Beautiful breasts are a dream not only of every woman, but of every self-respecting athlete. True, they understand this a little in their own way. The developed pectoral muscles make the torso more attractive and massive, and in conjunction with a wide back create the very coveted V-silhouette. If training with a barbell is already bored, you can perform equally effective exercises with dumbbells for the pectoral muscles. This will help to add variety to your workouts and will achieve good results.
We study the structure of the muscles of the chest
The pectoral muscle is a fairly large paired muscle and occupies a vast area from the collarbone to the end of the diaphragm. If we go deeper into the anatomy, we can distinguish two main parts of this anatomical group, which are combined by three muscle bundles:
- Large pectoralis (consists of the middle and upper muscle bundle). A large, round and rather convex muscle. It is this part of the pectoral muscles that is responsible for the volume and relief of the chest.
- Small pectoralis (consists of the lower bundle of muscles). It has a small volume and a specific triangular shape. It acts as an auxiliary muscle-stabilizer and practically does not emerge in the general relief of the chest.
In order to stretch muscle fibers well, it is best to do exercises with dumbbells for the pectoral muscles. Try to delve into the biomechanics of each movement, because only in this way you can experience the effectiveness of the training.
General features of training chest muscles
Performing a set of exercises with dumbbells for the pectoral muscles, it is necessary to take into account the physiological characteristics of the training of this anatomical group:
- Since the chest consists of three independent segments, you need to pay close attention to each bundle, but most of all "kill" the upper section. This will help to achieve proportional growth and beautiful muscle shape.
- If you train using the fullbody method, it is better to include the complex on the chest at least three times a week. If you are a big fan of splits, then the break between training on the chest can be up to three days. This is a fairly large muscle group, which means that it takes much more time to rest
- Try to combine chest training with antagonist muscles. In this case, it will be the back. Remember, first we train the front of the body, then the back. It is very important to pay equal attention to both the chest and the back, because the growth of one muscle group provokes an increase in the volume of the other.
- Change your training program sometimes or modify your exercise technique. Muscles quickly adapt to any form of training, which means that they need to constantly surprise and shock with something.
Why are dumbbells better than barbells?
Why are exercises with dumbbells for pectoral muscles more effective than with a barbell? In such classes there are many advantages:
- The simplicity of technology. Heavy basic exercises with a barbell are not easy for everyone, especially when it comes to girls.
- The opportunity to study at home.
- Turn off stabilizers from exercise. In training with a barbell, the lion's share of the load is stolen by triceps, deltas and forearms, and in exercises with dumbbells this is simply impossible.
- Increased amplitude. With dumbbells, we can stretch muscle fibers as much as possible, and all due to freedom of movement without restrictions.
- Restoring balance of hand strength. Since each hand holds its own weight with dumbbells, over time they will equal in strength indicators. While with the bar only the natural difference in the strength of the right and left parts of the body only intensifies.
The basic principles of effective training
For a beautiful and athletic figure, it is very important to train your chest muscles hard. Exercise at home with dumbbells will help you achieve the desired results, and to squeeze the maximum benefit out of training, simply adhere to the following principles:
- Always focus on exercise technique. All movements must be done very slowly and carefully, especially if you are working with a lot of weight.
- Always keep your muscles in good shape, never straighten your arms to the end. In all bench and rearing exercises, it is very important to work within the amplitude, while maintaining the peak contraction of muscle fibers.
- Before the main exercise, always perform 1-2 training approaches. This will help warm up the muscles, prepare the joints and adjust the technique.
- You should not perform more than 6 approaches of one exercise, this can lead to excessive inhibition of the muscle group. The number of repetitions is best brought to 8-12 pieces.
- In chest exercises, fairly long pauses between exercises are allowed. Rest can last about 4-5 minutes. This time will be enough to allow stabilizers to recover and continue training.
It's time to consider a set of exercises for the pectoral muscles.
Alternative to the classic barbell bench press
A good basic exercise with dumbbells to build pectoral muscles. Dumbbell bench press is a special kind of training, which is very fond of those who can’t stand the barbell. The fact is that biomechanics remains the same, the technique is simplified by several times, stabilizers do not steal the load, but the efficiency for mass collection increases significantly. The reason for this is an increase in the working trajectory, which in turn provokes the stretching of muscle fibers.
