The best chest workout. Build the upper body you`ve always wanted!!

Imagine if King Kong had flexed his biceps to display his supremacy rather than pound his massive chest. Impressive, yes, but not nearly as daunting. The chest has been equated with strength and virility since long before homo became erectus. But before you stack yet another 45-pound plate onto your barbell, understand that to build a bigger chest you don’t have to re-create the agonizing groans of Mel Gibson getting gutted in Braveheart

Before you read the best chest workout, here you have some tips for your workout
Relax before you work out. When you arrive at the gym, take a few deep breaths - the kind that make your stomach stick out when you inhale. (That means your diaphragm is dropping to let maximum air into your lungs.) Then shrug your shoulders as high as you can, hold for a few seconds, and very slowly lower them as you continue to breathe deeply.
Stress can also originate inside the gym. “When you’re exercising too much, your levels of anxiety rise,” says James Annesi, author of Enhancing Exercise Motivation. The excess stress (cortisol again) leads to muscle breakdown instead of build-up.
If you need to work out the day after a bender, guzzle a sports drink half an hour before your workout and then drink more every ten to 15 minutes.
The carbohydrates in the sports drink will help keep the water in your system, while the sodium will make you thirstier for more fluids, encouraging you to drink again.
There are multiple exercises in each of the barbell, dumbbell, machine, cable and body-weight sections. Select some of them and incorporate into your chest routine.
We suggests using at least two pressing exercises, each of which utilizes a different bench angle. “If selecting a fiat-bench press for your barbell exercise, use an incline or decline for the other press exercise. The same holds true for flyes. The number-one key to building a full, shapely chest is to hit the muscles from a variety of angles on a regular basis.”
Repetitions play a vital role in any training regimen. The six-to 12-rep range is the practiced standard. Heavier weights are often used in conjunction with fewer reps (six to eight) when trying to build mass, while less weight and more reps (10 to 12) are combined when your goal is to carve and chisel.
Also, be conscious not to take too much time between sets. The longer you wait, the less likely your muscles will remain active. “If you can do another set after just 30 seconds of rest, then by all means do it,” says our specialist. “Two minutes is the maximum amount of time you should give yourself between sets.”

CHEST-TRAINING GUIDE: BEGINNER SECTION

1. FLAT-BENCH BARBELL PRESS (entire chest, anterior deltoid, triceps) Lie on a flat bench with your feet on the ground. Position yourself so the bar is directly above your eyes. Grasp the bar with your hands slightly wider than shoulder width and extend your arms upward. Lower the bar slowly until your upper arms are roughly parallel with the floor. Return to the starting position and repeat.
DUMBBELL EXERCISES While dumbbell exercises require more stability and coordination than those done with a barbell, they also provide a greater range of flexibility and motion.
Quick Tip: Use a spotter if necessary to help ensure proper form during dumbbell exercises, which can cause balance and coordination difficulties for beginners.
2. FLAT-BENCH DUMBBELL PRESS (entire chest, anterior deltoid, triceps) Lie on a flat bench and hold a pair of dumbbells over your chest with palms facing forward and arms extended. Slowly lower the weights until your upper arms are roughly parallel to the floor, return to the starting position and repeat.
3. INCLINE DUMBBELL PRESS (upper chest, anterior deltoid, triceps) Lie on an incline bench set at a 20- to 30-degree angle, and hold a pair of dumbbells over your chest with palms facing forward and arms extended . Slowly lower the weights until your upper arms are roughly parallel to the floor , return to the starting position and repeat. When returning the dumbbells back up to the starting position, be sure to press the weight straight up toward the ceiling and not forward.
4.MACHINE EXERCISES Good for beginners and those with injuries, machines incorporate a stable and fixed path of motion, allowing the user to take the focus off coordination and place it squarely on resistance.
Quick Tip: Never lock out when you extend on your presses. This will ensure you keep the muscles under stress and tension–two primary factors for inducing muscle growth.
5.. CABLE CROSSOVER (outer and inner chest) Stand between two high pulleys and grasp a D-handle in each hand so that your palms face the floor. With your arms extended and your elbows slightly bent, lean forward and bring your hands down and together using an arc motion as if you were hugging a tree trunk. Slowly return to the starting position following the same arc motion and repeat.

