Top Chest Exercises for Developing Full Muscular Pecs

Article by Brendan Matthews

It may be every guy’s dream to have a superior physique, but it seldom happens just by dreaming. One has to work at building up the chest muscles through the appropriate chest exercises. Start by understanding the anatomy and functions of the body before choosing the right exercises for building up the desired body areas.

Chest Anatomy

The chest is made up of major and minor pectoral muscles called pectoralis.

The pectoralis minor muscles are smaller and placed beneath the major pectoral which makes them less observable. These muscles are attached to the mid ribs, coracoids and scapula to allow the shoulders to move forward. The pectoralis major muscles are bigger and more pronounced at the humerus bone near your shoulder and fan out to different areas of the breastbone right at your chest center.

The primary function of the pectoralis major muscles is to allow the upper arms to cross over the body front, just like what bodybuilders do in a chest pose.

Best Chest Exercises

Once you understand the anatomy of the body, you can check out the appropriate exercises to build up the chest muscles.

Bench Press

Bench presses are a favorite with the guys as they want to build up their chest muscles too. The bench press works best on the chest with the pressing and strengthening of the upper body. You can use accessories with the bench press such as grips, bench angles, dumbbells or elbow tights.

A typical exercise routine includes sitting on a flat bench with a barbell in each hand. Take a medium width grip with the elbows tucked in as a safety precaution before lowering the bar to the lower chest.

Not only are the pectoralis worked on, the shoulder as well as the triceps are worked on too. Alternatively, you can use an inclined bench with dumbbells as an added stress on the shoulders to work them.

Parallel Bars

Bar dips can work the chest muscles and triceps. The dips can be used together with dumbbells to cross your arms over your body to firm up the chest muscles.

Cable crossovers

Stand at the dual cable device holding the machine handles with your spread out arms. Bring the handles in to the chest front with a slight bend at the elbows. This is a good exercise choice to end your workout regimen as it is a light weight exercise.

Dumbbell Pullover

Lie flat on the bench with hands holding dumbbells above your head. Then reach backwards behind your head with arms slightly bent. There are many variations of exercises that you can try out to develop your chest fully and to increase your opportunity to be attractive. Be sure to choose a proper workout regimen for developing your chest.

Find More Top Chest Exercises Articles