How to Exercise the Chest or the Pectoral Muscles without an Exercise Machine

Work the pecs with a variety of exercises.

The pectoralis major and the pectoralis minor are the two main muscles that make up the chest region. Working on the pecs helps with shoulder stabilization and gives you breadth and firmness in the chest. The pecs, along with many other muscles, cross the shoulder joint. As a result, many of the exercises for this region of the body rely on the shoulder joint. However, you don't have to rely on an exercise machine to strengthen your chest muscles.

Things You'll Need

• Appropriate weights

Instructions

1. Do push-ups. The push-up works both the pectoralis major and the pectoralis minor. Lie on the ground with your hands just outside of your shoulder. Brace your core and press up, then lower down until your upper arms are parallel to the ground. When lowering your body, keep your elbows close to your torso. Keep your body straight, with the palms of the hands rooted into the floor and the tips of the toes pressed into the floor. Complete two sets of eight to 12 push-ups.

2. Complete two sets of eight to 12 bench presses. Lie on the ground or on a bench with your knees bent and feet firmly on the floor or bench. Hold a weight in each hand, arms held straight up from your shoulder, so that your hands almost meet at the midline of your chest -- don't let your hands float up toward your throat. Face your palms away from your face and toward your feet. Slowly lower the weight down on either side of the chest, dropping your elbows toward the ground. When you reach the lowest possible position, return your hands slowly to their starting position, with arms extended straight up in the air. Don't lock out your elbows

3. Do two sets of eight to 12 pullovers. Lie on the ground with your knees bent, feet firmly planted on the floor. Place the weight directly behind your head. Grasp the weight behind your head with both hands, keeping your elbows at a 15 to 30-degree bend. Maintain this bend throughout the exercise. Move the weight from over your head to your chest. Reverse the movement, keeping your elbows still, powering the movement from the shoulder.

Tips & Warnings

• If you need to work up to a full-body push-up, bend your knees. Alternately, push-up against a wall to build strength slowly.

• If your hips tend to get out of line when doing a push-up, place a book or another object across your lower back and keep it there as you raise yourself and up and down.

References

• ExRx.net: Push-Up