How to Get a Bigger Chest!

As a female, the part of my body that I neglected most before learning about weight lifting was undoubtedly chest.  When I went to the gym to take my place on the treadmill as cardio queen, I would see a few women in the weight room, mostly working their arms, legs, and sometimes back.  But I NEVER saw a woman doing a bench press or flys.  That was all men, all the time (and thank God for that, who doesn't like a man with a big chest?!).

However, as I started to incorporate weight training into my workout regimen, I felt that it was necessary to try to hit every muscle on my body, and that included chest.  I was definitely hesitant to get into it, as I did not want a big manly chest, and more importantly did not want my already small chest to completely disappear into muscle.

I have to say, one of the biggest positive differences I notice in my body since adding weights is my chest!  First of all, the area from my neck down to my chest became much more defined and toned.  Also, ladies do you ever notice that little area of fat right in between your chest and arm?  Completely gone!  The best part is that my little chest did not disappear at all- in fact, the definition has caused separation and lift, giving the appearance of actual boobs!  Which will have to do for now, until I can invest in some bigger ones :-)

I was also very excited to learn that a bench press is not the only way to work out your chest (although one of the most effective).  Here are some examples of chest exercises that will produce results for men and for women.

BARBELL BENCH PRESS



Cool, I found an animated one!  I have to start with the bench press, because I do feel like it is the most productive in building muscle.  The bench press can be done in many different variations, so switch it up to target different areas of your chest.  The traditional bench press with hit your middle chest.  If you incline the bench, you will hit your upper chest muscles, and decline the bench to hit your lower chest.  You can also change your grip, varying from wide to narrow, to hit the outer and inner muscles.  My chest muscles are still relatively weak, plus I get nervous that I am going to drop the bar on my throat, so I go with a pretty conservative weight.  I start with a 10 pound plate on each side and do 20 reps, then put the bar down, drop to the ground, and do 20 pushups.  I move up to 15 on each side, 15 reps, and 15 pushups. Finally I do 20 on each side, 10 reps, and pushups until I burn out.  Incorporating pushups in between reps really helps to completely exhaust the muscle. 

PUSH UPS

I'm assuming you don't need an image here, but I want to talk about push ups because, as is the case with most weight lifting exercises, form is key!  If you can drop down right now and knock out 100 pushups without stopping, you a) are doing it wrong or b) need to come be my personal trainer.  It is important to keep your back completely straight all the way down to your feet.  If your body makes a straight line you are in good shape, but if you are making an upside-down v, pull your glutes in to maintain alignment.  You can use the mirrors to watch your form- believe it or not, they are there for more than just boys checking themselves out!  Pushups can also be done in varying widths- shoulder length, close width, and wide width, all targeting different areas of your chest.  I usually incorporate pushups in between sets, and do not count them as their own exercise.

CABLE CROSSOVER


This can be done in two main grips- palms down and palms facing in.  I like the palms facing in grip here, because I can really feel my chest muscles pulling together as I execute the crossover.  I recommend standing with one foot in front of the other to provide more stability.  I start with 15 pounds on each side and pull in until my grips cross slightly, 20 reps.  Do this exercise slowly and look down to make sure your muscles are contracting.  I move up to 20 pounds on each side, 15 reps, and 25 pounds on each side, 10 reps.  I do not do a drop weight set on really any of my chest exercises except for dumbbell bench press, which I will explain below.  My reasoning is that my muscles are still pretty weak, so by the time I am done with the heaviest set, I am already burnt out! The cable crossover machine is also very versatile, and you can change the height of the cables to work different parts of your chest.

DUMBBELL BENCH PRESS

This image is of the incline dumbbell bench press, but it is the same idea no matter how the bench is positioned.  This is my favorite chest exercise because I can do a drop set!  That's probably because I do this one every time I work chest.  This can also be done with two grips, palms facing up or palms facing in.  I switch it up and alternate the grip every other time I workout chest.  Also, it's up to you where you want to place your feet, I don't know which is more effective, I think it's just personal preference.  I like to have my feet up on the bench, or you can have them on the floor.  I start with 15 pound dumbbells and do 20 reps, put the weights down, drop down and do 20 pushups.  I move up to 20 pound weights and 15 reps, then drop to the ground and do 20 pushups.  I end with 8 reps of 25 pounds, then 20, then 15, and drop and do as many pushups as I can.  This is a great one to end with, I am usually exhausted!

DIPS


This exercise can be done in many different forms and variations- you could probably do them right now using your chair!  This exercise is great because it also hits your triceps.  My gym has the machine pictured above with assistance weight, which is necessary for me.  I see some guys that are pretty bad ass that chain weight to themselves to do dips.  If you can handle those, get it!  Make sure your upper body is leaning slightly forward with your chest pushed out.  Try to focus on hitting your chest muscles and not using your bis to raise yourself back up. I start of with 30 pounds of assistance and do 20 reps, then 20 pounds and 15 reps, then 10 pounds of 8 reps, 20 pounds of 8 reps, and 30 pounds of 8 reps.

MACHINE PRESS


There are different types of machine bench presses, and vary in height to target different chest muscles, but the execution is basically the same.  Try to push yourself on the machines- I do believe that free weights are more effective in building more muscle, but these are a good switch up to keep your body guessing.  I usually start with 50 pounds, 20 reps, then 60 pounds, 15 reps, then 70 pounds 8 reps, down to 55 pounds of 8 reps, and 45 pounds of 8 reps. 

CHEST FLY MACHINE


You wanna show off your pecs, hop on this baby!  This is my favorite chest machine by far- it really hits that little flab area I was talking about earlier ladies!  I start with 30 pounds and 20 reps, 40 pounds and 15 reps, then a drop set of 8 with 50 pounds, 40 pounds, and 30 pounds.

So if you haven't been focusing on your chest at the gym, go try some of these exercises in your next workout.  Male or female, we ALL want a bigger chest! :-)