Specific Chest Exercises for Fat Loss

The chest muscles, also known as the pecs, are located in front of the ribcage and are used for pushing motions. You can use your chest muscles in cardiovascular exercises that burn fat or you can train them to become bigger. "Changing the angle of your body during classic chest exercises can challenge different parts of these muscle groups for maximum development," according to Men's Health.

  1. Build Muscle

    • There are several dozen exercises designed to make your chest bigger and stronger, including bench press using different angles, push-ups with different grips and hand placements, dumbbell flyes and presses, dips, cable crossovers, chest presses using machines and exercise balls. Because the pecs are big muscles and you burn more fat the more muscle mass your body has, you should focus on building this muscle group as much as possible. Beginners should start with machine-based exercises and do three sets of 15 repetitions three times weekly until they have developed basic chest strength. Intermediate exercisers can add three sets of 15 to 20 push-ups to their chest routine. When machines and push-ups no longer challenge you, add free weights such as dumbbell flyes and bench presses to your routine.

    Cardiovascular Chest Exercise

    • You must include cardiovascular exercise to burn fat. Swimming using the breast stroke, boxing and using the arm bike exercise your chest muscles while giving you a challenging cardiovascular workout. "One of the most underrated cardio machines, the arm bike, gives you killer definition in your triceps and deltoids but works the back, chest and biceps too," states the website Real Jock. Punching a sandbag at the gym helps you lose fat in addition to letting you blow off steam.

    Power Chest Exercises

    • Adding power to your chest exercises will maximize your efforts by building muscle while burning fat. When you feel comfortable doing your strength-building routine, try doing a few clap push-ups and squat thrusts, also known as burpees. Do a clap push-up by simply clapping your hands together in between each push-up and quickly placing them back in the original position. Do a squat thrust by bending over, placing your palms on the floor and jumping your feet backward as far you can. Jump your feet back toward your hands and stand up again. Repeat both exercises 10 to 20 times each for two to three sets. Both moves are best suited to advanced exercisers.