Having a well-built chest is seen as an attractive physical asset in a man. But it is by no means an easy feat to reach. The chest is one of the largest muscle groups in the upper body and therefore has various exercises to help strengthen and shape it. But not all of them have a big effect on its growth. Let us look at some of the top tier chest building exercises
Some of the best chest building exercises can be done at home without weights while some will require you to hit the gym as it becomes more of an isolated exercise. Nonetheless there are the best chest building exercises that men can do.
Classic Bench Press
The bench press is one of the best compound exercises not only for your chest but also for your shoulders, grip strength and your triceps. It’s a great upper body exercise that is great for increasing your chest strength. As a beginner it is a tough exercise to execute, hence we recommend starting on lighter weights until you get the form and confidence to pump heavier weights.
Decline dumbbell
The decline dumbbell press is another great chest building exercise that puts more pressure on your upper pectoral muscles. It is executed by aligning yourself in an incline position on a bench and putting out your arms in a ninety-degree angle from your body as you would with a bench press. This exercise allows you to activate other chest muscles for a more well-developed chest. Adding weights by tying it with a rope to your torso or your legs can help in making the exercise more challenging.
Dips
Dips are a great bodyweight exercise that demands superior strength and a strong core. It is one of the toughest bodyweight exercises and it activates the lower pectoral muscles of your chest along with building your arms strength. It is a great chest building exercise that increases your overall strength capacity over the duration of a few months.
Weighted pushups
The pushup is the most basic but also one of the most effective chest building exercises. The pushup exercise has been done by men since decades now. It is still used as a mark for judging one’s physical strength. It is a basic exercise which can get boring unlike most chest workouts, but you can always manage to add weights to increase the difficulty and satisfaction of the exercise.
Cable crossovers
The Cable machines are great for isolating your pectoral muscles for a more efficient way to target them. Cable crossovers from high to low and even low to high are a great way to target the pectoral muscles for heightened stimulation. This helps in building definition of your muscles and give the aesthetic and well-built chest look that you are trying to achieve. They are executed with the help of a cable machine. You pull the cables from a low position to a high position which targets the lower pectoral muscles. For the upper pectoral muscles you are required to pull the cable from a high position to a low position. To put it simply, it is a variation of the bench press but the only way to do it is by standing.
Dumbbell pullover
The dumbbell pullover exercise is another great chest building exercise that not only targets your upper chest but also increases your arm and grip strength. The exercise is difficult to execute if you have poor upper body strength. You need proper strength training before you are strong enough to execute it. It’s one of the best chest building exercises if performed in the right way.
Dumbbell bench press
The dumbbell bench press is another variation of the traditional bench press. The dumbbells variation helps you to target the pectoral muscles more accurately. The exercise also helps to target two sides equally so as to prevent muscle imbalances which results in a more good looking chest. The dumbbell bench press also is a great way to perfect your form for the more strength demanding barbell bench press.
Conclusion
The well-developed chest can change the way a man looks. It is the most easily noticeable trait of knowing whether a man is strong or weak. While the size of a chest may vary depending on one’s genetics. Nonetheless, a strong chest is always visible no matter how small your frame is. Since the chest exercises also target other important upper body muscle groups such as the core, shoulders and arms it results in a strong torso which is something every man strives for!