Bench Press: The Best Of All Chest Exercises

March 30, 2009

Many women avoid chest exercises for fear they will over train their chest and gain a gorilla-like posture.  And for such reasoning, the bench press is normally not considered an exercise for women.  But there are benefits for women who get a good pectoral workout.  And while there are many different ways to get a good pec workout, the bench press is considered by many weight lifters to be the best of all chest exercises.

Here are the benefits of a good pec workout:

Most of us have relied on our chest muscles our entire life for pushing and pulling heavy things.  When we have good upper-body strength we have more strength for activities such as lifting and holding our children, pushing lawnmowers, and rearranging our furniture.  And with strong chest muscles we are less likely to injure ourselves while doing such activities.

What a good pec workout won’t do.

Don’t think that with a regular bench press workout you will turn your A cups into double-Ds.  It just won’t happen.  But with a little dedication, it can give you nice athletic cleavage.  And because it works the delts and triceps, it will give you nicely shaped arms and a better athletic frame.  Simply put, you will be in better overall shape.

How to bench press:

Lie on a bench with your feet flat on the floor.  Grab the barbell so your arms are evenly spaced a few inches wider than shoulder-width apart.  Arch your back just slightly.  Lift the bar off the rack and hold it at arm’s length over your chest.  Straighten your arms, but don’t lock your elbows.  Slowly lower the bar to your chest.  Pause, and then push the bar back up.  During this exercise, be sure to pull your abs in tight, exhale as you press the bar up, and inhale as you lower the bar down.

If you want to focus on your upper chest, then incline the bench to a 45-degree angle.  Or if you really want to get strong, decline the bench 30 or 40 degrees.

Don’t have a barbell?

Then do pushups! Start in a pushup position, hands shoulder width apart.  While keeping your back straight, bend at the elbows until your chin almost touches the ground.  Push back up, and repeat.

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Posted by Julie | Filed Under Blog, Chest Exercises 

Comments

7 Responses to “Bench Press: The Best Of All Chest Exercises”

  1. Cascia @ Healthy Moms on April 2nd, 2009 7:53 pm

    What a wonderful article! I understand that a lot of women avoid this type of exercise. I love all the tips and articles you have on this website. I was wondering if you would like to be a guest blogger on Healthy Moms. If you are interested you can send me an article to publish t talbertcascia at yahoo dot com or fill out the contact form on our site. Please include a brief biography about you and a link to your blog in the article.

    Thanks!

  2. viveca on April 4th, 2009 8:05 am

    Ah yes … this is looking like my Sunday.

    Viveca

  3. ish on April 6th, 2009 3:45 pm

    very interesting and informative post, we are thankful for sharing it to us, continue this wonderful things. More power!

  4. TheMindRelaxer on April 22nd, 2009 6:28 pm

    Push ups for me, it really helps me expand a little muscle for my chest.

  5. FWReduction on May 28th, 2009 10:21 pm

    well, that is true…
    however the best alternative is really push-up…

  6. Loulou on October 28th, 2009 12:46 am

    HI,
    i want to try the push-ups, but isn’t it supposed to be with the knees on the floor and the feet crossed? i mean isn’t women push-ups different from men push-ups?

  7. Julie on October 28th, 2009 1:43 am

    No, Loulou, not at all. If you are not used to doing pushups, then doing them on your knees is a good way to start, for both women and men. But don’t hold low expectations for yourself. Many women these days are doing push-ups on their toes. Certainly in my workout class, nearly all the women do pushups on their toes (myself included), and oftentimes we even out do many of the men in the class. Sure, men in general will always have an advantage over us when it comes to strength in the upper body, but women are very capable of building a lot of strength in that area as well. The harder the pushup, the more strength you will have in your shoulders, chest, arms, and core.

    You might find this website helpful: http://www.hundredpushups.com

    Thanks for your comment!

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