Chest workouts: Exercises for strength and function

Chest exercises play a crucial role in enhancing upper body strength. 

According to an article by Harvard Health, developing the muscles in the chest contributes to achieving a well-defined and robust physique. 

However, the advantages of building chest muscles extend beyond aesthetic appeal, offering various benefits.

What are the benefits of chest exercises?

Your chest muscles, including the pectoralis major and pectoralis minor, facilitate shoulder rotation and bring them inward and forward. They also play a pivotal role in stabilizing your shoulders, enabling movement in various directions. These muscles are vital for everyday tasks like opening doors, pushing grocery carts, or lifting children from the floor. Moreover, they are essential for excelling in sports like swimming, baseball, or tennis.

Similar to back muscles, having strong chest muscles is crucial for maintaining good posture. Additionally, strengthening these muscles can enhance shoulder stability and lower the likelihood of shoulder injuries.

Strength training not only makes you stronger, but offers a wide range of other health benefits, including:

• increasing your metabolic rate
• curbing muscle loss and building new muscle
• slowing bone loss
• improving insulin sensitivity
• easing joint pain.

Sample chest workout

Chest punches:
Starting position: Place the exercise band around your back and under your armpits. Hold an end in each hand by your shoulders.

Movement: With control, punch your right arm out in front of you on a slight diagonal across your body. Slowly bring it back to the starting position. Repeat with your left arm. That's one rep.

Chest press:
Starting position: Stand tall with your feet about shoulder-width apart. Place a band across your upper back and under your arms. Hold each end with your arms bent, elbows pointing out and your hands by your armpits, palms down.

Movement: Extend your arms straight out in front of you at chest height, stretching the band. Slowly bend your arms and return to the starting position, resisting the pull of the band.

Wood chop:

Starting position: Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart and hold a dumbbell with both hands. Hinge forward at your hips and bend your knees to sit back into a slight squat. Rotate your torso to the right and extend your arms to hold the dumbbell on the outside of your right knee.

Movement: Straighten your legs to stand up as you rotate your torso to the left and raise the weight diagonally across your body and up to the left, above your shoulder, while keeping your arms extended. In a chopping motion, slowly bring the dumbbell down and across your body toward the outside of your right knee. This is one rep. Finish all reps, then repeat on the other side. This completes one set.

Kneeling push-up:

Starting position: Begin on the floor on all fours with your hands slightly more than shoulder-width apart. Walk your hands forward and lower your hips so your body is at a 45° angle to the floor and forms a straight line from head to knees.

Movement: Bend your elbows out to the sides and slowly lower your upper body toward the floor until your elbows are bent about 90°. Press against the floor and straighten your arms to return to the starting position.

Squat and overhead toss:

Starting position: Stand tall with your feet about shoulder-width apart, toes pointed out slightly. Hold a medicine ball with both hands at chest height, arms bent.

Movement: Bend your hips and knees, and squat down. Don't let your knees move farther forward than your toes. Press into your heels to stand back up. As you rise, toss the ball overhead and catch it, bringing it back to chest height.