Effective Chest Exercise Routine

To build the muscles of the chest correctly and in proportion, it is important to add variety to your exercise routine.  The following is a sample exercise set and regiment that puts the emphasis on building muscle mass in all regions of the pectoral muscle group.  It is important to note beforehand however, that there are other muscle groups that work in accordance with the pectoral, such as the triceps and front deltoids (shoulders), which may require some additional training in order to prepare them for an isolated chest routine.

After a brief warm-up and stretching, begin your chest routine with a simple press exercise.  Bench presses are quite popular and are an excellent exercise for building mass.  Bench pressing is done by lying flat on a bench and then lowering and raising a bar in a vertical movement.  Hand placement is important because it can put the emphasis on either the chest (where it is supposed to be) or the triceps.  A shoulder width grip is recommended and be sure to hold the weight over your chest rather than too low or too high.  It is also a good idea to have a spotter when doing these exercises for you can easily find yourself pinned with the weight on top of you.

Variety is key in any effective chest routine, so if you use a barbell for your flat bench presses, use dumbbell’s for your incline presses.  Inclines build the upper part of the chest as well as the shoulders, and alternating barbells and dumbbell’s from week to week is very effective in keeping your growth rate high.  The same is true for decline presses, which build the lower part of the pectoral and create separation between the muscles of the chest and the upper rib cage.  If bench presses do not work for you, you may benefit from doing a dip instead.  Dips are a great exercise to develop the chest and can easily substitute for a bench press.

There is also a difference in technique that must be noted here, while the above-mentioned exercises are considered presses, there is also a butterfly movement that can be employed to great effect.  Butterflies are done using dumbbell’s, while laying flat on a bench the starting position is with both arms straightened out, palms facing one another.  While keeping the elbows bent slightly, lower the weights in an outward arcing motion, keeping the palms facing upward.  Butterflies are significantly harder than presses and require great attention to form.  They can also be done as Inclines and Declines and they add another dimension to your training.  So altogether, a sample routine may include, bench presses with a barbell, incline presses with dumbbell’s, and declined butterflies.  You can however, switch this up into any combination that you feel comfortable with, it is recommended as well to change your routine every 4-6 weeks to avoid becoming stagnant.

There is also another array of tools you can use to build the muscles of the chest.  While using cables, you can simulate all of the same butterfly motions, but at different heights, therefore utilizing different parts of the muscle by changing the angle of attack.  The correct starting position is with your hands outstretched to your sides holding the cables at about shoulder height, while keeping the elbow slightly bent, pull your hands together in front of you in a controlled motion.  Using cables will build the middle regions of the pectorals as well as the inside portions.  You can do these by pulling them together in front of you, by pulling in a downward movement, or pulling from a low hand position, just as long as your hands meet palms-facing one another in front of your chest.

To work the extreme inner portions of the chest, machines work quite well.  When using these machines it is important to remember that you are using the chest and not the arms, it will be tempting to use the triceps and shoulders, but focus on pulling the weight together with your elbows.  This exercise is recommended for the end of your workout, that way the large areas fo the muscle will already be exhausted and little weight will be required to get an effective burn from this exercise.

Be sure to mix up the order of the first exercises outlined in this article, figure out what works best for you and keep an eye on the proportion of your pectorals.  If you feel you need more work for the upper chest, focus on doing Inclines for a while, if you feel you need to work on the lower region then use Declines.