The most effective chest training requires the presence of sports equipment: benches, barbells, dumbbells and various exercise machines. All this is a must have in every gym. However, not everyone has the desire or opportunity to go to the gym. We will tell everyone who wants to train at home how to pump up their pectoral muscles at home.
For productive home workouts, you should at least purchase dumbbells. They don’t take up much space, and will bring considerable benefits for training. It is better to take collapsible dumbbells: their weight can be increased or decreased if necessary.
A little anatomy
The pectoral (pectoral) muscles consist of the following symmetrical groups, each of which includes:
- Pectoralis major muscle. It is fan-shaped and located on the front surface of the chest.
- Pectoralis minor muscle. It has a triangular shape and is located in the upper chest under the pectoralis major muscle.
- Serratus anterior muscle. Located in the anterior chest wall.
The major and minor muscles provide adduction and flexion of the arms at the shoulder joint, as well as partial rotation of the arms inward. The chest is conventionally divided into upper, middle and lower sections. There is also an internal part that can be pumped separately. The middle part works actively during any exercise, and the lower and, especially, the upper parts require accentuated load. Chest training is very energy-intensive, so it can be used to burn excess fat deposits.
What exercises to do for the chest muscles
There are many other types of push-ups that are suitable for chest training. Among them are such exercises as: push-ups with a raised pelvis, tilted up or down, from a bench, on chairs with a wide grip, resting on one leg or on all fours, push-ups in an uneven mode, diamond push-ups, isometric, in the folding positions knife", "corkscrew" or "archer", snake press, Indian press, Maltese press, push-ups on gymnastic rings, etc. It is not necessary to use many different push-up variations in your workout program. It is more important to choose exercises to strengthen the chest that activate the entire muscle group. The set of push-ups we have presented helps to include different areas of the chest muscles in the load, which will be quite enough for their full training.
Bodyweight training
The results are promising with active exercises with a certain frequency. The proposed training program for the chest muscles must be performed at least once a week. The load should be as maximum as possible. If you want to train your chest muscles more often, for example, twice a week, then repeat training should be done in a lighter mode - reduce the load, reduce the number of approaches.
On our website How-to-Pump Up.Pro you will find comprehensive information about training with your own weight for men and women for various muscle groups. We present both descriptions of various exercises and educational information about the correct approach to exercise to achieve serious and impressive results. See our catalog and other sections of the site for all the necessary information.
Home workouts
A busy work schedule, business trips, inconvenient location of the gym, reluctance to work out in a group and a number of other arguments may become reasons not to visit the gym, but should not become reasons to give up a beautiful and strong figure. You can practice at home with no less success. What matters more is not the place of training, but the diligence and determination of the athlete.
Next, we will figure out how to pump up the pectoral muscles at home. Beginners often have difficulty creating a program, but as they gain experience, the problems will disappear.
Training mode
To the question of how many times a week you need to pump up your pectoral muscles, the answer is simple: you can’t train every day. Any strength exercises on the chest performed every day can harm a beautiful figure. During training, the muscles actively work and receive many microtraumas, after which time is needed to restore muscle fibers and produce protein, which will form new muscle mass. Systematic overload of the pectoral muscles will not give good results.
If the muscles continue to hurt severely, exercise should be postponed until the discomfort stops. That is why the optimal amount is one or two workouts per week. The total number of approaches for all chest exercises should be from 4 to 8. For beginners, one or two exercises of 2-3 approaches will be enough.
Advice from a physiotherapist and gynecologist: do-it-yourself breast augmentation
You can enlarge your breasts and give them the desired volume and shape if you follow several important rules. 1. The breast consists mostly of the mammary gland and related tissue. The shape of the breast is determined by the elasticity, flexibility and firmness of the tight-fitting fabric. Wear a bra in the shape you want (it can restrict growth). It must be the right size. 2. Nutrition is necessary. Breast enlargement products. Have you noticed that plump girls have noticeably larger breasts? Even if you cannot consider yourself plump, in order for your breasts to receive sufficient nutrition, you need to eat more protein, carbohydrates and foods containing natural fats. During this period, it is necessary to strengthen exercises on other parts of the body in order to “grow” one part of the body – the chest – selectively. 3. When washing your face, it is very useful to give your breasts firmness by washing them with cold water, taking half a lemon and squeezing the lemon juice onto your breasts. Rub your chest with this mixture, carefully and gently. Rinse with warm water after the procedure. 4. Massage and self-massage are great ways to increase blood flow. But do not forget that you need to do them regularly. You also need to go to bed on time, because growth occurs at night, when the body is resting. Do not forget also about self-hypnosis and visualization of your breasts, both during morning procedures or classes, and before bed. And finally. Scientists have proven that in women who regularly make love, their breasts increase in size by an average of 30 percent due to changes in hormonal levels. No amount of training can achieve such an effect. So, using all this in combination, very soon those around you will notice something special and attractive in you, and you will become even more confident in yourself and will be liked by even more people.
