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.
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.
Three pillars of muscle mass
Nutrition.
Consume the norm of proteins, fats and carbohydrates. Create a calorie surplus of 10-15% of your norm. This is how we will not gain excess fat. Body weight will not increase if you eat poorly. Include in your diet: eggs, fish, meat, green vegetables and fruits, sunflower oil, buckwheat, rice, pasta, cottage cheese, nuts, bread, honey. You don’t need to overeat, you won’t gain any more muscle, but you won’t be able to put on your favorite jeans.
For example, the following scheme is suitable for athletes: per 1 kg of weight: protein - 1.5 g, fats - 1 g, carbohydrates - 5 g. If a man weighs 70 kg, then it is necessary that the daily diet be: protein - 105 g, fats – 70 g, carbohydrates – 350 g.
Photo: istockphoto.com
Power training.
Conduct 2-4 classes per week for an hour. This is the basis for muscle development. A training diary will help you have a clear idea of which days to train, which muscles to load, how many exercises to do, approaches and repetitions. This makes it easier to track progress.
Prefer multi-joint exercises such as push-ups, squats, lunges, pull-ups, upside-down push-ups, crunches, etc. Practice technically correctly until you feel fatigue in your muscles. In order to achieve maximum effect, there must be a dynamic from easy to complex. Increase the number of repetitions and use any additional weight. For example, do push-ups with a 5-liter bottle on your back.
Photo: istockphoto.com
Recovery.
During training, we destroy protein tissue so that a new one with a small reserve takes its place. This is how, step by step, your biceps become bigger and stronger.
Muscles do not grow during training, but during rest, so sleep until you get enough sleep and try to get up without an alarm clock. The body needs to restore spent resources.
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.
Why does the appearance of breasts deteriorate?
The breasts begin to change for obvious reasons, banal lack of self-care, and as a result, the breasts that you want to see in front of you in the mirror appear.
Below are the main reasons that can “spoil” breasts:
- Constant weight fluctuations. As soon as we gain weight, our breasts also get better; if we lose weight, they also get smaller. It can quickly change its shape, just like our body mass.
- Wrong bra size. When buying a bra that is too loose, think about the fact that wearing it, you will involuntarily stretch the skin on your chest; if it sits tightly on you, you will thereby impair blood circulation.
- Posture. Many people think that posture has no effect on breast shape. But, compare women with an even posture and those who constantly sit slouched, clearly the former have very different breasts than the latter. Watch your shoulders and back so that they always stay straight and you will notice a significant difference.
- Ultraviolet. Fans of this type of tanning should think about the dangers of exposure to ultraviolet rays, because they are harmful and lead to the development of cancer and burns.
- Hot water. Water at this temperature is not beneficial; on the contrary, it has a bad effect on the skin of the chest. But taking a contrast shower can become an everyday procedure, because the benefits from it are much greater.
- Diet. In fact, despite many controversies and myths, diet can affect breast size; if you follow it properly, your breasts will remain in the same shape as they were many years ago. If you eat foods that contain a lot of vitamins and protein, your workout will be more effective.
You should not eat too much fat and fast carbohydrates, as they cause changes in breast volume.
For some reason it seems that you don’t need to take care of your breasts at all, that they don’t need anything anyway, they are there and that’s the main thing. But in fact, she also benefits from certain foods, proper nutrition, and care. This is the same part of the body as the face that needs to be lubricated with some kind of moisturizer.
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.
Bulgarian lunges
Technique:
- The back is straight with a slight arch in the lower back, inclined towards the floor. Shoulders together, chest forward.
- Left and right legs at a 90° angle at the knees.
- The distance between the knee of the left leg and the floor is 5-10 cm.
- The left leg is used only to maintain balance.
- Take a deep breath and slowly lower yourself down until your right thigh is parallel to the floor.
- Exhale and push yourself upward with a powerful movement.
Perform three sets of 20 reps. Rest between sets is a minute.
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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.
How to properly prepare for classes
Before doing exercises for the pectoral muscles at home, do a joint warm-up. To do this, make 8–12 rotations in both directions, following the “top to bottom” principle:
- head;
- shoulders;
- hands;
- elbows;
- brushes;
- pelvis
This technique opens the chest well: clasp your fingers behind your back and pull them back and up, bringing your shoulder blades together. Do the exercise for 30 seconds.
To make the most of your chest workout at home, do a cardio session of jumping rope, boxing, or jumping jacks while swinging your arms from the bottom up for 8-10 minutes.
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.
Your body is your trainer
Exercises using your own body weight are generally easy to perform. In addition, they do not require additional equipment, except that it is better to take care of comfortable clothes and shoes for training in advance. You can perform strength and other types of exercises with your own weight both at home and outdoors. True, if the goal of training is not to maintain your current shape, but to build muscle mass, gradually your own body weight will become an insufficient load and you will have to practice exercises with your own weight.
or move to the gym.
How does exercise using your own body differ from other types of exercise? they do not require additional tools to perform them
in the form of exercise machines, weights, dumbbells or other weights. All necessary load is provided by the body. For example, a similar load can be obtained by lifting weights, such as a barbell, or doing pull-ups, i.e. lift your own body. You can use simulators to train your leg muscles by doing lifts with weights, or you can do squats.
Exercises with your own body weight are easy even for beginners, because this type of exercise is the most natural for our body, such a load will not be excessive for the body, in addition, it can be easily adjusted by reducing or increasing the number and duration of approaches. Since exercises to overcome your own weight do not require special training, you can perform them yourself, without resorting to the services of trainers. However, special attention must be paid to the technique of performing the exercises so that the result meets expectations.
