Chest Exercises

Here is an introduction to some great chest exercises. Take a closer look at how to tone and tighten your chest!

The chest muscles, Pectoralis Major, may seem like they are for show, yet they have very important functions, besides looking good in a tank top. Men generally like to have the bulging big chest with the smaller waist. I’ve been asked many times to help move the meat in the gut, up to the chest. For ladies, the hope is to develop tone and diminish the skin that can pop up over the material of the bra or tank top under the arm pits.

Function wise, the Pectoralis Major completes the joint action of horizontal adduction, or a decrease in the joint angle in the horizontal plane. Think of these muscles as the ones that help you push open doors, or help bring your arms together to clap and cheer (we’ll get to arm exercises later that get rid of the “bird wings” while clapping).

There are many different chest exercises with countless variations, yet push ups continue to be one of my all time favorite chest exercises. Push-ups can be done anywhere and you need zero equipment to get the job done. One bonus of the push up is that when done correctly, you also work the biceps, triceps, abdominals, back, and shoulders! Not too shabby for one exercise.

Anyone can do a push-up, and there are many variations of a push-up, so you can pick the best level for you to start. Let me begin with the importance of using your abs for push-ups. Using your abs helps to protect the low back from injury. One tell-tale sign of not engaging your abs is if your low back is sagging. Please keep your abs tight!

Keeping your abs tight may sound easy, but the technique can be difficult to comprehend at first. I tell my clients that the easiest way to tighten the abs is by squeezing your abs as if you are bracing yourself to get punched in the stomach. Or (I know this sounds gross), squeeze your abs like when you are going to the bathroom and have difficulty. Please do not suck your stomach in, it makes it difficult to breathe and complete an exercise at the same time, and as we know, breathing is rather important.

Chest Exercises Level 1: Wall Push-Up

The wall push-up is great for beginners to develop the technique and useful if you have difficulty getting up and down from the floor. This will not use all of your body weight as a floor push-up does, but will still work all of the same muscles.

To start, stand arm’s length from a stable wall or door, with your arms straight out and hands placed just below shoulder height on the wall.
Scoot your feet back, away from the wall slightly and lift your heels off of the ground so that you can push yourself back and forth with ease, regardless if your calves are tight.

Keep your abs tight!
Inhale as you slowly lower yourself toward the wall, bending at the elbows. Watch your low back, at this point most people want to let the hips drop and sag at the back, remember you can avoid this by keeping those abs tight.
Exhale as you push yourself away from the wall, back to the starting position.
Use slow and controlled movement, going down for two seconds and pushing back up for two seconds.
Complete 10-15 repetitions. Rest for at least 30 seconds then continue your next set. Aim to do 2-3 sets of this exercise.

Chest Exercises Level 2: Bench Push-Up

This chest exercise can also be done using a sturdy railing, coffee table, or even the stairs in your home. This will be a step up in difficulty from the wall push-up. You will be pushing more of your body weight, and gravity will be more of a factor since your body is at an angle. As before, this variation is a good option if getting up and down from the ground is very difficult for you.

Begin by placing your hands on the bench about shoulder width apart. Keep your shoulders in line with your hands. You don’t want to feel as if your body is flat and parallel to the ground with your hands far in front of the shoulders; this can increase risk of injury to the shoulders.

Keep your abs tight, so that you could run a straight line from your shoulders through your hips all the way to the toes.
Lift your heels off of the ground to prevent the hips from spiking into the air.
Inhale as you slowly bend at the elbows and lower your chest toward the bench, keeping your body in a straight line.
Exhale as your squeeze your chest and push yourself up and straighten the arms.
Continue to use slow controlled movement of two seconds down, two seconds up.
Remember to go down to the point that you can still control your abs and back, but you also want to make sure that your challenging yourself by getting your elbows as close to 90 degrees as possible.
Try to complete 10-15 repetitions. Rest for at least 30 seconds then continue your next set. You will be able to see small improvements in strength and ability with one set, but 2-3 sets will increase your effectiveness and results!

Chest Exercises Level 3: Floor Push-Up

Are you ready for the ground? Your full body weight will be used for this chest exercise!

Lower yourself to the floor slowly. Place your hands shoulder width apart, with your shoulders in line with your hands (shoulders directly over your hands).
You can keep your knees off the ground and stay on your tip-toes so that you have a straight line from your shoulders, hips, and feet.

Modified: Knee push-up. Hands are the same, but kneel with your feel in the air. This will give your body a straight line through your shoulders, hips, and knees.
Keep your abs tight and do not pike your hips in the air.
Inhale as your slowly bend at the elbows and lower yourself to the ground. Go to the point that you can control your movement, getting as close to 90 degrees as possible.
Exhale as your squeeze your chest and arms (abs are still tight), and push yourself back up to the start position.
Do 2-3 sets of 10-15 reps.
These may be difficult, but please remember to breathe! Holding your breath at the hardest point will not make it any easier to push yourself back up.

Chest Exercise for any Level: Chest Press

The chest press is another chest exercise that is very effective and efficient. If you are thinking of pushing those huge heavy bars in the gym while lying on your back, you are correct. That is a bench chest press, same technique, but we will be using a weight that works for you. If you are in the gym, you can use dumbbells or a bar of some sort (even a body bar) will work. If at home, soup cans, water bottles, or even two bottles of laundry detergent will come in handy.

Start by lying on your back on a bench with your feet on the floor. I am strongly against putting your feet on the bench, just in case you lose control of the weight or lose your balance. Falling or rolling off the bench, no matter how graceful you pull it off, is not so much fun, and increases risk of injury.
If at home with no bench, lay on your back on the floor. This time, keep your knees bent with your feet flat on the ground about hip width apart.
Even though you are lying down, your abs do not get to rest. Keep them tight!
Have a dumbbell in each hand, with your arms extended straight in the air in line with your chest, palms facing your feet.
Slowly inhale as you bend at the elbows and lower the weight. Keep your hands in line with your shoulders the whole time. Meaning, don’t let the hands move away from each other as you are bending the elbows. It makes it difficult to control the weight, and does not work the muscles as effectively.
Exhale as you squeeze the chest and push the weight back up the straight imaginary line from the shoulders until the arms are fully extended.
The weight you choose should allow you to complete 12-15 repetitions, with the last 2-3 reps feeling very difficult. You also want to be able to control the amount of weight that you use. Feel free to ask someone to spot you if you feel uncomfortable using weights on your own.
Complete 2-3 sets with generally 30 seconds to 1 minute of rest in between sets of 12-15 repetitions.
Remember to breathe and control the motion by coming down for 2-3 seconds and pushing back up for 2-3 seconds.

Remember to consult with a physician before beginning an exercise program. These chest exercises should not be completed on back to back days. Make sure you have a day of rest for the chest muscles to repair and strengthen. In general, try to have 2-3 days of strength training a week with one day of rest in between. I recommend for beginners to have total body strength work outs, with cardio days on the “rest” days. Look for more information on lifetime fitness workouts in the future!

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