Best Exercises to Help You Develop Chest Muscles
If you want to develop chest muscles, you require targeted exercises that engage the upper body in the best way possible. Well-developed chest muscles provide endurance, especially for the people in the athletics segment. Chest exercises are diverse and they contribute to many movements. Below, we have highlighted five of the best exercises that can help you develop chest muscles.
Shoulder Abduction
This exercise develops the upper body by toning the arms and building their strength. This is one of the best exercises to help you develop chest muscles because, it also develops the portion of pectorals near the sternum.
How to Do It
- You should sit and place your feet comfortably on the floor.
- Start with the upper arms parallel to the floor and outstretched to the midline of your body.
- Move the forearms together in a well-ordered movement close to each other, but do not make the arms hit each other.
- Release your arms slowly till they return to the starting position.
You should inhale or exhale on each movement. Many people exhale as they bring their arms closer together and inhale as they move their arms to the starting point.
Standard Push-Ups
This exercise is a warm-up exercise for the upper body and the arms. This exercise specifically builds the pectorals and triceps. It also enables the body to be more enduring with more successive repetitions.
How to Do It
- Lie facing the floor.
- Place your hands on the floor below the shoulder level with your elbows bent.
- Lift your body from the floor with the toes and hands ensuring that you are in a flat position.
- Lower yourself very slowly to the starting position.
- Repeat the exercise several times.
Alternating One Hand Push-Ups
This exercise is best for strength conditioning and it also helps to develop the upper body and the arms.
How to Do It
- Lie facing the floor and feet spread wide apart to maintain stability.
- Your supporting hand should be close to the body as you are doing the push-ups.
- Ensure that the chest and the knees do not touch the floor and that the other arm is away from the floor but on your back.
Double Pulley Cross
This exercise builds the upper pectoral muscles.
How to Do It
- Grab the handles attached to the two towlines and move forward so that the weights are raised slightly from the weight stack.
- Start by outstretching your arms to the shoulder level and out to the sides with elbows stretched.
- Stretch the arms a little as you bring them together near the midline with hands in line with the lower pectorals.
- Breathe out while you bringing the arms together and breathe in while you moving your arms apart.
Bench Press
This exercise is powerful in developing the pectoral muscles.
How to Do It
- Place your body on the bench with your feet flat on the floor positioned on either side of the bench.
- Hold the weight bar securely in both hands with a strong grip and about shoulder-width apart.
- Breathe in as you lower the bar to the chest, but do not rest it on the chest.
- Breathe out as you raise the bar from your chest until the elbows are fully extended.
- Avoid moving your back when lifting the weight bar.