoulders and rest them on the floor. Press your hips, shoulders and head against the bench. 2. Grab the bar with a grip wider than your shoulders. 3. Remove the bar from the stops and lower it to the top of your chest. Inhale and squeeze the bar up. 4. It is necessary to exhale only after overcoming the most difficult section of the barbell movement until the arms are extended. 5. After inhaling and holding your breath again, slowly lower the bar to the top of your chest, then at the moment of touching, immediately press the bar up. 6. The exercise is performed slowly, at a moderate pace.

Technique tips

• Holding the breath in the upward movement of the bar will help the muscles of the trunk and lower back to hold the body position more firmly and increase its stability on the bench
• No matter how hard it is for you, do not bring your elbows to the body. This significantly shifts the load on the shoulders and relieves it from the pectoral muscles, so keep your elbows wider.
• If you want to achieve maximum contraction of the muscles of the upper chest, try to straighten your arms completely, but again, not until the elbow joints are blocked.
• Don't grip the bar too wide. This will significantly reduce the range of motion and, accordingly, reduce the effectiveness of the exercise.
• No need to spring the barbell from your chest. In other words, do not throw it down, so that it goes up, pushing off from the chest by inertia. So you can get hurt
• Do not use too much weight. It is the technique of its implementation that plays a decisive role in the exercise.
• Keep your core muscles tense throughout the set to ensure a stable position on the bench.
• If you are using a bench with an adjustable incline, keep in mind that an angle of less than 30 degrees will shift the load to the middle of the chest, and more than 30 degrees - to the deltas.

Bench press lying on a bench with a slope down

This exercise on the bottom of the pectoral muscles is formative. Its purpose is to thicken and clearly define the lower part of the pectoral muscles. Recommended for athletes of an advanced level of training and more experienced. It is usually performed in the middle of a chest workout.

Exercise technique

1. The exercise is performed on a bench with an incline of 30-45 degrees below the horizontal. Sit on the bench, put your feet behind the support rollers, and then lie down. 2. The head, shoulders and buttocks must be pressed against the bench. The back in the lower back should be flat, you do not need to bend or round it. 3. Grasp the bar slightly wider than your shoulders. Remove the bar from the stops and squeeze the bar up until your arms are fully extended. 4. After inhaling and holding your breath, slowly lower the bar to the bottom of your chest. 5. The moment the barbell touches your chest, immediately squeeze it to its original position. 6. You need to exhale at the moment of overcoming the most difficult part of the range of motion.

Technique tips

• Too heavy a barbell is useless in the exercise. She will force you to hold at the bottom of the amplitude, and this will shift the emphasis of the load to the triceps.
• The exhalation in this exercise is critical. As you lie with your head down, exhaling lowers the blood pressure in your head.
• At the end of the approach, you need to get up from the bench, or sit down, taking an upright position. It will also help normalize blood pressure.
• Keep in mind that this exercise is not recommended if you have high blood pressure, or if you have problems with blood circulation.

Dumbbell bench press lying on a horizontal bench

This exercise for the pectoral muscles is basic. It thickens, swells the middle of the breast, its upper and lower part. Recommended for all athletes, from beginner to experienced. It is most often used at the beginning of chest workout, mainly after the bench press.

Exercise technique

1. Take dumbbells from racks or from the floor. Sit on a bench and place the dumbbells on your lap. Taking a prone position, you can push them with your knees to their original position. 2. Lie down on a bench and make sure that your shoulders and buttocks are pressed tightly against it. The back in the lower back can be slightly rounded, the feet can be placed wider than the shoulders and rest on the floor. 3. In the initial position, the arms are fully extended, but not until the elbow joints are locked. The dumbbells in this position should be over the middle of the chest. 4. After inhaling, hold your breath and lower the dumbbells in a wide arc, so that at the lowest point they are slightly wider than the shoulders. The elbows do not fall down, but diverge to the sides. 5. As soon as the dumbbells are at the lowest point of the amplitude, immediately, powerfully in a wide arc, squeeze them up so that they slightly touch at the top point.

Technique tips

• The weight in this exercise should be taken slightly less than that with which you are working in a similar exercise with a barbell. This is due to the complexity of the coordination and trajectory of hand movement.
• Remember to keep your core tense at all times, as this will greatly increase the stability of your body position on the bench.
• You should not try to arch the lower back, or by lifting the pelvis from the bench to help yourself. This violates the technique of performing the exercise and reduces the effectiveness of the exercise.

Dumbbell press lying on a bench with an upward slope

This upper pectoral exercise shapes, thickens and shapes the upper chest and the inner edge of the pectoralis major muscle. Recommended for everyone from beginner to experienced athlete, usually following the bench press.

