The Top Pectoral Exercises

Regardless of whether you simply want to shed the flab, firm up your pecs and get rid of the “man boob” look, or your goal is to pack on a ton of chest muscle, then you absolutely must be focusing on the most effective pectoral exercises on a regular basis.  While running into the gym and jumping from chest exercise to chest exercise without a decent plan can actually help you build your pecs to some degree.  However if you really want to build thick muscular pecs that you can be proud of, then you need to create your chest workouts around most effective pec exercises and ditch the longer list of crappy pectoral exercises.

No matter what body part you want to focus your attention on, I feel that you’re much better off picking with the pec exercises that allow you to train with heavy weights through a complete range of motion that incorporates muscle fibers from many different body parts. When it comes to chest training, I really like to focus on the basic chest presses that involves the muscles of the shoulder and chest at the same time.

I just feel that you get the most out of each workout training this way than you would by trying to singularly isolate each and every muscle group.  If you try to work out for chest growth by focusing on isolation movements that don’t work in your deltoids, you get to a point where you just chant get your pecs to grow because you’re training with very light weights.

Here are my choices for the best all around pectoral exercises.  Learn how to perform each of these chest exercises with correct form and start utilizing them in all of your chest workouts.  Not only will you begin to instantly feel a difference in the size and strength of your pecs, and after a few weeks of determined effort, people will start to notice your bigger, stronger chest muscles.

The Most Effective Pectoral Exercises

1.  Bar Bell Bench Press – This is the universal grandfather of all pec exercises. Stimulating muscles from your chest, delts and triceps this awesome pectoral exercise will help you gain some serious chest muscle quickly!

To perform the barbell bench press – Lie on your back on a flat bench with your butt in contact with the bench and your feet flat on the ground. Grab the bar with an overhand grip spaced just wider than shoulder width. Slowly lower the barbell in a slow and controlled manner until it’s located just below your nipples. Extend you arms upward while pushing the weight until the bar is in the starting position.

2. The Incline Press – The incline press is another timeless (and extremely effective) pec exercise that can help you get your pecs into amazing shape. The barbell incline press places and emphasis on the muscles in your chest and shoulders.

To perform the incline press: Sit on an inclined bench set to between 45 and 60 degrees. I personally like to lower the angle of the bench even lower to somewhere between 35 and 40 degrees because it allows me to train with much heavier weights than I can train with if the angle of the bench is steeper. Just give this pec exercise a try and see what works best for you..

Grab the barbell with an overhand grip that is slightly wider than shoulder width. Lower the bar in a slow and controlled manner to the top of your chest. Make sure that your back and butt are in contact with the bench during the entire movement. Press the weight up until the bar is back in the starting position. Make sure to avoid any aching in your back during this exercise.

3. Weighted Chest Dips – When performed properly weighted dips are one of the most effective chest exercises. Chest dips target your chest muscles while incorporating Your delts at the same time.  One of the really cool things about dips is that when performed properly, they allow you to really stretch out your pecs and deltoids at the bottom of the exercise, which can help to increase the range of motion of your shoulder joints.

To perform chest dips: Hang from the parallel bars with your arms fully extended and you legs curled up behind you. Bend your elbows and lower your body slowly until your chest is level with the parallel bars, then press down and lift your body back up to the starting position. In order to place more of an emphasis on your pectoralis and less on your triceps, lean forward through the complete movement.

If I had to narrow my list down to only 3 pectoral exercises to make up the bulk of my chest workouts, bench press, incline press (as well as the dumbbell equivalents) and chest dips would be the exercises I’d go with.  Not only do these basic chest exercises require little in the way of fancy equipment, but they are the most effective exercises for building a powerful muscular chest.

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13 Comments

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  2. The new Zune browser is surprisingly good, but not as good as the iPod’s. It works well, but isn’t as fast as Safari, and has a clunkier interface. If you occasionally plan on using the web browser that’s not an issue, but if you’re planning to browse the web alot from your PMP then the iPod’s larger screen and better browser may be important.

  3. Zune and iPod: Most people compare the Zune to the Touch, but after seeing how slim and surprisingly small and light it is, I consider it to be a rather unique hybrid that combines qualities of both the Touch and the Nano. It’s very colorful and lovely OLED screen is slightly smaller than the touch screen, but the player itself feels quite a bit smaller and lighter. It weighs about 2/3 as much, and is noticeably smaller in width and height, while being just a hair thicker.

  4. Zune and iPod: Most people compare the Zune to the Touch, but after seeing how slim and surprisingly small and light it is, I consider it to be a rather unique hybrid that combines qualities of both the Touch and the Nano. It’s very colorful and lovely OLED screen is slightly smaller than the touch screen, but the player itself feels quite a bit smaller and lighter. It weighs about 2/3 as much, and is noticeably smaller in width and height, while being just a hair thicker.

  5. If you’re still on the fence: grab your favorite earphones, head down to a Best Buy and ask to plug them into a Zune then an iPod and see which one sounds better to you, and which interface makes you smile more. Then you’ll know which is right for you.

  6. This is getting a bit more subjective, but I much prefer the Zune Marketplace. The interface is colorful, has more flair, and some cool features like ‘Mixview’ that let you quickly see related albums, songs, or other users related to what you’re listening to. Clicking on one of those will center on that item, and another set of “neighbors” will come into view, allowing you to navigate around exploring by similar artists, songs, or users. Speaking of users, the Zune “Social” is also great fun, letting you find others with shared tastes and becoming friends with them. You then can listen to a playlist created based on an amalgamation of what all your friends are listening to, which is also enjoyable. Those concerned with privacy will be relieved to know you can prevent the public from seeing your personal listening habits if you so choose.

  7. Apple now has Rhapsody as an app, which is a great start, but it is currently hampered by the inability to store locally on your iPod, and has a dismal 64kbps bit rate. If this changes, then it will somewhat negate this advantage for the Zune, but the 10 songs per month will still be a big plus in Zune Pass’ favor.

  8. The Zune concentrates on being a Portable Media Player. Not a web browser. Not a game machine. Maybe in the future it’ll do even better in those areas, but for now it’s a fantastic way to organize and listen to your music and videos, and is without peer in that regard. The iPod’s strengths are its web browsing and apps. If those sound more compelling, perhaps it is your best choice.

  9. Between me and my husband we’ve owned more MP3 players over the years than I can count, including Sansas, iRivers, iPods (classic & touch), the Ibiza Rhapsody, etc. But, the last few years I’ve settled down to one line of players. Why? Because I was happy to discover how well-designed and fun to use the underappreciated (and widely mocked) Zunes are.

  10. I like the theme on this blog. Is it available for download anywhere?

  11. I’ll gear this review to 2 types of people: current Zune owners who are considering an upgrade, and people trying to decide between a Zune and an iPod. (There are other players worth considering out there, like the Sony Walkman X, but I hope this gives you enough info to make an informed decision of the Zune vs players other than the iPod line as well.)

  12. Keep working ,great job!

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