DOLCE LIFESTYLE:
5 Moves to Build a Huge Chest
by Samantha Coogan, MS, RDN, LD
Want to pump up those pecs? These 5 exercises will help you build up chest muscles.
1. Dumbbell Pullover
• Set up by lying on a flat bench with your feet on the floor and your head flat
• Grab a single dumbbell and raise it over your chest, holding it with both hands
• Keeping your arms and elbows as straight as possible, lower the weight in an arc over your head towards the ground (dumbbell should be directly over the top of your head)
• Return the dumbbell to the starting position above the chest in a controlled manner
• Repeat for 3 sets of 10
2. Chest Dips
• Stand between the parallel bars at a dip station
• Grip the handles of the bars and set up in the starting position with the arms straight and elbows locked
• The elbows should remain close to the body
• Lower your body forward by bending your elbows, leading with the chest as you go down
• Push yourself back up to the starting position
• If you are unskilled in this movement, you can rest your knees in a resistance band that’s attached to the dip bars to assist you in your dip
• Repeat for 3 sets of 5-10
3. Dumbbell Flys
• Grab a dumbbell in each hand and lie down on a flat bench with your feet flat on the floor
• Lift the dumbbells over your chest with a slight bend in your arms
• Lower the dumbbells on either side of your chest in an arc motion, hinging from the shoulder, maintaining the slight bend in the arms
• Return the dumbbells to the starting position in a controlled fashion
• Repeat for 3 sets of 10
4. Barbell Bench Press
• Set up on a flat bench with your feet flat on the floor. Pull your shoulder blades together and lie back on the bench
• Use a shoulder-width grip to unrack the barbell
• Lift the barbell off the rack and move it to the starting position above the middle of your chest
• Lower the bar in a controlled manner until it just touches your chest
• Raise the bar back up until your arms are straight and your elbows are locked
5. Dumbbell Bench Press
• On a flat bench with your feet flat on the floor, grip a dumbbell in each hand
• Start with your arms above the middle of the chest with palms facing forward
• Lower the weights by bending your elbows until they’re at about a 90 degree angle, triceps parallel to the floor
• Push the weight back to the starting position in a controlled manner
• Repeat for 3 sets of 10
• Dumbbell bench press is a touch more challenging than barbell bench press, so start light on the weights. Dumbbells require more stabilization than barbell since they aren’t on a single plane.
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