Every time you take a breath, you witness and feel your ribs expanding and contracting. Small muscles in between the ribs called intercostals are responsible for these motions. Aside from these, several other muscles reside outside the ribs and they need to be the focus of your workout. Strengthening these muscles will not only improve your aesthetic appearance but also add protection to your body. This is important, especially with contact sports like football, ice hockey and boxing.
Specific Muscles Targeted
The ribcage starts in the lower chest area and runs down at an angle to the sides of your body. The pectorals, obliques and and serratus anterior muscles need to be focused on with your workout. The pectorals run across the chest in a fan shape, and they are considered a large muscle group in the body. The lower portion of the pecs need to be included in your workout. The obliques, which run along the sides of the ribs at a diagonal angle, work to rotate and laterally flex the torso. The serratus anterior muscles sit right above the obliques and they look like fingers clinging to the sides of the ribs when they are well-defined.
Warmup Before Workout
Warming up before you work out is important for injury prevention. If you go into a workout with tight connective tissue, you run the risk of pulling a muscle. Spend five minutes doing some form of cardio, then do a series of dynamic stretches that are performed in motion. According to the American Council on Exercise, dynamic stretching readies your body for physical activity movements. Perform stretches like trunk rotations, forward bends, alternating toe touches, arm crossovers, arm circles and shoulder shrugs.
Exercise Selection
The best way to work your lower chest is with a decline bench press. When you place your body into a declined position, the emphasis goes to your lower chest and rib area. To work the rest of your rib muscles, include exercises like pullovers, side bends and Russian twists. These exercises require the use of free weights. These make better choices than machines because they recruit more stabilizing muscles.
Technique
Moving through a full range of motion is important with your exercises. You also do not want to ever use momentum, as this will take work away from your muscles. Take pullovers for example. These work the serratus anterior muscles and pecs at the same time. Lie face-up on a bench with your body perpendicular to the bench, shoulders flat on top and dumbbell held straight above your chest. Your arms should be fully extended at this point and your hands should be overlapping on one weighted end of the dumbbell. Keeping your arms straight, lower the weight behind your head in an arcing motion until you feel a good stretch in your rib area. Steadily lift the dumbbell back up and repeat. Keep the dumbbell vertical throughout the entire exercise.
Frequency of Training
If you want to make progress, you need to do enough work and adhere to your routine. Aim for 10 to 12 reps with your decline presses and pullovers, and do 15 to 20 reps with side bends and Russian twists. Perform four or five sets of each exercise and work out every three days. Training the same muscle groups every day can lead to injury.
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