Chest Expansion Workouts for Men

Men love a big chest and enjoy showing it off too. Sporting a sizable chest, a six pack and acceptable biceps on the beach or even in the gym is up there with a muscle car and a house on the hill. There is hardly an upper-body workout that does not expand the chest. This is because the chest supports a raft of other muscles and working any of them will also exercise the chest muscles. However, some exercises and equipment are more targeted and effective.

  1. Barbell and Dumbbell Bench Press

    • Other than the ease of availability, the bench press remains a hugely effective and proven way to strengthen the chest muscles, while also expanding them. Barbell presses can be done in a variety of ways to emphasize different chest muscles. A flat bench exercises the pectoralis major muscles, focusing on the anterior deltoid muscle and the lower sterna heads. An inclined bench works both the upper pectoralis major and the anterior deltoids, while a declined bench focuses on the lower pectoralis major. Dumbbells target the pectoralis muscles by allowing you to move weights in circular or round moves away from yourself, while also giving you practiced muscle stability necessary in coordinating the lifts.

    Push-Ups

    • Like all other muscles, chest muscles are capable of releasing huge amounts of energy when it is necessary, effectively burning lots of fats, while also repairing and building new muscle mass. According to the US Gymnastics National Team coach, Christopher Sommers, explosive push-ups not only expand your chest, but also offer you a safe break away from clunky weights. While this exercise is simple and effective, you must know how to do it right to achieve the best results. Start by placing your hands a chest-width apart. With your knees kept absolutely straight, support the rest of your body on your toes. For each push-up, pop your hands against the floor hard enough that they come a few inches off the floor at every rise. To be sure, try clapping before landing. Like any other exercise, it is key to challenge your body without damaging the muscles. To achieve this, you must never carry too little or too much weight. Unlike weights where you can hurt your muscles by lifting more than you should, with push-ups, you are only lifting your own body weight, effectively minimizing the risk of injury.

    Parallel Bar Dips

    • This is a strength-training exercise which will also build and expand the triceps, pectorals, rhomboids and the anterior deltoid muscles. According to Sommers, the dip bars channel your body’s weight, through the arms to the chest muscles. Since your chest muscles are unlikely to have any problem lifting your own weight, as in the case of push-ups, this exercise is just as safe. If you find carrying your own weight too easy, you can string weights onto a dip belt, back pack or any other creative but safe way you can come up with.

    Decline and Incline Bench Press

    • The bench inclination variations works the pectorals, triceps and deltoids with differences in emphasis. An inclined bench works the upper chest more, while a declined bench emphasizes the lower chest. These exercises may seem to serve the same function, but they achieve slightly different results.