Chest Day

Upper body training for girls is miserable.  At least at first it is.  I was a gymnast.. not a great one.. but still I used to be pretty fit once upon a time (and I'm working on getting back there)  But even in my peak physical condition. I never had a ton of upper body strength. I'd like to think I am decently strong per my weight, but I remember when I first started really lifting weights, I couldn't lift a lot. Especially doing chest, or arm exercises.  I train chest at least once a week. (Only once a week in my current training regimen) and below are some of the key exercises I think all girls should do.  Also keep in mind when doing most of these exercises you should really push the chest out in order to isolate it. My trainer is happy to stop me and make me reset when my form gets sloppy and my shoulders start helping out. It's really a bit awkward, but the form is important to work the target muscle!

A little info (from my trainer) the pectoralis major is only 1 muscle. So hitting it from different angles doesn't hit different "parts" of the Pec. That doesn't mean you shouldn't do different angles. Just be aware, it's just a different way to work the same muscle.

So what are my go to exercises? I've included these below. I usually to some variations of these every chest day (pictures are from Jefit an app I use for exercise ideas if I want to switch things up) 

1. Push up 

These are great for beginners or advanced athletes. You can vary these to your fitness level (from knees on the ground to elevated feet or plyo push ups) just be sure your body remains in a straight line. I do anywhere from 2-4 sets of 10 usually. 

2. Bench press 

Really this is getting to become one of my favorite lifts. I don't think you can do these and not feel like a beast. If you don't have a spotter you can do these with dumb bells or on a smith machine. Or just know your limit (I never really use a spotter and I go last set pretty much to failure.) just use good sense when lifting. I do 4 sets of 10-12.  

3. Chest flies 

These are one of my favorite too cause I love the stretch you get while you do them. I do these flat and inclined. I do 4 sets of 15. 

4. Pec Dec 

Ok. This picture calls this butterfly. It's similar to the chest fly but it's on a machine vs free weight. Remember to press those shoulder blades back and stick that chest out. I usually do 4 sets of 12-15 and I often "super set" 5 half reps at the end of each set for a torturous burn!! 

5. Cable cross over

This is another one I really feel the burn on. And another I have to really focus on keeping the chest out so I isolate my pecs. I usually do 3-4 sets of 15-20 

So there you have some essential chest exercises (in my opinion) I do each of these at least every other week if not weekly. 

A couple tips. Weights should challenge you while still allowing good form. Those last few reps should burn and ideally you should pretty much fail if you tried 1 more rep. I generally add weight to each set. 

Happy lifting.