The pecs are the muscles in the chest. They consist of the pectoralis major and minor. Workouts to tighten these muscles involve movement of the arms and shoulders. When you move your arms inward, you primarily activate your pectoralis major and when you shrug your shoulders forward, you activate your pectoralis minor.
Free Weights
When it comes to doing chest workouts, you have the option of using free weights or machines. Free weights consist of dumbbells, barbells and weight plates. Because free weights cause you to use stabilizing muscles to remain balanced, they are a better option. Another advantage you have is that most free-weight chest exercises are compound because they involve more than one joint and muscle working at the same time. This leads to faster gains in size and strength, according to the website Fitness Tips for Life.
Types
The objective with pec workouts is to target the chest from various angles. This will ensure you achieve maximum development. Flat benches, incline benches and decline benches are used in conjunction with free weights to do the exercises. Flat bench presses target the middle chest, incline presses target the upper chest and decline presses target the lower chest. You can use dumbbells or a barbell and weight plates with every one of these exercises. Close grip barbell bench presses and dumbbell flies target the inner portion of the chest. These can be done from any angle.
Proper Form
Proper form is the deciding factor between a good or bad pec tightening workout. To maximize your muscle recruitment, use a full range of motion and never rely on momentum to move the weights. Take the barbell bench press for example. Lie on your back with your hands wider than shoulder-width apart on the bar. Steadily push it off the supports and hold it directly above your body with your arms fully extended. Take a big deep breath as you lower the bar down to your chest. Push it up in a steady motion as you exhale. Fully extend your arms but do not lock your elbows and repeat.
Size
The amount of weight you lift is important to your pec development. Use a resistance that allows you to only execute eight to 12 reps with good form. Have a spotter on hand to assist you with your last few reps when you are getting tired. Aim for three to five sets of each exercise and take at least one day off between workouts to allow for recovery.
Considerations
If you do not own any weight-training equipment or do not belong to a gym, you can do a whole chest workout with push-up variations. All you need is the weight of your body and a chair. Basic push-ups work the middle of your pecs and they are performed on the floor. Decline push-ups work your upper pecs and they are performed with your feet elevated on the chair. Incline push-ups target your lower pecs and they are performed with your hands on the chair. To do a basic push-up, lie on your stomach with your feet together behind you and your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Push yourself off the floor until your arms are fully extended and raise your hips to form a straight line from your shoulders to your heels. Slowly lower yourself down by bending your elbows and stop when your chest is right above the floor. Push yourself back up and repeat. Follow these same forms with your other exercises.
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