Pectoral Muscle Workout: Tips and Suggestions

A good pectoral muscle workout can give you the built-up chest you’ve been dreaming of. Almost any workout that focuses on your chest muscles will tighten and tone. But if you want a really popping chest, you’ll want to follow the tips and suggestions that I’ve started using in my workouts. I can already feel and see quite a difference.

Your chest is actually made of two muscles: the pectoralis major and minor. The major is naturally the larger muscle, which makes up most of your chest. The minor lies below the major muscle. Each muscle has certain movements that it controls, so by doing certain exercises you can target exactly which muscle you want to work.

Don’t forget to warm up before your pectoral muscle workout. You might think it’s not that important since this isn’t the easily injured hamstring or muscle around your delicate knees. But you can injury your pectoral muscles if you don’t warm up properly, just like you can injure any other part of your body. Allot yourself some time to stretch after the workout, to ease your muscles out of work mode.

Once you’re warmed up, a good way to start your pectoral muscle workout is with good old-fashioned push-ups. If you thought you’d have to buy some fancy gadget or built your own home gym to get a great-looking chest, think again! Push-ups are great for your chest, shoulders and triceps. You don’t even have to get on the floor to do them; you can put your hands against the wall and do them this way.

Whether you’re doing it on the wall or the floor, put your hands a little wider apart than your shoulders at chest level, lower yourself and push up, controlling the movement both ways. Keep your body straight and you’ll target your pecs.

Pullovers are a good dumbbell exercise for your pectoral muscle workout. While on your back on a bench or the floor, old the dumbbells in your hands with your arms extended straight up above your chest. Keeping them together, lower them straight back until your hands are above your head. Raise and lower several times in a controlled movement.

If you want to really work your pecs and build them quickly, you should incorporate chest presses into your workout. A bench is the best place to do this exercise, but the floor will do if you don’t have a bench. If you start feeling the strain in your shoulder, you’re not doing it correctly or you’re using too much weight.

You should be on your back with your feet on the floor, knees bent. Push your shoulders down toward the floor. Your knuckles should be facing the same direction as the top of your head as you hold the dumbbells at each side of your chest. If you weren’t holding dumbbells and you pushed your hands up, your palms should face the sky.

Now press up, moving the dumbbells inward as you do so, touching the ends together as your arms are extended. Pull back down to the outer sides of your chest.