Exercise technique

1. The exercise is performed on an adjustable bench with an inclination of 30-45 degrees relative to the horizontal. Lie on a bench, put your feet wider than your shoulders and rest them on the floor. 2. Keeping the dumbbells on your knees, push them up and bring them to a position slightly wider than your shoulders. Throughout the approach, the head and eyes look up. 3. Inhale, hold your breath and squeeze the dumbbells up so that at the top they are just above the shoulders and slightly touch. 4. At the top, the arms must be fully extended. Take a deep breath and holding your breath, lower the dumbbells down. 5. At the lowest point of the amplitude, without stopping, while cutting powerfully squeeze the dumbbells up. 6. For a better workout of the chest, press the dumbbells not straight up, but in a wide arc.

Technique tips

• By holding your breath, you maintain tension in the stabilizing muscles. This significantly increases the stability of the body on the bench.
• When performing a press movement, do not bring your elbows together or turn them in or out. They look strictly to the sides and move in a vertical plane.
• It is necessary to fully straighten your arms and reduce the dumbbells from the considerations that otherwise you will not be able to "pierce" the anterior dentate muscle and the inner edge of the top of the pectoralis major muscle.
• If at the top point of the dumbbells you do not reduce, and they diverge wider than the shoulders, you can thus overload the lateral edge of the pectoralis major muscle.

Dumbbell press lying on a bench with a slope down

This exercise on the bottom of the pectoral muscles is formative. It cuts and lifts the lower part of the pectoralis major muscle and gives it a tighter, more defined shape. Recommended for advanced and experienced athletes, most often in the middle of chest workouts.

Exercise technique

1. The exercise is performed on a bench with an incline of 30-45 degrees below the horizontal. Take dumbbells, sit on a bench, put your feet behind the bolsters and then lie down. 2. Press the dumbbells all the way up. The arms should be fully extended, but not locked at the elbows, the dumbbells lightly touch each other. 3. Inhale, hold your breath and gently lower the dumbbells in a wide arc to the edges of the chest. At the same time, the elbows should look strictly to the sides. 4. At the bottom point, immediately squeeze the dumbbells in a wide upward arc without delay. At the top, they should touch slightly. 5. Exhale after going through the most difficult section of the dumbbell movement.

Technique tips

• Watch the movement of the dumbbells and do not press them straight up, but not in the direction of the abdomen. So you can lose control over them and lose them out of hand.
• Keep the stabilizing muscles in tension at all times, as this provides your body with a stable position. This is important, since you do not have the opportunity to rest your feet on the floor.
• It is important to make a strong exhalation at the moment of overcoming the most difficult section of the amplitude. This helps to reduce excessive intra-abdominal and intrathoracic pressure.
• Do not linger at the bottom of the dumbbell movement, as this can cause an increase in pressure and excessive blood flow to the head.
• By bringing the dumbbells down over the chest, you can work out the inner edge of the latissimus muscle and achieve a clear separation of the chest muscles in the center.
• To avoid excessive blood flow to the head, do not lie between sets. Get up, sit, stand, or walk. Place the body in an upright position.
• In this exercise, you can lower the dumbbells even below chest level, thus increasing the range of motion and stretching the chest muscles more.

Seated Chest Press

This exercise for the pectoral muscles is used to emphasize the shape and outline, which adds to their "striping". Most often recommended for beginners as well as more experienced athletes, often in the middle or at the end of chest workouts, after barbell and / or dumbbell presses.

Exercise technique

1. The seat of the machine or the handle must be adjusted so that it is at shoulder level or slightly lower. 2. Sit with your back and head pressed against the back. Put your feet wider than your shoulders, rest your feet on the floor. 3. Grasp the handles shoulder-width apart or slightly wider. 4. Inhale and holding your breath, squeeze the handles away from you. 5. Exhale at the moment of overcoming the most difficult part of the movement. 6. Slowly lower the arms to your chest. Do not linger at the bottom point, but immediately press the handles away from you with a powerful movement.

Technique tips

• It is impractical to pause at the bottom point, as this will require unnecessary waste of energy to perform the main work.
• Holding your breath allows you to develop a more powerful effort. Strength increases by about 20% compared to when the exercise is performed without holding the breath.
• If such a power station has handles of different grips, you can alternate it in approaches, which will allow you to work out the muscles at different angles.
• When returning the handles to their original position, do not take your arms too far back, this is fraught with injury to the shoulder joint.

Breeding dumbbells lying on a horizontal bench

This pectoral exercise focuses on the midsection and core to give the breasts volume and definition in separation. Recommended for everyone, from beginner to experienced athlete, in the middle or at the end of a workout after a bench press.

