Building effective chest muscles are important for both men and women. Therefore, the chest muscles have a significant role in helping the arm move. If your chest muscles are built and exercised frequently, moving your arms to do heavy work can be easy.
How to build effective chest muscles
There are many ways to build chest muscles that you can do, such as:
1. Flat bench press
The bench press effectively builds chest muscles that you can do at home using a barbell or other gripe weights. Lie flat on a lounger with your feet on the ground.
After that, take the weight, lift it until your arms and elbows are straight up, and slowly lower them until they align with your chest. The elbow is bent at approximately 45 degrees when the load drops to the chest.
2. Cable crossover
An effective way to build chest muscles using a cable crossover is to use a cable machine at the fitness center or a resistance band attached to a sturdy object above your head.
This cable crossover movement pulls the two cables or bands forward with the left and right hands until they are crossed in front of the navel for several repetitions.
This exercise will contract the chest muscles, especially the serratus anterior muscle.
3. Chest dip
Chest dips are an effective chest exercise that you can try at home. To do this, you need to find two sturdy grip handles.
After that, stand between the two handles and grip the handle. After that, lift the body slowly while straightening the elbows. Hold for a moment, then bend your elbows slowly and return to the starting position.
4. Resistance band pullover
The next way to build chest muscles is a resistance band pullover. Here’s how to do it:
Use an elastic band or string and tie it to something sturdy. Then lie on the floor with the base with the head in front of the object where the band. Keep in mind that the position of the rope ties must be above your head when lying down.
After that, pull the rope with both hands. When pulling, the arms position is straight, with the palms facing the middle of the body. During this movement, the core of the body must contract.
5. Chest flies
You can use a tool of the same name at the gym to do chest flies. This exercise is also known as the pec deck, pec fly, butterfly, and seated lever fly.
The following are the steps for training chest muscles using chest flies:
Sit up straight on the tool and keep your feet flat on the floor. Grab the handles on the sides with your right and left hands. Palms facing forward.
Some tools are equipped with a foot lever that needs to be pulled before you can move the side handle.
Pull the handle and bring your hands in front of your chest in a slow, controlled motion.
Once both hands reach the chest, hold for one second before opening again; return to the starting position in slow motion.
6. Wide push-ups
Push-ups are known as an effective chest-shaping movements. However, your chest muscles will form faster if you modify them with wide push-ups.
Make sure your hands are touching the surface, but not at shoulder level, but spread your hands apart.
This movement will make push-ups feel heavier, but the results will differ from regular push-ups.
7. Incline push-ups
This method of building chest muscles can be an option for those not used to doing push-ups. The incline push-up is lighter because it doesn’t require trained muscles.
The movement feels lighter because you don’t have to do it on the floor or surface. Just find a table, chair, or other sturdy support and place your hands on the ends as a support, then do push-ups.
Not only easy to do, but incline push-ups are also very good for building lower chest muscles.
8. Diamond push-ups
This chest muscle exercise is a modified push-up that can be done by placing your hands close together and forming a diamond symbol with your thumb and index finger. Then, do push-ups.
This movement, known as the diamond push-up, can put pressure on your two pectoral muscles so that they can be easily formed and strengthened.
9. One arm push up
For those of you who have often done push-ups and want to modify more challenging movements, one-arm push-ups can be chosen as a way to build chest muscles.
Unlike push-ups, this movement requires only one hand on the floor while the other hand is behind your back.
In addition to building and strengthening chest muscles, one-arm push-ups can teach your body good balance.
10. Time under tension push-ups
Another chest muscle exercise that it can try is time under tension push-ups. The movement is the same as a regular push-up, but the movement is much slower. Although it feels more strenuous, this movement can help your muscles build and increase muscle mass.
Things to consider when exercising chest muscles
In addition to exercising, there are other things that you need to pay attention to so that the chest muscle exercise that is being undertaken can get maximum results, such as:
1. Eat regularly
You will never get big and strong chest muscles if you still have a thin body. Therefore, eating regularly is an important rule for those who want to build chest muscles.
2. Rest
Muscle is built when you rest, not when you exercise. You are only advised to train the chest muscles two times a week.
3. Increase calories
Calories are one of the nutritional intakes needed to form chest muscles to be formed properly and broadly. Make sure you meet your calorie needs according to the RDA so that it can maximize the results.
4. Set realistic goals
On average, men will gain 2 lbs of muscle within a month. It can do nothing to speed up this process. So you have to be patient and keep at it.
The benefits of having strong and formed chest muscles
Doing how to build chest muscles is not only useful for improving appearance. In terms of health, you will also get various benefits by having well-formed chest muscles, such as:
- Improve chest muscle function
Chest muscle exercises can improve the function of the chest muscles because a strong chest will affect the overall strength of the upper body.
It can make you stronger for many things, such as lifting a barbell or pushing a stalled car.
- Improve posture
Building chest muscles is also beneficial for posture. A strongly formed chest can make you stand straight. For women to build chest muscles, it can be a solution to tighten the breasts.
To have chest muscles in shape, you must do exercises regularly and balance with a healthy lifestyle.