Equipment:
- Lie on the bench. Be sure to adjust it in height: your feet should rest completely on the floor. Head and neck should lie completely on the shell.
- Hold the dumbbells on outstretched arms, but in no case push the arms forward or backward. Shells should be approximately in the midline of the chest. Also, do not stick your elbows. The joint must be mobile and relaxed, and the muscles, in turn, are tense.
- Lower your hands down to the feeling of maximum stretching of the pectoral muscles, at the point of peak contraction, we traditionally pause. Then just return to the starting position and repeat the approach;
We modify the traditional bench press using an inclined bench
It is possible to slightly improve the traditional exercise with dumbbells for the muscles of the chest. To do this, you need to use not an ordinary, but an inclined bench. As the angle of inclination increases, the load gradually goes up. So, if you set the bench at 30-45 degrees, then the middle and upper chest muscles will begin to be actively involved in the work, and if the angle is close to 60 degrees, then part of the load will begin to go to the shoulders. To always keep the muscles in a state of peak tension, perform the exercise in a shortened amplitude.
The essence of the exercise is absolutely similar to the previous one, but there are some features of the technique:
- When lowering the shells down try to stretch your elbows a little, this will increase the load on the muscles.
- Lower dumbbells as low as possible, at least to chest level. The longer the trajectory, the more efficient the development of the target area of the chest.
Stretch muscle fibers - side-to-side dumbbell breeding
Another effective type of training familiar to every man involved. Exercises with dumbbells for the pectoral muscles should work not only to reduce the fibers as in the press, but also for stretching. And it’s best to do this as a standard and familiar type of training - breeding dumbbells. This exercise works great on the large pectoralis, making our chest round and convex. In addition, the front deltas swing well as “helpers” here, which means that in parallel we form a beautiful shoulder line.
Equipment:
- Starting position - as in the traditional bench press.
- Dumbbells are held on divorced hands in a grip convenient for you. The elbows can be bent a little, the shells are on the same level with the body.
- When moving up, you need to try to make an effort precisely with the pectoral muscles, otherwise you will greatly overwork your biceps.
- At the top point, do not bring your hands together, the distance between the hands should be at least 30 cm, so you save the load in the muscles along the entire path of the exercise.
Let's complicate the task - breeding dumbbells on an inclined bench
This is a modified version of the previous exercise with dumbbells for the pectoral muscles. It is carried out on an inclined bench, at an angle of 30 or 45 degrees. Exercise differs from the classical version of training in an increased trajectory of movement, which means that it involves muscle fibers in a new way.
The technique remains the same, but several features should be considered:
- Exercise can be performed as a regular grip, and parallel. In the second option, we activate muscle supination, which means that biceps will automatically connect to biomechanics. On the one hand, this will help to take a lot of weight, but if the biceps muscle is very poorly developed, you will only aggravate the technique and reduce effectiveness.
- Do not lower the dumbbells below the chest line, when working with a decent weight, this can lead to dislocation or stretching of the tendon.
Unusual training - breeding dumbbells lying upside down
A very unusual exercise for pumping pectoral muscles with dumbbells. Usually performed in a Roman chair - a device for pumping the press. There you can fix your legs and sit upside down at an angle of about 20-40 degrees. In this version of the training, the lower and middle segments of the chest swing, but the triceps and the front delta will be stabilizers. The technique is similar to the classic wiring, but to increase the effectiveness of the exercise, you can rotate the brush during lifting, you probably used a similar technique more than once in training the biceps and triceps muscles of the shoulder.
We connect stabilizer muscles - pullover or French bench press
Many often perform this exercise for the pectoral muscles with standing dumbbells. However, in this embodiment, most of the load goes to the triceps, the chest only works partially. To fully utilize the pectoral muscles, you must first lie down on a bench. The technique is very simple: just lower the dumbbells as low as possible behind your head, and then lift back along the same path.
On this list of the most effective exercises for the chest with dumbbells came to an end. Be sure to add this complex to your training program, this will help you diversify your exercises and "surprise" the muscles with new types of exercise.