This At-Home Chest Workout Will Help. You Build Push-Up Strength.

 You Build Push-Up Strength. This At-Home Chest Workout Will Help. 

If you're looking to build serious pushing strength, a home chest workout might be just the thing to add to your exercise routine. Chest workouts focus on the pectoral muscles, both the pectoralis major (a large fan-shaped muscle that runs across the chest) and the pectoralis minor (the smallest muscle below it). The pectoral muscles help you perform pressing movements like push-ups and bench presses, and they also play a role in efficient breathing, as SELF previously reported.

Working your pectoral muscles is important to anyone trying to get stronger, but you don't need to overdo it by doing tons of exercises and reps to make that happen, ACE-certified personal trainer Sivan Fagan, owner of Strong with Sivan in Baltimore, tells you. to oneself. In fact, this home chest workout you created will challenge your pectoral muscles and triceps (the muscles in the back of your upper arms, which aid in pushing movements) with just three exercises.
"This drill is short, but it hits all you want to hit if you're looking to target your chest," he says.

The following home chest workout targets muscles that push in different ways, Fagan says. First, you'll start with a dry pushup, a challenging pushup variant that takes momentum out of the equation, forcing the pushing muscles to really kick in to get the job done. Next, you'll step into the chest fly, a pec-specific exercise that doesn't require your triceps for extra support. By the time you get to the last exercise, the alternating chest press, your pectoral muscles will be clear, so even the lightest dumbbells in this classic move will start to feel super challenging.
The goal of this exercise is to help you build strength and muscle, so you will be working with a lower rep range than you are used to. While super low reps (think one to five) are effective for building strength, going up a bit in the rep range (think 8 to 12) can help you get stronger while adding muscle, says Fagan. (Higher rep ranges like 15 and above are helpful for building muscular endurance.)
The average athlete looking to get stronger should aim to work their chest muscles twice a week, Fagan says. Since this is a chest-specific workout, you can do it on one of those days and combine it with a full-body or upper-body workout that includes a little chest work the other day.
Before starting this routine, it is a good idea to warm up your muscles first. Dynamic movements like the dead bug and T-spine rotation, which activate the core and mobilize the upper thoracic spine, can be helpful in a pre-workout warm-up. You should also make sure to stretch your pecs after the routine, such as with the entry pec stretch.
The training
What you'll need: An exercise mat for extra comfort and a pair or two of dumbbells. 

 The 3 Exercises 

1. Dead-stop push-up

2. Chest fly

3. Alternating chest press

 1 
Dead arms push-ups 

Start on a high board with your palms flat right, after that your hands shoulder width apart, your shoulders stacked directly above your wrists, understand. your legs extended behind you, and your core and glutes engaged.

When your chest hits the ground, raise your hands so that your chest rests on the ground. Bring your hands back down and push through your palms to straighten your arms. This is 1 rep.

By raising your hands, you are breaking the momentum at the bottom that can make bending easier. you use all of your muscles to get back up, Fagan says. If standing push-ups are too difficult, you can perform regular push-ups or modified push-ups, in which you place your hands on a step or raised box.

 2 
Chest fly 

Hold a dumbbell with both hands directly across your chest, palms facing inward. This is the initial position.

Slowly lower the weights to the floor, holding your arms in an arch (like you're hugging a tree), until the back of your upper arms touch the floor.

Maintaining that arch, return your arms to the starting position. This is 1 rep.

Complete 8 to 12 repetitions.

The chest fly really does target the pectoral muscles, as it doesn't recruit the triceps, which are activated during push-based movements, for help, Fagan says.

 3 
Alternating chest press 

Press a weight toward the ceiling, stretching the elbow fully and keeping the palm of the hand toward the legs.

Slowly bend your elbow and lower it to the ground.

Now, do the same with your other arm. This is 1 rep.

Complete 8 to 10 repetitions.

Because you are working one arm at a time on this exercise, it helps improve strength imbalances that many people have, Fagan says.