Pregnancy, smoking, aging and excess weight cause breasts to sag, according to the Mayo Clinic's website. The breasts predominately consist of fatty tissue from an anatomical standpoint. Exercising pectoral muscles found beneath the breasts reduces sagging.
Identification
The pectorals actually consist of two muscles -- the pectoralis major and minor. The pec major gets activated when you move your upper arm across the front of your body and the pec minor gets activated when you shrug your shoulders forward. Bench presses involve these two motions and they help firm the pec muscles to reduce sagging.
Tools
The bench press is performed one of two ways -- with a barbell or dumbbells. Both exercises require the use of a flat weight bench and they are both performed from a face-up position.
Proper Form
To do the barbell bench press, lie face-up on the bench, grasp the bar at points wider than your shoulders, push it off the supports and hold it straight above you with your arms fully extended. Slowly lower the bar down until it lightly touches your chest and push it back to the starting position in one, smooth motion. When you push it up, do not lock out your elbows.
To use dumbbells, lie face-up on the bench and hold the weights straight above your chest with your palms facing your feet. Keep the dumbbells about an inch apart at this point. Slowly lower the weights to your sides until your upper arms are parallel the floor and push them back up in a steady motion. Contract your abs forcefully with both exercises to generate force and stabilize your spine.
Size
When doing your bench press, utilize a weight that is so heavy that you can only do eight to 12 repetitions with good form. A standard barbell weighs 45 lbs., so that may be all you can lift at first. By using heavy weights, you will maximize the muscle fiber recruitment. Aim for three to five sets and take one day off in between workouts to allow for recovery.
Variations
The bench press specifically targets the middle part of the pecs, but you can do two variations to target the upper and lower areas. Incline presses work the upper pecs and decline presses work the lower pecs. These are performed the exact same way as the regular bench press, except your body is at an angle.
Tips
To ensure you are able to reach your rep range, have a spotter stand right behind you when you are lifting. Before you start your sets, do a light dynamic warm-up to loosen up your muscles and connective tissue. A dynamic warm-up consists of dynamic stretches which are performed in motion. Execute stretches like arm circles, arm crossovers, shoulder shrugs, spinal rotations and forward bends.
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