To develop the upper part of the chest, deeper and more difficult to reach, and to have a more harmonious figure, it is necessary to carry out exercises for high, targeted pectorals that make the upper part of the muscle work.
Since the good old days, when we were bogged down in puberty and riddled with pimples, we understood that pullets liked well-defined breastplates.
But here a big problem arises: as we transform our bibs, the injuries come out, we become victims of aching shoulders, stretched pectorals and a variable number of other injuries. The cornerstone of the development of the bibs is to learn simple strategies that allow you to train your bibs effectively while remaining in full shape.
The pectoral muscles are formed by two muscles: the pectoralis major and the pectoralis minor also called major and minor.
If we know our anatomy, we can also modify the exercises listed below in case of specific problems, such as rotator cuff conflict syndrome. Often there is greater pain with the movements over the head, so the relaxation on an inclined bench is not recommended.
Rather than completely eliminating the incline bench exercises, you can start by lowering the bench slightly.
Another move you can put into the post-workout routine is an almost isometric eccentric dumbbell opening (EQI).
Before explaining step by step how to train the high chest, I show you a short video (in my opinion very important) by Umberto Miletto where you will see simple stretching exercises and in particular how to stretch the chest and shoulders before starting the actual training.
Here are some high chest exercises that I personally carry out in my training sessions:
1. Incline bench with medium grip barbell
Exercise
Main worked muscles: High pectorals
Other affected muscles: Triceps and Shoulders
Equipment: Barbell
Movement Type: Compound
Tips:
Set the bench tilted about 45 degrees. Sit on the bench with your feet flat on the floor a little wider than your shoulders. Place your back firmly against the bench. Using a slightly wider grip than your shoulder width, hold the bar over the top of your chest with your arms straight.
Slowly lower the bar and make light contact with the upper chest area. Continue the weight upward over your chest until your elbows are locked, or close to it.
2. Pushes on inclined bench
Exercise
Main worked muscles: Upper pectorals
Other affected muscles: Triceps and Shoulders
Equipment: Barbell
Movement Type: Compound
Sit on the edge of an incline bench set at an angle of approximately 45 degrees. Take a dumbbell in each hand and put them on your thighs. Then, one at a time, raise them up to shoulder level, while pressing your back and shoulders firmly against the bench. Press the weights back up to a point above the upper chest, palms facing forward.
Lower the weights slowly. Inhale as you lower your weight and exhale as you lift. Tips:
3. Openings with cables on inclined bench
Exercise
Main worked muscles: High pectorals
Other affected muscles: None
Equipment: Cables
Movement Type: Isolated
This is like the flat bench, except that you are lying on an inclined bench (about 30 degrees). Hold the handles above the top of your chest with your arms almost straight. You should keep a slight curve to be in an optimal position. Slowly lower the handles in a wide arch at shoulder level and then return to the starting position, along the same path.
Maintain tension on your bibs throughout the movement. Tips:
4. Pullover with barbell
Exercise
Main worked muscles: Pectoralis major and internal
Other affected muscles: None
Equipment: Barbell
Movement Type: Compound
Lie on a flat bench, your head over the end, with your feet flat on the floor. Grasp the bar and with a semicircular movement, lower the bar slowly to the ground. Pull the rear bar using the same path. Keep your head down and don’t lift your hips. It can also be done with dumbbells or with outstretched arms.
Tips:
Regardless of our goal of attacking the high pectorals, changing the exercises with a methodical frequency more simply making significant changes on already known exercises is a great way to get out of the stall in which we sometimes find ourselves;
changing stimuli — muscularly speaking — forces the latter to a progressive adaptation that leads us to improve performance, especially when we adopt this strategy on key muscles for our technical gesture.
What we have just seen is the classic workout consisting of exercises for high pectorals performed in an environment such as the gym where all the equipment we need is present; but what if we can’t attend a gym regularly?
So here are 3 exercises for chest and high pectorals, to be performed free-body within the home walls:
1. Isometric exercises for the chest
Exercise
Main worked muscles: Pectoral
muscles Other affected muscles: Biceps
Equipment: Free body
Movement Type: Compound
Tips:
Fold your arms and hands together in front of your chest. Press both hands against each other and count the number of seconds. Remember to breathe during the isometric contraction! The isometric exercises we often encounter when we are devoid of various machinery and equipment.
2. Push-Ups (wide hand closed position)
Exercise
Main worked muscles: Pectoral
muscles Other affected muscles: Triceps and Shoulders
Equipment: Free body
Movement Type: Compound
Like the normal push-ups on the arms but with the hands in a closed or wide position, to work more on the internal or external chest. Tips:
3. Push-ups with raised feet
Exercise
Main worked muscles: Pectoral
muscles Other affected muscles: Triceps and Shoulders
Equipment: Free body
Movement Type: Compound
Kneel and put your hands on the floor and slightly wider than your shoulder width. With your shoulders directly over your hands, straighten your arms. Move your feet back, placing your toes on an 18-inch tall stand. The higher the support the greater the intensity of the exercise!
At this point, the body must form a straight line from the shoulders to the ankles.
Tips:
The body must remain straight during this exercise. Keeping your head and neck in line with your body will allow you to descend correctly and evenly to the floor. This is the starting position. In a controlled way, lower the body down towards the floor, bending the elbows, until the body is almost in contact with the floor.
Now, push your body away from the floor, straightening your arms, when you return to the starting position. You can even do this with a barbell disc on your back!
However, if you want to do a chest training, it is important not only to choose exercises that determine maximum development but also testosterone cypionate to insert exercises that allow you to stay in full shape, without making us want to abandon training. If your bibs have a balanced development between the upper and lower portions, I would recommend changing the distances between the inclined, flat and declined bench.