The pectoral muscles --- or pecs, for short --- are the muscles of your chest. You can strengthen your pecs with simple exercises such as push ups, flys and chest dips. There are more complicated exercises, or even complex variations of the simplest exercises, but training your pecs consistently is more important than how elaborate your exercises are.
Push-Up
The push-up exercise utilizes no weight other than that of your body to strengthen your pecs. The muscles of your arms and shoulders are used during a push-up, too, but the pecs are the prime mover. A push-up begins in what is popularly known as push-up position. To do a push-up, begin face down in push-up position, with your hands and toes on the floor. Hold your arms straight, with your hands shoulder-width apart. Space your toes hip-width apart, and flatten the rest of the body in a straight line. From there, bend your elbows and flair them outward as you lower yourself down to one inch from the floor. Press your body up again until your arms are straight.
Chest Dip
The chest dip is another body-weight exercise to work your pecs. You will need a set of parallel dip bars, found at virtually every gym. You can also use an assisted dip machine if you prefer for exercise. To perform a chest dip, stand between the bars, and grab the hand rails with your palms facing inward. Keep your wrists straight as you bend your knees to lift your feet off the floor and support your body with your arms straight. This is the starting position. Next, bend your elbows and incline your upper body forward slightly as you lower your body between the bars, so your elbows point straight toward the ceiling at right angles. Let your elbows open to the sides as you dip. Then, straighten your arms and raise your body back to the starting position.
Pec Deck Fly
The pec deck fly exercise is done on a pec deck machine, which has two movable arms you push together in front of your body. The only thing to worry about is the seat adjustment. Your elbows should line up with the bottom of the arm pad if the seat is in the correct place. Adjust the seat up and down by pulling out the pin beneath the seat and sliding it into the position needed. To perform a chest fly on the pec deck, sit with your back flat against the seatback. Bend your elbows to 90 degrees, and place your forearms with the palms flat on the arm pads. Bring the two pads together in the center of your body. Open your arms to the sides again to complete a fly.
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