In bodybuilding and weight lifting/strength training, the chest muscles are the large pectoral muscles across the chest. There are different exercises to train and develop this muscle group.

The first chest muscle exercise to begin with is the standard push-up. Lie flat on the floor, with feet close together. Position the hands palm down, fingers facing forward, approximately shoulder-width apart. Press up vertically until the arms are fully extended. Keep the body parallel to the floor. Slowly lower to the floor, but not touching. Repeat as many times until failure.

The next chest exercise is the barbell bench press. Lay flat on the bench, eyes positioned directly under the barbell. The grip depends on the strength of the different muscle groups. There is the wide grip, which is wider than shoulder distance apart. Then there is the narrow grip, closer in than shoulder width. The traditional bench press grip is shoulder width. Raise the barbell off the rack, and lower until the bar just touches upper chest portion. Then press upward full strength. Repeat as many repetitions as needed.

The dumbbell bench press uses dumbbells rather than a single barbell. A dumbbell is gripped in each hand, and both pressed upward simultaneously. Repeat repetitions as needed or advised.

To develop the upper chest muscle pectorals, the bench can be raised to an approximate 35 degree angle. Both the barbell and dumbbells can be used on the incline press, although the weight limit may be less than for a flat bench press.

There are also incline dumbbell flyes. Instead of pressing straight up in a regular dumbbell bench press, the dumbbells are allowed to drop out ward, so that the arms pull the chest muscles. Regular dumbbell flyes can be performed on a flat bench as well.

Dumbbell pullovers are where the individual lays flat on a bench, with a single dumbbell held with both hands vertically. The dumbbell is then slowly lowered above and behind the head, and then slowly brought back into the vertical position over the eyes.

In addition to the incline barbell and dumbbell bench press, there is also the decline press. Instead of being raised at a 35 degree angle, the bench is lowered to an appropriate angle. The barbell or dumbbells are then pressed as usual to work the lower chest pectorals.

Finally, the chest muscles can stretched an exercised by the parallel bar dips. The parallel bars are specialized gym equipment. The body weight is slowly lowered and raised.

These are some examples of bodybuilding chest development exercises.

Click Here Now – To get Bigger, Stronger, and More Ripped & Shredded than ever, using Primal Muscle’s Cutting-Edge Training System – Sent to you by mail – Absolutely FREE!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dane_C._Fletcher
http://EzineArticles.com/?Who-Else-Wants-To-Build-Chest-Muscles?-Heres-A-Few-Strength-Training-Tips&id=6302812

If you like this article, click here to share: