1. Tried and True Staple of Chest Exercises
A massive chest is a must for bodybuilders. Nothing is quite as impressive as powerful pecs that strain to burst out of your shirt. To that end, no chest workout is complete without chest presses. Standard barbell chest presses are great, but if you're up for a real challenge, try dumbbell chest presses. Lie on a bench as you would with barbell presses, but place a heavy dumbbell in each hand. Keep your elbows under the weights and, starting with them at chest level, press them overhead (don't lock out your elbows or arch your back and don't tap the weights together). Dumbbell presses force you to really isolate each side of the chest and allow for greater range of motion.
2. Dumbbell Chest Presses Can Have Ups and Downs
As with barbell chest presses, you can incline or decline the bench to attack your chest muscles from different angles. For inclines, adjust the upper part of the bench to an angled position between 45 and 60 degrees. Lift the weights as you would for a flat chest press. Incline chest presses target the upper portion of the chest rather than the pectorals and really help to shape and define the chest. Chest presses on a decline bench (with your head closest to the floor) work the middle and lower chest muscles, really giving the chest a lift. Incorporate incline and decline chest presses with regular or flat bench chest presses for a well-rounded workout, as well as a well-rounded chest.
3. A Little Wrist Action Can Go a Long Way
Since dumbbell chest presses force you to work in a greater range of motion, some people complain of shoulder pain or discomfort when doing these exercises. A slight adjustment of the hands and wrists can eliminate this problem. Start with the dumbbells at the sides of your chest, but with your wrists turned so your palms are facing each other rather than toward the ceiling. As you push the weights up, slowly rotate your wrists until palms are facing upward when your arms are extended overhead. Rotate the wrists again as you return the weights to the starting position. This slight variation will take pressure off the shoulder joint.
4. Take the Stability Ball Challenge
Building and strengthening core muscles should be...well, at the core of every workout. Strong abdominals and lower back muscles help to keep the body stable and balanced. It's not hard to incorporate core exercises with some basic weight exercises to add a one-two punch to your workout. Performing dumbbell chest presses on a stability ball is a great way to target core muscles as well as those pecs. Lie with your upper back on a stability ball and grasp a dumbbell in each hand (you may have to go a bit lighter on the weights for this one). Perform chest presses as you would on a flat bench while keeping yourself balanced on the ball.
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