"Man boobs," or extra fat that men can sometimes carry at the chest, are typically undesirable. It's important to immediately note that "spot reducing," or targeting an area for weight loss, is absolutely impossible. There are strength-training exercises, however, that can develop the chest muscles, that when combined with aerobic exercise and body fat-loss efforts, can help tone up the area. Body fat is completely independent of muscle mass, so improvement at the chest area takes a combination of fat loss and weight training.
Push-Ups
Push-ups are highly effective in developing the chest muscles. Place your hands on the floor slightly wider than shoulder-width and raise up onto your toes so that your body is in a straight line. Bend your elbows to lower your chest down to the floor. Once your elbows bend 90 degrees, extend the elbows to push yourself back up. It's a good idea to vary your hand placement. You can spread them out wider or bring them in to a more narrow position, which allows the chest to be developed in a slightly different manner. When you complete push-ups, complete three to five sets of your maximum number of repetitions.
Bench Press
The bench press allows you to lift significantly more weight than push-ups and the exercise is very effective in developing the chest muscles. Lie on your back on a bench. Grip the barbell above your head with your hands placed slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Hold the bar up with your elbows straightened out. Lower the barbell down to your chest, allowing it to gently touch your chest before you extend your elbows and push the bar back up toward the ceiling. Complete three to five sets of eight to 12 repetitions. You can add variety to your workouts by widening or narrowing your grip.
Chest Flys
While push-ups and the bench press also develop your shoulders and triceps, chest flyes isolate your chest muscle. Lie on your back on a bench. Hold a dumbbell in each hand and extend them over your face with your elbows straightened. Your palms should face each other. With your elbows remaining straight, but not locked, spread your arms open until they're close to being parallel with the floor. Return your arms back to center. Complete three to five sets of eight to 12 repetitions.
Aerobics
The strength-training exercises will help tighten and develop the chest muscle, but efforts also need to be made toward body fat loss. Participating in regular aerobic exercise will burn calories and facilitate the loss of body fat. While you can't target the fat loss to occur at your chest, an overall loss of body fat will cause some of the weight to come from the chest. You should try to perform an hour of cardiovascular exercise three to five days per week to facilitate weight loss.
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