Exercise technique

1. Lie on a horizontal bench, press your head, shoulders and buttocks firmly against the bench. Keep your back straight, put your feet wider than your shoulders and rest them on the floor. 2. Take dumbbells and raise them clearly above the middle of the chest. They should touch each other lightly. Bend your arms slightly at the elbows. The elbow angle always remains unchanged until the end of the approach. 3. Take a deep breath, hold your breath and spread the dumbbells to the sides. At the same time, the elbows look to the sides all the time. 4. At the lowest point of the amplitude, without delay, change the direction of movement and along the same trajectory bring the dumbbells back over the middle of the chest. 5. Having passed the most difficult section of the amplitude, you can exhale.

Technique tips

• Too heavy dumbbells are useless in this exercise. They will force you to bend your elbows more, which will reduce the effectiveness of the exercise.
• Excessive weight will also negatively affect range of motion. Under its weight, you will lower the dumbbells below shoulder level, which can lead to injury to the shoulder joint.
• Holding your breath allows you to group your entire body. This adds stability to the position of your torso on the bench.
• It is recommended to exhale only after the most difficult section of the dumbbell movement, as this helps relieve excess pressure in the chest.
• Throughout the approach, make sure that the angle at the elbows is in a stationary position. The arm moves exclusively in the shoulder joint, the elbow and hand are motionless.

Breeding dumbbells lying on a bench with an upward slope

This exercise on the upper part of the pectoral muscles gives a distinct shape to the upper part of the chest, specifically highlighting its inner upper edge. Recommended for everyone from a beginner to an experienced athlete in the middle or at the end of a workout after a barbell and / or dumbbell press.

Exercise technique

1. The exercise is performed on a bench with an inclination of 30-45 in relation to the horizontal. Lie on a bench, keep your back straight, place your feet wider than your shoulders and rest them on the floor. 2. Pull the dumbbells over the upper chest. The arms are slightly bent at the elbows. The angle at the elbows remains the same throughout the entire set. 3. Inhale, holding your breath, spread your arms to the sides. At the same time, the elbows look to the sides; they cannot be turned towards the body. 4. At the bottom point, change the direction of movement without delay and slowly bring the dumbbells over the chest so that they touch slightly. 5. Exhale only after overcoming the most difficult part of the dumbbell movement.

Technique tips

• Unlike bench exercises, in dilutions the weight should be slightly reduced, since the correct execution technique is more important than a large weight.
• When breeding with straight arms, you put a dangerous strain on the elbow joints. The elbows remain in one unchanged slightly bent position throughout the approach.
• Do not over-breed the dumbbells. Dropping them below shoulder level, you risk injuring the shoulder joints, which is also fraught with tendon rupture.
• Holding the breath, as well as the rigid position of the feet on the floor, guarantee a stable position of the body on the bench during the exercise.
• The pace of the exercise should not be too high, as the technique will suffer from this and the breeding will be more like a bench press.
• Control the range of motion of the dumbbells and do not bring them back behind the head or forward to the stomach. So you can lose control over them and miss them.

Lying Dumbbell Pullover

This exercise for the chest muscles also involves the lats, serratus, triceps and anterior deltas. This shaping exercise details and builds muscle volume. Recommended for everyone, from beginner to experienced, at the end of a chest workout.

Exercise technique

1. Take a dumbbell of the required weight, sit on the edge of a horizontal bench and grab the dumbbell with both hands on the bar so that the palm is placed on the palm. 2. Lie on a bench and lift a dumbbell. In the initial position, the back is straight, the legs are wide apart and rest on the floor. The dumbbell is at eye level. 3. Inhale and holding your breath, lower the dumbbell on straight arms in a wide arc behind your head. At the lowest point, it should be behind the head, below the crown. 4. Do not linger at the lowest point. As soon as you feel that you have lowered the dumbbell as low as possible, immediately return it to its original position. 5. The exhalation can be done by overcoming the most difficult section of the amplitude. As soon as the dumbbell is again above eye level, inhale and continue the exercise.

Technique tips

• The cornerstone of this exercise is straight arms. Do not bend your elbows for anything, otherwise the pullover will turn into a French press and the effectiveness of the exercise will drop.
• Keep your arms straight throughout the approach, but not until the elbow is locked. Fix a small angle and hold it until the end of the set.
• Holding your breath during the exercise allows you not only to stabilize the body on the bench, but also to develop a much greater effort.
• Do not use excessive weight in the exercise. At the lowest point, he will pull his arms down and can easily dislocate the shoulder or elbow joints.
• A variation is possible lying across the bench. Leaving your shoulder blades on the bench and lowering your pelvis to the floor can increase the amplitude and stretch your pectoral muscles more.
• A variation of the exercise is possible with literally any weight. This can be a barbell, a kettlebell, a barbell disc, a medicine ball, and more.

