Chest Muscle Workouts

The process of working out chest muscles includes exercising pectoralis major and pectoralis minor. Movements such as adduction and flexion of shoulder take place by means of the pectoralis major muscle. The pectoralis minor which is located under pectoralis major also plays a role in movements such as rotation, flexion and adduction of shoulders. Chest muscle workouts help in strengthening the chest muscles that are important to carry out the above mentioned movements with ease. Let us have a look at the chest muscle exercises through information presented below.

Workouts for Chest Muscles

There are many different chest muscles workouts used in strength training routines for pectoral muscles. Few of the chest muscle workouts are explained in paragraphs below.

Workouts to Build Chest Muscle -- powered by eHow.com

Bench Press
A bench press exercise is performed while lying on a bench. This barbell bench press workout involves lifting a barbell that is placed above the chest and which rests on a horizontal bar. The pectoral muscles are mainly worked out in this exercise. Apart from the pectorals, a range of upper body muscles including the triceps, deltoids, biceps and latissimus dorsi too, are exercised in this chest muscle workout.

To perform the bench press one should lie on the bench, as mentioned above. Barbell should be lifted off the horizontal bar and raised above. After reaching full height, the barbell should be lowered. An angle of 45 degrees need to be maintained between sides of the body and upper arms. Finally, the barbell should be raised and placed to its original position i.e. on the horizontal bar.

Dumbbell Flyes
This chest exercise is performed by lying on a bench that can either be a flat one, incline or decline bench. The purpose of using incline and decline benches is that the former helps in working out the upper chest; the latter strengthens the lower part of chest. Flat bench dumbbell flyes are used in working out the entire chest.

To perform this dumbbell exercise, one should first lie down on a bench with dumbbells in both hands. The hands need to be extended, right above the chest; they should be positioned in a manner that palms face each other. A slight bend in arms, at the elbows, need to be maintained. From this position, both the arms need to be lowered in a semicircular arc (in a manner that they move away from each other). There is no need to press down the arms to their limit; it may result into an injury to the shoulder joints. The arms from a sideways position should be raised and brought back straight above. While doing this, the strength of chest muscles is tested; performing this exercise regularly should increase the strength of chest muscles.

Push-Ups
The push ups are most common chest muscle workouts being used. One doesn't need any kind of instrument or equipment to perform this exercise. Initial position in the process of performing push ups is that of lying with the face down. Hands need to rest on either sides of the body by means of palms. The torso and legs have to be kept together in a straight line. Chest muscles should be used to push the body upwards from this position. When the body is raised with arms fully extended, it should be lowered down, to the point where distance between the floor and chest is just about an inch. Repetitions of this exercise help in strengthening the entire chest muscles. It is probably the best chest workout without weights. Secondary stress is applied on triceps and shoulders. Push-up exercise can also be used as a shoulder exercise; it can be termed as one of the best chest muscle workouts at home.

The chest muscle workouts presented in this article are easy to do. Performing these exercises on a regular basis should help in chest muscle building also result into a strong upper body.