How to Work Out Pectoral Muscles With Dumbbells

Increasing your pectoral strength is good for overall muscle balance and general body appearance. Your pectorals--or "pecs"--are the muscles in your chest that help you lift, push and press things. Using dumbbells to work out your pectoral muscles is a good way to make sure that you work out both sides of your body equally. In this article, we will discuss how to work out pectoral muscles using dumbbells.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Pair of dumbbells
• Weight training bench

1. Lie flat on your back on the exercise bench. Your knees should be bent so that your feet are flat on the floor. Make sure that your head is straight so that you are looking straight up at the ceiling.

2. Hold a dumbbell in each hand. The dumbbells should be heavy enough that you know that you are lifting something, but not so heavy that you must strain or distort your body to lift them.

3. 
   If at any point you feel pain in your shoulders or elbows, stop immediately and select a lighter weight

   Bring the dumbbells together above your head. Do not allow them to touch, Use a smooth, controlled motion.

4. Lower the dumbbells. When they are even with your chest, stop lowering them.

5. Repeat this exercise as many times as you wish. Most trainers recommend three sets of 10 to 20 repetitions.

Tips & Warnings

• You can do this exercise on an incline or decline bench as well as on a level exercise bench.
• Consult a physician before beginning a new weightlifting regimen.

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[villaman19]

on 8/26/2009 alryt, is it ok to do this on the floor or do you need a work bench?

[Holcomb410]

on 7/31/2008 Actually, if you want endurance you do lots of reps few sets with average weight. For Build, you do 10-15 reps 3-5 times with heavier weight. For strength, you do 5-10 reps 3 times with really heavy.