Information in the simulator "Butterfly"

This exercise for the pectoral muscles adds "striping" to them, outlines their inner edges, clearly separates the left and right pectoral muscles in the center of the body. Recommended for everyone, from beginner to experienced athlete at the end of chest workout, after pressing and dilutions.

Exercise technique

1. Adjust the seat of the exercise machine or handles so that when you grab them in the starting position, your elbow is at shoulder level. 2. Sit down, keep your back straight, put your feet wider than your shoulders and rest your feet on the floor. 3. While inhaling, holding your breath, bring your hands in front of you. 4. Slowly spread the handles until they are at shoulder level. 5. Perform the movement smoothly, without delay.

Technique tips

• Do not put your arms excessively behind the shoulder line. If your muscles are not warm enough or your shoulder joints are not flexible enough, this can lead to injury.
• Do not relax your muscles during the negative phase of moving the handles back. By removing tension from the muscles, you reduce the effectiveness of the exercise.
• Keep your core muscles tense all the time, this will keep your body stable on the machine and give you a slight increase in strength.

Information in the crossover through the upper blocks

This lower pectoral exercise is used to emphasize the lower portion of the pectoralis major muscle and to clearly separate the chest muscles in the center of the torso. Recommended for advanced and more experienced athletes at the end of the chest workout after pressing and breeding.

Exercise technique

1. Attach the appropriate handles to the upper cable hooks. Stand firmly in the center of the crossover and step forward to stabilize your body. 2. Keep your back straight and tilt your body forward slightly. 3. Bend your elbows slightly. Until the end of the approach, this position of the elbows should be unchanged. The movement is performed exclusively in the shoulder joint. 4. Take a deep breath and holding your breath, bring the handles in front of you until they touch each other or a little further, crossing your arms. 5. At the moment of bringing the handles together, pause and hold the peak contraction in the muscles for at least a couple of seconds. Then slowly return your arms to their original position.

Technique tips

• Too heavy weight in this exercise is useless, since you will not be able to maintain a given angle at the elbows and will either bend your arms strongly or straighten them completely.
• Do not try again, taking significant weight to help yourself with your whole body. This will only relieve the burden on the chest and reduce the effectiveness of the exercise.
• Bring your arms together in a wide arc, as if in a circle. By bending your elbows, you will be doing pressing movements rather than information.
• By bringing your arms too high, you shift the emphasis of the load to the upper chest and shoulders. By bringing the arms too low, the load is shifted to the lower chest.
• By holding your breath and keeping your core muscles tense at all times, you increase body stability during the exercise.

Crossover information through lower blocks

This exercise on the upper part of the pectoral muscles emphasizes the load on the upper part of the chest and is used to clearly separate the left and right pectoralis major muscles in the center of the body. Recommended for advanced and experienced athletes at the end of the chest workout.

Exercise technique

1. Attach the appropriate handles to the lower cable hooks. Stand firmly in the center of the crossover and take a step forward to stabilize your body. 2. Tilt the body slightly forward, fix a small angle at the elbows and keep it constant throughout the entire approach. 3. Take a deep breath and holding your breath, bring the arms in front of you, at chest level. At the moment of convergence, the handles should slightly touch or even cross. 4. At the moment of touching, pause, hold the peak contraction in the muscles for a couple of seconds, exhale and slowly return the handles to their original position. 5. The body, legs and elbows are motionless throughout the approach. All movements are performed exclusively in the shoulder joint.

Technique tips

• Keep your core muscles tense all the time, even in the negative phase when you return the handles to their original position.
• Exercising too much weight can compromise your technique and injure your elbow or shoulder joints.
• By bringing your arms too high, to the level of the chin or even to the level of the eyes, you shift the emphasis of the load to the upper edge of the pectoral muscles in the region of the collarbones.
• To engage the dentate muscles in the work, be sure to try not only to reduce, but also to cross your arms at the time of bringing the handles together.
• For a high-quality study of the entire volume of the pectoral muscles, it is recommended to alternate information in the crossover through the upper and lower blocks.

Pushups

This exercise for pumping the pectoral muscles is basic and uses the middle, bottom and top of the chest, as well as triceps, front deltas, forearms and abs. Recommended for everyone from beginner to experienced athlete at the beginning, middle or end of chest workout.

