This is a great upper body exercise. It works the entire pectoral area, deltoids, and triceps. The lats, biceps, and forearms also come into play to help stabilize and balance the barbell.
Lie down on the flat bench press. Place your feet flat on the floor on each side of the bench. Grab the bar with a wider then shoulder width. Straighten your arms to lift the barbell off the rack. Position the bar so it is at arms length over your chest.
Lower the barbell until it touches your chest then press the bar back up until it is locked out at the starting position. As you lower the bar keep your elbows tucked so that your upper arms are at a 45-degree angles to the sides of your body. Do not let your upper arms go straight out to the sides as this will place excess strain on the shoulder joints.
Tip - you should always have a training partner spot you when doing the bench press, just in case you need help lifting the barbell off your chest.
Incline Barbell Bench Press
This is very similar to the bench press, it works the same muscle groups (i.e. pectorals, deltoids, and triceps). But the incline bench press places more of the workload on the upper chest.
Lower the barbell until it touches your upper chest then press the bar back up until it is locked out at the starting position. As you lower the bar keep your elbows tucked so that your upper arms are at a 45-degree angles to the sides of your body. Do not let your upper arms go straight out to the sides as this will place excess strain on the shoulder joints.
Tip - you should always have a training partner spot you when doing the incline bench press, just in case you need help lifting the barbell off your chest.
Decline Barbell Bench Press
This is very similar to the bench press, it works the same muscle groups (i.e. pectorals, deltoids, and triceps). But the decline bench press places more of the workload on the lower chest.
Lower the barbell until it touches your lower chest / upper abs then press the bar back up until it is locked out at the starting position. As you lower the bar keep your elbows tucked so that your upper arms are at a 45-degree angles to the sides of your body. Do not let your upper arms go straight out to the sides as this will place excess strain on the shoulder joints.
Tip - you should always have a training partner spot you when doing the decline bench press, just in case you need help lifting the barbell off your chest.
Dumbbell Bench Press
The dumbbell bench press variation works the pectorals, deltoids, and triceps. But because you are balancing two weights instead of one the dumbbell bench press will bring more stabilizer and supporting muscles into play. Dumbbells also force both the left and right sides to handle an equal workload thus helping to develop balance and proportion between both the left and right sides of the body.
Grab a pair of dumbbells and lie down on a flat bench. Lower the dumbbells until they touch your chest then press the dumbbells back up until they are locked out at the starting position. Dumbbells allow more freedom of movement with your hand positions. You can keep your hands in a more neutral position, unlike with the barbell bench press.
Tip - when handling heavy weights you may want to have a couple spotters help hand you the dumbbells rather then try and position them by yourself.
Push Ups
Push ups are a good basic exercise that most people tend to ignore. They work the entire chest area. Secondary stress is placed on the shoulders and triceps.
Lie face down on the floor. Place your hands palms down on each side of your body. Keeping your legs and torso in a straight line push yourself up and support your upper body on your arms.
Slowly lower yourself until your chest is about an inch from the floor. Hold this stretched position for a second. Push yourself back up to the starting position. Repeat.
This is a good exercise to use as both a warm up to your chest exercises and as a high rep finishing exercise to really pump up your chest muscles.
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