4 home exercises for bigger chest muscles

The chest muscles. An essential body part for both men and women. Look around the gym; all machines for the chest muscles are occupied by default. Men often work on a massive chest, women often want to keep the chest muscles tight. And of course something has to be done for that. So get moving! You don't even have to leave the house to live up to these ideals. I have put together 4 fun exercises, suitable for both men and women. All you have to do is do them three or four times a week. It can be that simple!

Push up

We start with push-ups. With this exercise you mainly train the chest muscles (pectoralis major), but also the shoulder muscles (deltoid) and triceps. Even your abdominal muscles and the muscles in your lower back are addressed. A very complete exercise and therefore very popular. We use the Body & Fitshop push-up supports for this.

How

Lie on your stomach. Press your toes into the floor and place your hands on the floor at shoulder height next to you using the Push Up Supports. Tighten your abs and press your elbows into your sides. Keep your face in a straight line with your body, so you are looking at the floor. Push yourself up from this position by straightening your elbows. It is important that your body remains straight during the execution of the exercise. Once your elbows are straight, return to the starting position by bending your elbows controlled. Make sure that you do not lie on the floor with your entire body, but tap the floor gently with your nose.  From here repetition two starts by following the previous steps again.

Frequency

3 sets of 15 reps, with 30 seconds rest between each set. If this execution is impossible, you can make the exercise easier by placing your knees on the floor. This will reduce the range of motion. Also during this variation, make sure that the body remains straight by contracting your abdominal and lower back muscles and that your toes stay on the floor.

Standing chest press

We perform this exercise with the help of the Body & Fitshop 3-piece expander set. Also in this exercise we mainly train the chest muscles, as well as the triceps and shoulder muscles.

How

Stand upright. Place the longest resistance cable behind your back in a horizontal position, at chest level (if possible, you can use a fixed object, such as a door handle, to attach and tension the resistance cable). With one hand, grab the handle at the height of your chest and against the side of your chest. With the other hand, pull the resistance cable hard enough to apply tension to it. Clamp this side through your arm / armpit. The arm with which you will perform the exercise is the arm with which you hold the resistance cable in your hand. Start with your arm at a 90 degree angle with the elbow facing out. Slowly push your arm forward so that you end up with your arm straight out in front of you, at chest height. Slowly return to the starting position.

Frequency

3 sets of 15 reps per arm. While one arm is active, the other rests. This equates to approximately 30 seconds of rest per arm.

Fly 

Here too we use the 3-piece expander set from Body & Fitshop. This exercise primarily targets the chest and shoulder muscles. Now we hardly use the triceps, as we do not bend or stretch the arms throughout the exercise and therefore only put a slight load on them, because we only have to keep the arm in position.

How

Hook the resistance cable behind the door handle or other fixed object. Grab a handle in both hands and keep your arms at your sides, at shoulder height, with your back turned to the fixed object. Take a small step forward with one leg. Keep your elbows slightly bent. Move your arms forward and back in front of your chest. It is important that your back stays straight during the entire execution! Slowly return to the starting position, bringing your arms back to your sides. From here repetition two starts by following the previous steps again.

Frequency

3 sets of 15 reps, with 30 seconds rest between sets.

Incline fly

We end with a variation on the exercise above. Again, we mainly target the chest and shoulder muscles and the triceps are again left virtually unloaded. The 3-piece expander set from Body & Fitshop is also used for this exercise.

How

Stand on the longest resistance cable and take a handle in both hands. Stand up straight with your arms at your sides. Move your hands up in a forward direction, arms slightly bent and the inside of your wrist facing upward (supinated). Make sure your arms meet at shoulder height, in front of your chest. Tighten the chest muscles and return to the starting position, bringing your arms back to your sides. From here repetition two starts by following the previous steps again.

Frequency

3 sets of 15 reps, with 30 seconds rest between each set.

For the tough guys among us

Any exercise can be made heavier by performing it more slowly. In addition, you can of course increase the frequency by increasing the number of repetitions and / or the number of sets and / or you can shorten the rest. The resistance can be increased by using a shorter resistance cable, if possible.

The push-ups can be made heavier by running the resistance cable over the top of your back and holding the handles on both sides. Both variations of the fly can also be made heavier by standing wider on the resistance cable. Make sure that the posture is good at all times!