The Best Exercises For The Pecs

The pectoralis major, or chest muscle, is made up of two sections, the sternal and clavicular muscles. The pectoralis minor is located closer to the shoulder. There are dozens of effective exercises for developing the pectoralis major and minor muscles, known collectively as the "pecs." For maximum results, work the chest muscles at least twice weekly.

Push-Ups

Pushing your arms away from the body, either using your own body weight or external resistance, generally targets the chest muscles. Pulling external weight toward your body, specifically inward toward the spine, works the back. Push-ups are a classic military-style exercise that you can do anywhere, anytime, without equipment. Put the focus on the chest muscles by placing your hands slightly past shoulder-width apart. Whether you perform these in an advanced position with straight legs, or in the modified position, on your knees or using a bench, the most important factor is proper form. Performing three push-ups with excellent form is far more beneficial than doing 10 with improper form. Keep your head in line with your spine and attempt to touch your nose to the floor each time.

Bench Press

According to BodyBuildingforyou, the bench press, using a barbell, is one of the best chest development exercises. Varying your grip and positioning emphasizes different parts of the pectoral muscles. A wide-grip bench press places the emphasis on the lower pectoral muscles, while a close-grip bench press shifts intensity to the inner chest muscles. However, when performing a close-grip bench press, expect your triceps and outer chest to take over as the inner chest muscles become fatigued. Another variation of this classic exercise is a decline chest press, where your head and shoulders are well below your knees. This emphasizes the lower and inner pectoral muscles. Using a barbell enables you to vary your grip more easily than using dumbbells. However, performing a chest press with dumbbells engages smaller chest muscle fibers to control the movement or stabilize the weights. Regardless of the variation, concentrate on squeezing the chest muscles at the top of the movement.

Cable Cross-Overs

Musclenet.com recommends cable cross-overs for emphasizing the inner pectoral muscles. There are dozens of variations to this exercise. You perform this exercise standing in the center of a cable machine. Align the pulley attachments on either side at approximately shoulder-height. Grasp one in one hand and the other in the opposite hand and, facing forward; bend your upper body at approximately a 60-degree angle. Your arms should be almost straight as you bring the pulleys in front of you toward the center of the body. Cross the pulleys over each other, alternating hands for each repetition and squeezing your chest muscles at the top of the movement. You also can perform cross-overs lying on an incline bench, somewhat like a dumbbell fly with a cross-over. You may also adjust the height of the pulley placement to emphasize different sections of the pectoral muscles.