When you hear chest workout, you may immediately think ofpush-upsor bench presses.
What muscles make up the chest?
The chest is made up of two muscles: the pectoralis major and the pectoralis minor.
Katie Thompson
Theyre often referred to as thepec muscles.
Why is having a strong chest so important?
Your chest makes up a good portion of your overall upper-body strength, Williams says.
So if you want a strong upper body, having a strong chest is key.
How often should you work your chest muscles?
Just verify to pencil in enoughrest between sessionsso your chest muscles have sufficient time to recover.
Williams recommends a two-day break.
First, always ensure to warm up beforehand so that you dont jump in with tight, cold muscles.
(Heres aneasy upper-body warm-upyou can try.)
Williams also suggests rolling or stretching out your pec minor before and after the workout.
This positioning will help activate your chest muscles and protect your shoulders, Williams says.
Need some extra help activating your chest muscles?
12 Best Chest Workouts
Ready to fire up your pecs and gain serious upper-body strength?
A 3-Move Routine to Help Build Push-Up Strength
Lets face it: Push-ups arehard.
Trust us: This routine will smoke your pecs.
Dont feel like following it up with a separate routine?
A 4-Move Upper-Body Workout for Someone Just Getting Started
New to strength training?
In fact, consider practicing the movement first without any weight at all.
Your goal is to be able to complete all the reps with proper form.
Thats important, as it can alleviate the muscle imbalances most of us have, Fagan explains.
Single-arm work also really challenges yourcore stability, which turns these upper-body exercises intoabs exercisestoo.
Now thats what we call a win-win.
And thats one reason that an upper-body workout like this one is so great.
A No-Equipment Upper-Body Strength Routine
Dont have access to weights or bands?
Created by Fagan, this routine works your chest, shoulders,triceps, and upper backno equipment needed.
Form is really important, so take it slow if you’re gonna wanna.
Even with this modification, youll still be challengingand strengtheningyour pec muscles.
Italsohits your pulling muscles, which make it a really balanced way to approach a chest workout.
Plus when you dont take any rest, you get acardioboost along with the strength-building benefits of weight training.