Exercise technique

1. From a standing position, kneel with your feet together. Take an emphasis lying with your hands shoulder-width apart. The back is straight, the head does not look at the floor, but forward. 2. Take a deep breath, hold your breath and lower your body to the floor until your chest touches it. 3. Without delay at the bottom point, return to the starting position with a powerful movement. 4. The exhalation must be done at the moment of overcoming the most difficult part of the movement.

Technique tips

• You can shift the emphasis of the load on the upper chest by placing your legs on a raised platform.
• You can shift the emphasis of the load to the lower chest by placing your hands on a raised platform.
• You can shift the emphasis of the load to the outer part of the chest by placing your palms wider than your shoulders.
• You can shift the emphasis of the load on the inside of the chest by placing your palms together.
• If your level of training does not allow you to perform the exercise on straight legs, you can keep the emphasis not on your toes, but on bent knees.

Afterword

At the beginning of the article, we wondered what exercises to pump up the pectoral muscles? And already now, we can say with confidence that in this article we have considered perhaps the most effective of them. The list of exercises given here could be called the most complete if it were not constantly supplemented with new exercises, with different equipment, with a slightly modified technique for performing exercises, and so on. There are quite a few modifications of such exercises, each of which is aimed at its own, special and somewhat characteristic workout of muscles at some new angle. Nevertheless, in order to begin to be sophisticated with complexly coordinated exercises, it is necessary to master this theoretical minimum first, and then, in practice, polish the technical maximum. The exercises given here for pumping up the pectoral muscles are more than enough for a constant change in training programs and to add variety to the training process, regardless of the goals set.

Conclusion

The technique of performing exercises is an area of \u200b\u200bknowledge that is mandatory for a personal trainer to study and master. Without this knowledge, the coach cannot begin to directly fulfill his duties. Learn the technique, improve it and also remember that literally in every exercise you can make certain minor adjustments, be it a change in grip, body position, work equipment and more. The set of exercises for the pectoral muscles presented here gives you the opportunity to master the basic knowledge so that in the future you can layer more complex exercises and their variations on them.

The stronger the chest muscles are, the more proportional the figure will be. In addition, strengthening the chest muscles improves the quality of training, reduces the risk of injury, and helps in pumping the rest of the muscle groups, for example, biceps and triceps. For men and women involved in fitness, the development of the pectoral muscles is of great importance. This group of muscles is one of the largest on the body, and therefore needs special attention.

The training program should be designed taking into account the individual characteristics of the athlete, as well as knowledge of anatomy. The chest consists of two parts - the pectoralis major and minor. Also, this section is conventionally divided into bottom and top. There are no separate exercises for the inner and outer parts, the pumping of these zones is carried out together, but for the upper and lower parts of the lesson they will be different. You can work out to strengthen and tighten the pectoral muscles at home or in the gym.

To achieve an increase and development of the pectoral muscles at home or in the gym, it is important not to overload the muscles. You can often hear from girls and guys that even systematic training does not bring results. This can happen for one of two reasons:

1. you train the same areas;
2. chase heavy weights to the detriment of exercise technique.

Even the most effective exercises will turn out to be useless if you do not adhere to important training rules. You can avoid serious mistakes if you carefully study the general recommendations for pumping up the pectoral muscles:

• When doing exercises on the pectoral muscles, remember that such training requires a large number of calories spent during exercise. This must be taken into account when drawing up a diet.
• The upper workouts and lower workouts are closely intertwined with the muscles of the arms. Therefore, do not combine isolating and lifting movements in the same complex. By pumping your chest, you indirectly engage your triceps.
• An important question is how much you need to exercise to give the pectoral muscles volume and relief. Remember not to be overused. Beginners are advised to pay attention to this area no more than 2 times a week. The minimum break between classes is 48 hours.
• When conducting home workouts or classes in the gym, it must be borne in mind that the total number of all chest exercises should not exceed 6-8 approaches. If you are achieving muscle growth, there should be 10-12 reps in one set. Working for strength and endurance - 6-8. For weight loss, do 10-15.

Best of all, basic exercises pump the chest - bench press, push-ups on the uneven bars, exercises with a barbell, kettlebell, dumbbells, that is, work with your own weight and free weights. Isolated options are best avoided by athletes with less than two years of experience. All movements must be performed slowly. Emphasize correct technique. Hone your skills first, and then increase the load and intensity of the exercise. When the body adapts to the load, try to diversify the training.

Top training

Often novice athletes think about what exercises can strengthen the upper pectoral muscle. If you want to emphasize the upper part, know that the best movements are:

• Incline Bench Press (head up). Set the bench back to a 35 degree angle. Lie on a bench with your hips and lower back firmly pressed against it. Legs wide apart and rest against the floor surface. Take a barbell with a medium grip (slightly wider than shoulder level). Inhale, hold your breath and lower the bar to your chest, then squeeze the bar up.

