When the bench is busy: alternative pectoral exercises

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Imagine: you go to the gym, and all the benches are occupied there - you cannot do the bench press. That is, you can, but you will have to wait a long time, and today you have work on the pectoral muscles on schedule. What to do? After all, do not miss a workout because of such a trifle, right? There are exercises that will save you from having to wait your turn.

Of course, a heavy bench is ideal, but if you don't have time to stand and wait, try the following exercises. And if you add them to your standard workout, things go faster and you get beautiful, sculpted breasts in a shorter amount of time.

Exercise number 1

This is one of the easiest exercises in terms of technique and requires maximum effort. You need to choose a support so that your arms are slightly wider than with standard triceps push-ups. While doing the exercise, lean your body forward a little - this will increase the difficulty and put more stress on the muscles.

Exercise number 2

This is a relatively new exercise aimed at working out the upper pectoralis muscle. Take a standard barbell. One end of it rests against a corner or a special mount on the floor. Place the weight you want on the free part of the bar. Take a barbell in one hand and push forward.

Exercise number 3

Another simple, but very effective exercise with an expander, which perfectly works the pectoral muscles from all sides. The difference between this exercise and the standard sideways extension lies in the final movement. You should not just bring your hands together, but cross them so that you get the letter "X". This movement puts additional stress on the muscles located on the inside of the chest.

Exercise number 4

Push-ups are one of the simplest and most effective exercises when done correctly. More difficult variations: push-ups from medballs, push-ups with additional weight on the back, push-ups with legs on a step or on a bench.

Exercise number 5

The press from the chest can be performed not only on a bench using a barbell, but also on the floor with dumbbells. The main thing is to take the correct position and put a towel folded several times under the lower back to reduce the load on the lower back. During this exercise, the range of motion of the arms will be limited to the floor, that is, your elbows will simply rest on it. But this has its plus: you can work with heavier weights than a standard dumbbell bench press. If your weak point is the blocking of the press (belly into itself, without bending in the lower back), the dumbbell press from the chest on the floor will help you fix this moment.

Exercise number 6

This simulator perfectly works the pectoral muscles from all sides and at the same time gives a minimum load on the shoulders. While converging your arms, try to focus on the exercise and feel every muscle and ligament. A more difficult option is alternating hand work, that is, you do not bring two hands together at the same time, but first work with one, then with the other, or alternate hands.

Exercise number 7

Now you have to perform push-ups from the Bosu platform. The difficulty lies in the fact that balance maintenance is added to the standard push-ups, which gives an additional load on the whole body, especially on the core muscles.

Exercise number 8

The pancake press is the last exercise in our collection. It can be performed both with a large weight and a minimum number of repetitions, and with a lighter one, while increasing the number of repetitions. This exercise also puts stress on the shoulders and back muscles. It is performed slowly and without jerking: take out your arms with the pancake away from you at chest level and return to the starting position. Try to keep your arms straight in the final position and do not pull your head into your shoulders.