Total Body Workout Series: Chest

Complex Man Magazine is proud to present the Total Body Workout Series. Every week, we will post an article about workout routines that are best for exercising the major muscle groups. We will explain how the exercises are done along with explanations on what muscles it affects and what are the benefits you can get out of it. For this week, we will start with the chest then go down and to the back side every week until we have covered the whole body.

The chest is one of the areas of the body that every complex man wants to work out to get bigger. It may be a slow and longer process since the chest muscles are bigger and there are more muscle fibers involved. The most prominent chest muscle is the pectoralis major, aka pecs. The smaller muscles are underneath the pecs. With a more intense workout routine, you can shorten the time span to get your chest chiseled and looking good.

Bench Press

Bench press is one of the simplest yet also one of the best chest exercises. To perform a bench press, lie down on a standard workout bench with a barbell on the rack, your feet touching the ground for added support. When you are ready, unrack the barbell and lower it down to your nipple area. Keep your arms tucked in and do not let them go to the sides to avoid shoulder strain and injury. Raise the barbell all the way up until your arms are straight. Repeat the procedure.

This exercise is one of the ultimate exercises because it works out not just the pecs but also the biceps, triceps, forearms, deltoid, and the lats at the back. You can do other variations by adjusting the angle of the bench. Incline the angle of your bench if you want to target your upper pecs, and decline to target the lower part of the pectorals. If you have an exercise ball, you can also use it instead of a bench. You can also use dumbbells to work each side independently.

Pushups

Pushups is also a very simple exercise and you can do it without any gym equipments. This exercise only relies on the person’s body weight as the resistance. To start, lay down face down on the floor or an exercise mat. Only the toes and the palms must touch the floor. Keep your palms about 2 to 3 inches away from your shoulder width. With all your force, push your body up from the floor until your arms are straight. Lower down your body again to restart the exercise.

When you push up, it targets the pectorals. At the same time, your arms and shoulders are also worked out. This exercise relies only on your body weight, so to make it a little more intense, you can do explosive pushups where you add extra force on your way up to propel your upper body into the air and do a clap before you land on your palms again. If you want to include your hands in the workout, you can do the pushups on your fingertips.

Dumbbell Flies

Dumbbell flies is an exercise that can work out the entire chest area. Prepare just like when doing a bench press, but this time use dumbbells. Hold the dumbbells to your sides at shoulder level with your arms bent at a right angle. Squeezing your chest muscles together, raise the dumbbells while forming an arc. Lower the dumbbells to the sides again and repeat the procedure. This exercise resembles the flapping motion of a bird when flying.

Dumbbell flies target the chest muscle in general but with different angles, i.e. incline or decline, you can isolate the part that you want to target. Moreover, this exercise helps build the inner chest to give it a clear separation.

The technique to chisel your chest fast is to keep the strain on your chest muscles constant by resting only for short periods when doing repetitions. For example, if you are doing about 8 to 12 repetitions, have only 20 to 30 seconds rest then repeat the set again. This will not only build the size of your chest but also make it stronger. If you compare your chest after 2 weeks of doing this exercise, you will see that you are now more prepared to show off your body. On next week’s article, we will share the best exercises you can do to get ripped abs.

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