• Breeding dumbbells (can be done with a chest expander). The starting position is similar to the previous exercise, only the legs are shoulder-width apart. We hold dumbbells in outstretched arms in front of us. We take a breath, spread our arms to the sides, elbows are slightly bent. Then we go back. We do not relax our hands, we move smoothly and slowly, without jerking.

• ... A simple and well-known exercise, but you need to know how to do push-ups in order to pump up your chest. We accept the emphasis lying, the setting of the hands should be medium, the socks rest on the floor. We bend the elbows and unbend them, the back is straight, the whole body is tense. There are many variations of push-ups, but what should you do for the upper chest? The best solution is the head down technique.
• Lifting dumbbells in front of you (you can with a barbell or with weights). Do not carry a lot of weight to perform. Starting position - we stand straight, dumbbells in our hands are lowered down along the hips. We inhale and raise our arms to parallel with the floor, as we exhale we lower our limbs. You can do the lifts with each hand in turn or at the same time.

Women and men need to remember that the shape of the breast largely depends on genetics, but with a properly designed training program, you can give the muscles not only shape, but also elasticity. Exercise systematically and remember to stretch before training.

Strengthening the bottom

To pump up the lower part, you can perform a barbell press or extend your arms to the sides on an incline bench, if you change the position of the bench by lowering the head edge down. Exercises in simulators are also effective:

• Hammer. It is necessary to perform a chest press. The advantage of exercising in the simulator is that the athlete cannot change the amplitude of movement, which has a positive effect on the purposefulness of the load. Holding onto the handrails of the simulator, you need to straighten your arms, and then bend them again, moving as smoothly as possible.

• Butterfly. Working out in this simulator, you can act on the middle of the pectoral muscle. Before training, you need to adjust the weight. Sitting on the bench, you need to inhale, and on exhalation, bring the handrails of the simulator together. At the end point, fix the position for 2 seconds and slowly spread your arms to the sides. Do not throw the handles, keep the muscles tense.

• Crossover. The exercise is performed while standing with one leg slightly in front of the other. Stand in the middle of the blocks, grab the handrails. It is necessary to bring the hands to the touch of the palms, slightly bending at the elbow joints.

Also noteworthy is the "half-ver" in the simulator and. They also work effectively on the pectoral muscles. It is necessary to perform the exercise "half-ver" in the simulator with straight arms. To do this, stand facing the simulator, grab the handrail with a straight grip and step back 30 cm. Take a breath and pull the handrail to your hips, fix the position for a couple of seconds and return to the starting position.

Training for ladies

Girls can do the same exercises as men - raising hands with dumbbells, bench press, half-overs, pull-ups, push-ups on the uneven bars. The secret to women's workout is to use light weight while losing weight. The mammary glands are located in the breasts of women, so it is important to understand how to exercise in order to work out the muscle bundles. Exercise is not able to affect the size and shape of the mammary glands, but constant training will make the girl's breasts more elastic and toned.

Video for girls:

Often women notice that their chest and arms hurt after exercise. This is due to overstretching of muscles and tendons. If you feel discomfort, it means that you are doing something wrong during the training. It is important to reconsider the approach to exercise, consult with a trainer and doctor.

Strengthening and pumping up chest muscles for guys and girls will not be difficult. You can do exercises in machines, but movements with free weights are more effective. Do not skip workouts, exercise in a great mood and the result will not be long in coming.

Developed pectoral muscles make the figure powerful and courageous, which is why they are given so much attention in bodybuilding, they are also important for those who are not going to compete on stage, but pay attention to their appearance and the development of strength. In addition, the pectoral muscles have a large volume, and basic chest exercises burn a lot of calories, which means they help to tighten the figure without dieting.

Although each of them performs its own separate task, most of the pectoral muscles are closely related to other muscle groups in the upper torso. Therefore, basic exercises for the back and shoulders simultaneously pump the chest, and exercises for the pectoral muscles affect the muscles of the back, shoulders and limbs.

• The largest muscle in this area of \u200b\u200bthe body is large chest, or m. pectoralis major... It covers the upper part of the rib cage, resembles a fan, "opened from the armpit," and outlines the outer edge of the anterior contour of the armpit. Its lateral edge is adjacent to the shoulder delta, the muscles are separated by a groove that ends in a subclavian fossa. M. pectoralis major puts the hand down after abducting it behind the back, pulls it to the body, bends it, turns the palm to the thigh. When a person is taken with her hands on a support, she pulls the body towards them (pulling up, climbing) and participates in breathing - on exhalation.
• Triangular m. pectoralis minor (pectoralis minor) lies under the big one. With one edge it attaches to the third to fifth ribs, and the other is "hooked" on the bony outgrowth-hook on the scapula - its coracoid process - and is responsible for bringing / abducting / pulling the scapula downward and facilitating inhalation.
• Between the collarbone and the first rib there is a small m. subclavius \u200b\u200b- subclavian muscle, she pulls the clavicle down medially.
• Front dentate muscle (m. Serratus anterior) stretches from the top nine ribs to the middle of the scapula. Together with rhombuses m. serratus anterior form a muscle loop: it covers the trunk and attracts the shoulder blades to it.

The deep muscles also lie in the sternum. They are called autochthonous, that is, their own, since they are not associated with the limbs: hypochondria; external and internal intercostal, extending the transverse muscle of the abdomen, the transverse muscle of the chest.

Training principles

Most basic chest exercises involve the triceps of the shoulder, the triceps, so you shouldn't work on these muscle groups on the same day. Triceps training simultaneously loads the chest, but not as much as in targeted training on it, and on the "day of the chest program" everything happens the other way around. Therefore, muscles do not have time to get used to stress, which means that they respond better to them and grow faster.

1. Beginners shouldn't train more than twice a week.
2. The lesson begins with a warm-up and ends with a "hitch" (10-15 minutes of fitness and stretching exercises).
3. Perform 4-8 sets of each exercise: to build mass, do 10-12 repetitions per set; to increase strength - 6-8. For beginners, one or two exercises for two or three approaches are enough.

If you've been doing strength lifting for less than two years, do without isolation exercises or keep them to a minimum. In addition to the basic set, there are arm raises with resistance bands and pullovers with light dumbbells. As your corset strengthens, move on to crossovers on the block trainer and to work out on the pectoral ("butterfly") chest trainer.

Press

Anatomically, all chest exercises are, in fact, horizontal presses - lying barbells and various push-ups. The convenience of push-ups is that by changing the angle of inclination of the body and the position of the hands, you can aim to influence one or another area of \u200b\u200bthe chest:

1. presses and push-ups in the "legs above the head" position work the lower part of the pectoral muscles;
2. pushing up and squeezing the barbell on the floor or on a straight bench, the athlete pumps the middle chest muscles;
3. presses and push-ups in the "head above the legs" position shake the upper pectoral muscles.

The placement of the hands also affects the aim of the training - on the floor or when gripping the bar. The wider they are spaced, the more the extreme segments of the pectoral muscles are drawn into the work, and the closer to each other, the more the shoulders and triceps are involved. To maintain balance, use a grip slightly wider than shoulder width.

Remember safety! Take your time to increase the working weight, otherwise you risk getting a stretch, or even a rupture of the pectoral muscles. Professionals argue that it is not so much weight that is important for effective muscle pumping as the correct technique.

On a straight bench

The bench press is essentially a mirror image of the floor push-up. The number of approaches depends on the program, on average 3-4 approaches of 6-12 repetitions are performed. It is advisable to perform the exercises with a safety net. The starting position, grip and pressing technique on straight and inclined surfaces are almost the same:

1. Lie on the floor or bench face up: the head, torso, buttocks "stick" to the surface, the lower back is raised in a physiological bend, the feet rest on the floor.
2. Grasp the bar with your palms slightly wider than your shoulders (elbows look to the sides), remove the projectile from the racks and lower it until the bar touches the middle of your chest or bring it 1–2 centimeters closer to your chest. Do not let the bar move downward with your weight, or the bar will hit your ribs, and at best, you will get a bruise, and at worst, injury.
3. Hold your breath, then with a forced exhalation squeeze the bar up, do not tear your buttocks off the bench. If you are not new to the gym, try not to straighten your arms all the way so as not to shift the load to the triceps. Straighten your arms, hold your breath and tighten your chest as hard as you can and lower the weight.

To avoid damaging muscle fibers, lift the bar quickly and lower it slowly. If you are a beginner, ask a coach or friend to back you up.

Tilted (head) up

The bench in gyms usually slopes from 45 ° to 60 °, but according to some trainers and athletes, it is better to set it at an angle of 15-20 ° to 35 ° so that, as the pros say, “front delts and triceps do not steal load on the chest muscles. "

• 20-30 ° - the load is distributed evenly over all chest zones;
• 30–35 ° - work in the middle / partly top;
• 40–45 ° - mainly the top is involved;
• 60 ° - the front deltas, triceps, partly the upper pectoral muscles are loaded.

