A well-sculpted chest can give you an imposing physique as well as improve your overall posture. Of course, to get such a chest, you may have to put in a lot of hard work in the gym and keep your body fueled with muscle-building foods such as proteins and carbohydrates. If you have the will, patience, and desire to improve your physical appearance, here are 3 chest exercises to perform at least once every week:
1. Twisting Dumbbell Bench Press
The twisting dumbbell bench press is a variation of the popular bench press exercise. It is one of the most effective workouts for building upper body strength and parts like the chest. Furthermore, it is easy to master making it the ideal workout for beginners who want to improve their upper body physique fast.
Instructions
1. Grab two dumbbells with your hands and lie down on a bench press. Stretch your arms straight upwards and let the palms of your hands face inwards. In addition, your dumbbells should be almost touching. Start lowering weights slowly while at the same time twisting your wrists until the palms face outwards by the time the upper arms are parallel to the ground.
2. Hold this position for a few seconds and push dumbbells back to starting position. Remember to twist your wrists in the opposite direction when pushing upwards.
3. You can perform anywhere from three to six reps with rests of about 90 seconds between sets. For maximum effect, keep the speed of lowering dumbbells to about 3 to 4 seconds.
Handy Tips
1. Try as much as possible to use the longest range of motion you can achieve when turning the wrists. This is necessary for proper stretching of muscles in the chest.
2. Make it a habit to lower weights twice as longer as it takes to raise them.
Turning the wrists slowly as you lower weights stretches chest muscle fibers much harder and more efficiently. As a result, you will develop a bigger chest over time.
2. Weighted push-ups
Another common and popular exercise that you can change a bit to build a bigger chest is the push-up. In this case, you perform push-ups while carrying extra weight on your back. It is advisable to have a training partner around to help you position weights onto your back though this is not mandatory.
Instructions
1. Assume a normal push-up position while keeping the hands about six or so inches apart. Tell your training partner to place a gym weight onto your back. Make sure it feels well balanced. If not, inform your training partner to change its position or add padding onto your back to improve balance.
2. After this, lower your chest slowly until the upper arms up to the elbows are parallel with your body. Push back until the arms are fully extended. If you can, perform 10 reps and rest for 90 seconds. Use the same procedure to perform about 5 to 10 sets.
Handy Tips
1. If you do not have a training partner, you can put weights inside a backpack and strap it onto your shoulders.
2. Keep your neck and the lower back in neutral positions. In simple terms, neither flexed nor extended. A great way to keep the neck in a neutral position is by fixing your gaze at a point on the floor.
3. Push out the chest and pull back the shoulder blades when performing these push-ups.
4. It makes sense to start with lighter weights and add more as you progress.
5. If you can, try switching from close-hand to wide-hand push-ups in between sets, not in between reps.
6. Avoid fancy push-ups styles because it is easy to rip up tendons or pick up nasty injuries due to the extra weight your body has to bear and support.
The beauty of weighted push-ups is they pump up chest, upper arm, and front half of shoulder muscles, which is good news because your upper body will appear bigger.
3. Dips
Unlike the other two exercises described above, most people tend to shun dips while working out in the gym. This is largely because they can be tough to perform for beginners. Nevertheless, they are great exercises for sculpting and enhancing the size of the chest. Furthermore, you can perform dips anywhere provided there are bars or beams to hold onto with both hands.
Instructions
1. Place your hands onto each of the bars used for this exercise in the gym. Use the toes of your feet to give your body a nudge as you rocket upwards until the arms are fully extended.
2. With the hands firmly locked onto each bar, lower your body slowly while slightly leaning forwards. Keep the soles of your feet from touching the floor by bending both legs at the knees.
3. Keep lowering your body until you feel the pressure of chest muscles stretching out. At this point, push your body upwards; this constitutes a single rep. The complete set consists of about 5 to 10 reps. Make it your goal to complete four or more sets.
Handy Tips
1. It is very important to lean forward because this is the best way to target and work chest muscles.
2. Control your breathing while lowering and pushing up the body. The general rule of thumb is to breathe in when going down and breathe out when going up.
3. Introduce weights if these exercises become too easy. You can do this by hanging a heavy chain around your neck or strapping a backpack filled with weights onto your back. If you decide to use extra weight, make sure it is evenly distributed across your back.
Conclusion
You can easily attain an imposing physique by performing exercises that would increase the size of your chest. Some of the most effective workouts you can use to achieve this goal include dips, weighted push-ups, and twisting dumbbell bench-press. When combined with a protein-rich and healthy diet, these workouts can deliver impressive results within 3 to 6 months.
Original Source: 3 Exercises For A Bigger Chest
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