Personal Trainer Los Angeles, Online Fitness, Manhattan Beach, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills

Chest Muscle & Chest Muscle Exercises

Your chest muscle is composed of the pectoralis major and the pectoralis minor. The most visible chest muscle is your pectoralis major. When shaping your chest, not only is the overall shape important, but also the inner chest, outer chest, and upper chest, which different exercises will emphasize.

Exercises For Your Chest Muscles

Bench (Flat Bench, Incline Bench, Decline Bench)

Barbell Bench
Dumbbell Bench
Machine Bench
Pushups: Knee Pushups, Narrow Pushups (more for tricep muscles and anterior head of deltoids / shoulder muscle), Wide Pushups (more chest muscle), Elevated Pushups, One Leg Elevated Pushups, One Arm Pushups, Knuckle Pushups, Fingertip Pushups, Hindu Pushups, Elevated Hindu Pushups, Dive Bomber Pushups, Elevated Dive Bomber Pushups, Uneven Pushups, Elevated Uneven Pushups, Lateral Shifting Pushups, and many others.

Chest Flys (Flat Flys, Incline Flys, Decline Flys)

Dumbbell Flys
Machine Flys
Crossover Flys

Pushups Video

Dips

Dips Apparatus
Machine Dips
Parallel Bench Dips

Bench

While lying down on a flat bench, take an overhand grip about six inches wider than your shoulders. Make sure your feet are as close to your shoulder as possible while being flat on the floor. Lift the weight off the rack, proceed to lower the weight to about an inch above your chest keeping your wrists straight. Do not bounce the weight off your chest. Lift up above your chest keeping your wrists straight. For extra stability and strength, squeeze your gluteus maximus muscles together and your should blades together while performing the exercise. Make sure your elbows do not go to far out.

Chest Dips

Starting Position

Start on the dips apparatus or find a bench, stair, or chair to use as chest dips apparatus.

Chest Dips Exercise

Slowly lower yourself to a comfortable stop, then raise your body with your torso at a small angle. If you want to exercise your chest more, have your arms spread out more. If you want to exercise your triceps more, have your arms closer to your body.

Pointers

Keep your upper arms close to your body, making sure they don't flare out too much. A wide grip exercises more chest muscle, while an inner grip exercises more triceps and front shoulder muscles.

Chest Dips Exercise Video

Chest Flys

Starting Position

Lie down on a bench or the floor with two dumbbells on your chest parallel so that the palms of your overhand grip are facing each other.

Chest Flys Exercise

Lift the weight above your chest keeping a slight bend in your elbows. Keeping your arms in the same position without flexing the elbow, lower the weight to a comfortable position of 45 degrees or more. Then raise the weight back as if you’re hugging a big beach ball or a trunk of a large tree.

Pointers

Make sure your elbows stay in the same angle throughout exercise - visualize hugging a tree trunk or a large beach ball.

Chest Flys Exercise Video

Compound Exercises And Isolation Exercises Per Body Part *

Body Part	Basic or Compound Exercise	Isolation Exercise
Quadriceps - the "Quads"; the Gluteus Muscles (Gluteus Maximus) "Glutes"	Squats Leg Press - At All Angles: Vertical Leg Press, Horizontal Leg Press, Angled Leg Press	Lunges (one leg) Leg Extension Leg Adduction Leg Abduction
Hamstrings - "Hams"	Stiff Legged Dead Lifts	Leg Curls
Calf Exercises - Calves	Jumping Squats	Standing Calf Raises Seated Calf Raises Calf Press Donkey Calf Raises One Leg Calf Raises
Back - upper back and middle back	Dead Lifts Pull Ups / Pull Downs Chins Rows - barbell rows, machine rows, cable rows Upright Rows (trapezius) Pullovers	Shrugs (upper trapezius muscles) "traps"
Chest	Flat Bench, Incline Bench, Decline Bench Machine Press Dips	Flat Flys / Incline Flys / Decline Flys / Peck Deck Flys / Machine Fly's Cable Crossovers
Shoulders	Military Upright Rows	Side Lateral Raises for medial deltoids, Front Raises for anterior deltoids, Bent Over Raises for rear deltoids
Triceps	Close-Grip Bench Dips	Triceps Extensions Pushdowns
Biceps	Barbell Curls Flat Back Chinups	Concentration Curls Incline Curls Spider Curls Preacher Curls Cable Curls Machine Curls
Abdominal Exercises - abs or abdominals	Sit-Ups Leg Raises	Crunches - upper abdominals Side Bends - obliques
Lower Back	Dead Lifts	Hyperextensions
Forearms	Reverse Curls	Wrist Curls Reverse Wrist Curls

* Note: There are many exercises per body part, these represent just a basic few exercises per body part