How to Build Chest Muscle

The type of look you want will determine your approach to building chest muscles.

A well-developed chest makes your entire upper body look better under a T-shirt or on the beach. Whether you want to add power for a sport, develop a strong upper-body physique or simply tone up your chest, the basics of building chest muscle should form the foundation of your routine.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Weightlifting belt
• Weight set

1. Perform light bench presses. Just as you don't want to jump into heavy lifting exercises, you don't want to move straight into stretching. One or two light sets of bench presses with a comfortable weight will help get the blood flowing to your chest, shoulders and arms. This will allow you to stretch more comfortably and safely.

2. Stretch your upper body. Before moving into your heavy lifting, it is important to stretch out your chest, shoulders and arms. A proper warm-up and stretching routine will keep you from having to miss workouts because of soreness or injury.

3. Perform flat bench presses. Put plates on the weight bar, then lie down on the bench with your hands on the bar directly above your chest. Lift the bar, then bring it down to your chest, bending at your elbows. Inhale through your nose as you lower the bar, and exhale through your mouth as you push it back up to the starting position, using your chest muscle to exert force. Do three sets, with eight to 10 repetitions per set.

4. Perform incline bench presses. The incline bench press is another staple of a strong chest-building routine. It focuses more specifically on the upper chest and is similar to the bench press but is performed with the bench inclined.

5. Perform dumbbell flies. Start on either a flat bench or an inclined bench, with the dumbbells held over your chest. Bring the dumbbells down by lowering your elbows below your sides until the dumbbells are even with your chest. Slowly bring the dumbbells back to their starting position, breathing the same way you did in the bench press exercise.

6. Eat protein. Diet is crucial to chest muscle development. Protein builds muscle, and lean sources of protein build muscle without adding to your fat stores.

Tips & Warnings

• Most fitness experts recommend high-repetition sets (12 to 20 repetitions) to tone muscles, middle- repetition sets (eight to 12 repitions) to build thicker muscle and low-repetition sets (three to eight reps) build power. A repetition is one full movement of an exercise.

• Any machine or cable exercise that forces you to bring your arms across your chest is considered a fly and will help you develop chest muscle.

• Vary your routines among barbells, dumbbells and machines. Doing so will hit your chest muscles from many angles which helps to stimulate overall growth.

• Dumbbell fly exercises put your chest and shoulder muscles in a precarious position. You should be properly warmed up and using the appropriate weight. Perform the exercise slowly and with proper form to prevent injury.

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish
• Body Building Resource: How to Build Chest Muscle
• Muscle & Fitness: Best Workouts Ever