Pushups
It is quite enough to do push-ups regularly to pump up your pectoral muscles. Essentially, this is a variation of the bench press and here it is also possible to shift the load to the upper or lower chest by changing the angle of the body. It's no secret that push-ups are an excellent general development exercise. Not only the chest is worked, but also the deltoids and triceps, ensuring proportional development of the upper body. Additionally, the abdominal muscles contract, and in a static position the muscles of the legs and back are activated. Wide-arm push-ups work the chest muscles to a greater extent than the shoulder girdle and arms.
You can limit yourself to just push-ups if you want to pump up your chest at home, but there is no desire or time to do other exercises. The effect, although small, will still be felt after just a few weeks of regular training.
Program for the pectoral muscles in the gym: 3 times a week
The first day includes basic exercises for the pectoral muscles, the second and third - isolating exercises, using isolating apparatus.
The first day includes:
- bench press in a lying position on a bench without an incline: 4x8;
- barbell press using a bench with a positive incline: 3x8;
- bench press on a bench at a negative incline: 3x12;
- abduction of arms in the simulator: 3x12;
- push-ups: 4x15.
Second day:
- dumbbell bench press without incline: 3x12;
- Hummer press: 3x12;
- Incline dumbbell press: 3x12.
The third day:
- seated dumbbell press: 3x12;
- lying dumbbell row: 4x12;
- parallel bars push-ups – 2 sets, number of repetitions until failure;
- plank 1.5-2 minutes.
Don't miss the most popular article in the section: Body drying for girls. Training program, detailed nutrition menu for the month by day.
Narrow push-ups
Narrow push-ups can be used to develop strength and work the inner chest. The starting position in this case is the same as for regular push-ups, but you need to place your hands in such a way that the fingers of one hand slightly touch the fingers of the other. When performing, you need to lower yourself until your chest touches your hands, and before moving up, take a second pause.
Advice! If push-ups are too easy, do not increase the number of repetitions; it is better to use additional weights. For this you can use, for example, a backpack with books.
Program for the pectoral muscles in the gym: 5 times a week
The program is intended for experienced athletes. The duration of each workout does not exceed 30 minutes and the emphasis is on increasing muscle mass. Approaches are performed at intervals of 1-2 minutes.
The first day:
- bench press without an incline. 3 times 8 repetitions;
- Bench press on a bench with a positive incline – 3 times, 8 repetitions;
- Dumbbell bench press with a negative incline – 2 times, 15 repetitions.
Second day:
- bench press with a negative incline: 3x15;
- dumbbell flyes on an incline bench are performed 4x12;
- abduction of arms in the simulator - 3x15.
Day three:
- Bench press on an incline bench with your head down: 3 times 12 repetitions;
- abduction of arms in the simulator - 3x12;
- push-ups – 4x15.
Day four:
- push-ups – on a platform or regular – 4x15;
- pullover dumbbells behind the head while sitting – 3x12;
- plank – 1.5-2 minutes.
Day five:
- seated dumbbell press. Perform 4 sets, 12 repetitions;
- pullover dumbbells behind the head while lying down - 4x15;
- parallel bars push-ups – 2 sets, number of repetitions until failure.
Push-ups on stools
A more effective way to pump up your pectoral muscles with push-ups is as follows. You need to place 2 stools approximately shoulder width apart. Take the starting position, as when doing push-ups from the floor, only place your hands on stools and your feet on the floor or on a raised platform, for example, a sofa or chair. Place your palms slightly wider than your shoulders.
Going as low as possible between the stools, perform 3-4 sets of 10-12 push-ups. Breaks between approaches should be approximately 2-3 minutes.
Program for the pectoral muscles in the gym: 2 times a week
The program is ideal for beginners, because a few classes a week are enough to get started.
First day:
- bench press in a lying position on a bench without tilting. 3x12;
- bench press with a positive incline – 3x8;
- Incline dumbbell press – 2x15;
- raises with dumbbells – 3x15.
Second day:
- dumbbell bench press – 3x12;
- bench press down in a Smith machine – 3x12;
- push-ups on parallel bars – the maximum number of times with your own weight until complete failure;
- bringing hands together in a crossover – 2x12.
Rest between sets is 3 minutes. The recommended number of executions and repetitions is taken from the calculation of the convenient weight of the projectile , that is, the one with which you can perform the specified number of repetitions.
Forward Bend Push-Ups
The essence of the exercise is to place your legs above the level of your head. To do this, focus on your outstretched arms, placing them shoulder-width apart. Place your feet on a stool, sofa or other accessible elevation. This version of the exercise increases the load on the upper chest, and also uses the triceps and deltoids.
As for how to pump your chest correctly, when doing push-ups from the floor, try to spread your elbows to the sides to provide more load to the chest muscles rather than the triceps. This way, you can pump up your chest faster with push-ups.
What you need to know about hormone therapy
Another important topic for girls who are unhappy with their bust size. As you know, the female hormone estrogen is responsible for its size, and many representatives of the fair sex begin to sin with pills for one clear purpose. It is strictly forbidden to do this so as not to upset the hormonal balance.
Never resort to hormone therapy without a doctor’s prescription.
It is permissible to solve the problem in this way only after consultation and as prescribed by an endocrinologist - in case of a deficiency of one of the hormones, the doctor will prescribe drugs that compensate for its deficiency. Self-medication risks causing breast tumors, among other things.