CHEST-TRAINING GUIDE: ADVANCED SECTION

BARBELL EXERCISES A favorite among experienced bodybuilders, barbell exercises are better suited for lifting heavier weight.
1. BARBELL PULLOVER (entire chest) Lie on a flat bench and hold a barbell above midchest level with your arms bent 90 degrees. Lower the barbell behind your head and down toward the ground until you feel a good stretch in your pecs . Slowly return the bar to the starting position and repeat. Be certain to keep your arms locked at 90 degrees throughout the movement.
2. INCLINE BARBELL PRESS (upper chest, anterior deltoid, triceps) Lie on an incline bench, grasp the bar with your hands slightly wider than shoulder width, and extend your arms toward the ceiling. Lower the bar slowly until your upper arms are roughly parallel to the floor, return to the starting position and repeat.
DUMBBELL EXERCISES For the weight-room veteran, dumbbells allow for a great amount of exercise variety and creativity.
Quick Tip: Make sure you can handle the weight and stay balanced at all times. Using dumbbells that are too heavy can limit your movements and the overall effectiveness of the exercise as well as jeopardize the integrity of the shoulder capsule.
3. ALTERNATING DUMBBELL PRESS ON STABILITY BALL (middle chest, anterior deltoid, triceps, core) Position yourself on a stability ball so that the ball supports your low and mid back. Hold a pair of dumbbells in the “down” position almost by your shoulders. To maintain proper balance and form, you may need to reduce the amount of weight you normally press. Keep steady and extend one arm straight up. Slowly return the arm to the starting position before repeating the same movement with the other arm.
4. DECLINE DUMBBELL PRESS (lower chest, anterior deltoid, triceps) Lie on a decline bench set at a 30-degree angle with a dumbbell in each hand and arms extended toward the ceiling. Slowly lower the dumbbells toward your sides until your upper arms are roughly parallel to the floor; return to the starting position and repeat. If using heavy weights, you may need someone to give you the dumbbells after you position yourself on the decline bench.
CABLE EXERCISES Cables offer continuous resistance without overstressing the joints, tendons and ligaments.
Quick Tip: Be aware of your breathing patterns. Inhaling and exhaling should be consistent with each new rep. Never hold your breath during any exertion.
5. STABILITY-BALL CABLE FLYE (outer and inner chest, core) Position the stability ball directly in the center of the low cable pulleys. Grasp a D-handle in each hand, lie back on the ball and stabilize your upper torso. With your arms slightly bent, bring your hands together in an arc until they meet. Return to the starting position following the same arc and repeat.
BODY-WEIGHT EXERCISES Medicine balls are excellent tools to help improve your strength, balance and coordination.
Quick Tip: Choose medicine balls that are the right weight and size. Also, always make sure your balls are firm and secure for each exercise. Medicine balls, we mean.
6. BALL PUSH-UP (entire chest, anterior deltoid, triceps) Place your hands on the sides of the ball. Balance your upper body on the ball with your feet extended behind you, toes down . Lower your body until your chest almost touches the ball; quickly return to the starting position and repeat.
7. ALTERNATING-ARM PLYOMETRIC PUSH-UP (entire chest, anterior deltoid, triceps) Position yourself in a basic push-up position. Instead of placing both hands on the floor, place one hand on an elevated surface. Press forcefully off the elevated surface and slide your upper body over so that your opposite hand is now resting on the elevated surface. Alternate back and forth for the appropriate number of reps.

Sample week

Alternate between the following two workouts (cardio and weight). Start with weight training three days a week, performing cardio on the days in between. So, in the first week, you might do weight on Monday, cardio on Tuesday, weight on Wednesday, cardio again on Thursday, weight again on Friday, and finally, cardio on Saturday. The day after your weight workout, perform the following cardio session:
Warm up on a treadmill or bike for five minutes.
*Sprint or cycle for 30-45 seconds at 80%-90% of your all-out effort (just about your top speed).
Now slow down to 40%-50% of your all-out effort (a brisk walk) for two minutes. That’s one interval.
Repeat for a total of six to eight intervals.
*Finally work at an easy pace for a five-minute cooldown.

STRETCH FOR SUCCESS

“A stretching regimen can help you avoid `upper-cross syndrome,’ a systematic shortening and tightening of the muscles of the chest, shoulder and neck regions that can lead to rounded shoulders as well as cervical and mid- and upper-back curve,” says Paul Sklar, C.S.C.S., and owner of Prescriptive Fitness in Charlotte, N.C. To prevent this, try these stretches.
CHEST STRETCH
The following chest stretches can be performed using a solid, upright surface.
1. Standing upright, position your right arm so that your elbow, forearm and palm are all flush against the surface. Your elbow should be at or slightly below shoulder level, forming approximately a 90-degree angle at the shoulder and at the elbow.
2. Slowly lean your body forward and slightly to the left keeping the chest high.
3. Contract the rhomboid muscles on the right side of the spine, and squeeze your shoulder blade toward the spine to create an even greater stretch.
4. Hold for 10 to 30 seconds and repeat on the left side. Repeat each stretch at least two or three times.

Source: findarticles fitnessandfreebies menshealth

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