Inhale, hold your breath and lower the projectile to your upper chest, now squeeze the weight up - exhale, hold your breath, muscle tension and return to the starting position. To complicate the exercise and increase the load without adding weight, place your feet not on the floor, but on a slight elevation, and your back is pressed more tightly against the bench.

Downward slope

The barbell in this press is lowered to the lower part of the pectoral muscle, the front deltas and triceps are also involved in the work. Usually the exercise is done by bodybuilders to shape the chest, but if you are not training for competition, it is not necessary for you. During your workout, do it after the straight and incline / up press.

The starting position is the same as in the previous exercises, but the feet can be placed on the floor and fixed with the rollers of the simulator. In this position, it is not always possible to independently remove the bar from the racks and return it back, you will need an assistant.

Do not take your basin off the bench! This is even more important here than with other types of bench press. The rush of blood to your head can make you feel dizzy, so don't do many reps and sets. For the same reason, do not hold your breath at the climax points - breathe calmly and evenly. When you're done, don't jump out of the machine, get up slowly.

Dumbbell press

Women and girls, especially those who practice not for the sake of records, but for the sake of losing weight and strengthening the body, should not get carried away with the barbell: a lot of weight intensively builds up muscles, and the fair sex does not need it at all. Therefore, as a base load for them, it is preferable to press dumbbells on the floor and / or on a bench.

Lie on the floor or bench, arms with dumbbells shoulder-width apart, bend them as if you were holding the bar in front of you. As you exhale, strain your chest and push the weight up, then slowly lower it, bringing your shoulder blades together. When you finish the set, lower the dumbbells on your hips, sit down and place them on the floor.

You don't need exercise machines for push-ups, you can do them anywhere and anytime: at home, during a break at work or in the park. They involve the chest and triceps, as well as the front deltas, limb muscles, lower back and abs. At first glance, there is nothing difficult in it, but this simple exercise has its own subtleties, and differs in that doing it right is much easier than wrong:

• In the initial position, the palms of the straightened hands are placed strictly under the shoulders so that the load falls on their central part (fingers are spread out as wide as possible!). Straighten into line - legs together, hips and buttocks tense, stomach pulled in.
• Go down, sliding your elbows on the sides, freeze at the bottom point, bringing your shoulder blades together. Straightening your arms, spread your shoulder blades, and stretch your chest forward / downward, loading the front serratus muscles.

This is a basic push-up, and you need to learn how to do it with the right technique before making it harder. Can you do two or three series of push-ups ten times from the floor? Then it's time for you to move to the next level.

Types and types

Pushing up from the floor, we make the muscles of the middle of the chest work; when the head is higher than the legs - the lower ones, and with the feet on the support and "upside down" - the upper ones. As with the bench press, the wider the arms are spread, the more effort is made by the extreme sections of the chest muscles, and the narrowing of the grip shifts the emphasis to the triceps and inner sections. The basic position of the hands is considered to be a stand slightly wider than the shoulders.

1. the easiest way to do push-ups is from a kneeling position when your legs are raised at a right angle and your shins are crossed. Women and men with poor preparation are advised to start with it;
2. further in complexity are inclined (it is convenient to perform it on the steps, dropping lower and lower) and the usual push-ups;
3. the exercise becomes more difficult: one foot is placed with a toe on the heel of the other ("push-up three points"); both legs are elevated (reverse oblique). When the legs are on a high support, and the arms are wide apart, the body falls so low that the pectoral muscles are stretched to the limit;
4. push-up on one hand, it is better to master it from video. In the PI, move the supporting hand under the body, lay the second one behind your back on the belt and, without moving, learn to keep balance. Does it work? Start trying to lower yourself: first ten centimeters, the elbow, when bent, moves back at a right angle.

Those who are not ready to move on to difficult exercises can do push-ups with stops to initially increase the load. Make the first stop for two seconds halfway to the floor, the second almost above it, and the third before straightening your arms.

Half an hour for chest muscles: push-ups on the uneven bars

Along with push-ups from the floor, exercises on the uneven bars will help out those who do not have the opportunity to go to the gym often. Technically and biomechanically, they resemble the "incline bench press", but the body moves more naturally, which means there is less chance of injury. A simple exercise involves almost the entire body: muscles of the chest, shoulders, arms, back, press.

There should be a distance of 70–80 cm between the bars, if it is less, the target load goes to other muscle groups, for example, triceps. Start the exercise from the top position: take an emphasis on the uneven bars on straightened arms.

Tilt your torso forward, bending your arms, turn your elbows to the sides and try not to bring them closer to the ribs. Sink more slowly and deeper until the hands are very close to the lower edge of the chest. Freeze for one to two seconds and straighten your arms. Repeat as many times as possible.