The human chest is composed of several regions and each of these has to be fully trained so one can achieve a fully defined chest. However, some people do exercises that focus only on the lower chest, but little attention is given to the upper chest. Unfortunately, this is not the best way to get sculpted. Keep in mind that a solid upper chest workout is just as important as the ones you perform in your lower and middle areas of the chest. To ensure you’ll be able to develop well-defined chest muscles, check out the following exercises.
1. Barbell Bench Press
The reason why a barbell bench press should be included in your exercise regimen for developing chest muscles is the fact that barbell lifts allow you to generate the most power. If you want to develop chest muscles, then you should know how to lose chest fat and barbell bench press is one effective way to do that. Barbell lifts are easier to control compared to pressing using heavy dumbbells. Besides, this type of exercise is also easy to spot, learn and master. The good news is that there are many types of bench-press exercises that you can perform to be able to increase your strength. Do this exercise right at the beginning of your chest workout. This should be for heavy sets in lower repetition ranges. Then, think about making changes to your grip width for more thorough chest development.
2. Flat Bench Dumbbell Press
Dumbbells allow your body to work independently, as it is performed on each side. This greatly helps in stabilizing muscles. Remember that a dumbbell is more difficult to control compared to a barbell. Dumbbells also exercise the ability of your muscles to perform a long range of motion. So, if you do flat bench dumbbell press, you will be able to hoist a heavy weight, making it such a good alternative especially to people who have been stuck with using the barbell bench for years. Perform flat dumbbell presses at the beginning of your chest workout. But, avoid adding dumbbell presses to your barbell bench press workout because these exercises allow the same movement. The similarity of muscle activation when doing barbell bench press and dumbbell press has been confirmed in an EMG (electromyography) analysis.
3. Incline Chest Press
This type of exercise serves several purposes and is known to be one of the best exercises for sculpting those chest muscles. The incline allows you to work at a different angle. However, its weight has to be moved outwards and upwards. The angle of the way you lift it and the way you fight against gravity to keep the weight up serve as a good combination. Although this exercise also involves the shoulders, your upper chest will be the ones that will be the most involved. You may also perform this exercise with a dumbbell or a barbell, depending on which of these you find the most useful. However, before choosing to use either a barbell or a dumbbell, keep in mind the involvement of stabilization. You also need to consider the fact that the supporting muscles will change based on what you choose.
4. Reverse Grip Bench Press
Going back to the bench press, know that there are still other ways to exercise using it when all you want is to define your chest muscles. One of these is to use the reverse grip that greatly minimizes the use of the shoulders to allow the triceps and upper chest to work more. This makes the exercise so ideal for those who want to engage in muscle variations without the need to put in too much extra work. To perform this exercise, you have to hold your equipment with an underhand grip. Then, extend your arms until you reach the full contraction of your chest before you bring it back down to an almost right angle position in the arms.
5. Incline Dumbbell Pullover
If you want to develop your chest muscles, then flat-bench pullovers can just be ignored. Instead, go for the inclined version as it subjects your chest fiber under tension so you can have a longer range of motion. First, see to it that the bench is inclined to about 45 degrees and then sit back against it. Make sure those dumbbells you’re holding clear the top. Perform this exercise with a single-joint movement. This would mean you should not be bent or extending your elbows. When it comes to muscle building, it is a must that you should have a specific reason for every move you make. For example, if you do pull-over exercises, you will be exercising your shoulder extension which can torch the pecs it’s because they are really the ones primarily involved in this exercise.
Note that one of the keys to getting your chest ripped is to increase the total work done while also making sure that you’re hitting it in all its angles as much as you need to. Most of all, don’t forget to load up on healthy foods for healthy muscle development as well.
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