How do I target my lower chest?
Decline Push-Up
When you put your feet on an incline, your chest will be in a declined position. This will challenge your lower chest more. You can put your feet on a weight bench to target your shoulders as well as your chest. As with many push-up variations, you can potentially rep out for added volume.
Do normal pushups work lower chest?
A standard push-up also uses the lower chest, or sternal region, as the primary mover. It requires you to lift a larger percentage of your body weight — approximately 75 percent of it when you’re in the bottom part of the exercise, explains the Cooper Institute.
Is targeting lower chest necessary?
Emphasizing your lower chest is vital for the overall appearance and functionality of the pectorals. The lower chest muscle fibers are more active during specific movements, which means two things: First, we can emphasize the lower portion through better exercise selection.
Do you need to target the lower chest?
The best way to add size and strength to your chest is to press, press, do a fly, and press some more. But to build a well-defined chest that stands out, you need to target the lower chest — the area of the muscle that sweeps from under the armpit (near the serratus muscle) to underneath the nipple.
Should I target upper or lower chest?
The mass of the sternal head is about 70-80 percent of the pecs, while the other 20 to 30% is made up of the upper or clavicular head (Barberini, 2014). Therefore, developing a huge chest will likely be dependent on the lower head, but for a complete balanced look, you should focus on both!
Do you need to isolate lower chest?
No, you can not isolate the lower chest, just like you can’t isolate your upper chest or inner chest or spot reduce fat when trying to lose chest fat. Any time you do a pressing or fly motion you are going to be activating your entire pec major, along with other muscles like your delts and triceps.
What happens if you only train lower chest?
If you only work on your chest, the muscles do not necessarily grow and grow the way you think they might. In fact when you only develop the chest muscles, they grow tighter and tighter, and this begins to affect your overall posture in a way that likely does not match the desired result you were hoping for.
Let’s have a look at ten great exercises for targeting your lower chest, and how you can put together a lower chest workout.
- Bar Dips. Bar Dip.
- Bench Press. Bench Press.
- Dumbbell Chest Press. Dumbbell Chest Press.
- Machine Chest Press. Machine Chest Press.
- Cable Chest Flyes.
- Dumbbell Chest Fly.
- Machine Chest Fly.
- Push-Ups.
Should you work upper or lower chest first?
The simplest and most obvious solution to emphasize your upper pecs is to target them first on chest day. So, instead of starting your workout on the flat bench, start with the incline bench press.
Is it possible to target upper chest?
The upper portion of your pecs has a different nerve innervation than the lower part of the pecs. Therefore, it is possible to target that area, because the muscle in the upper pec, though part of the pectoralis major, acts like a separate muscle. You just have to focus on that area.
Should I do upper or lower chest first?
As with any other bodypart you want to improve, you should start with the area you think is the weakest so you can commit the most focus and energy on that area. Since we’re talking about the upper chest, that means you should begin your session with the emphasis on the upper pecs and work your way down.
For many gym-goers, chest workouts start and end with the bench press. Or, if they’re not big on barbells, press-ups.
- 1 Bench press. (Image credit: Glen Burrows)
- 2 Incline bench press.
- 1 Squat.
- 2 Chin-up.
- 1 Incline bench press.
- 2 Bench press.
- 1 Front squat.
- 2 Rack pull.
Which part of chest should I train first?
Exercise 1: Incline Dumbbell Press
The main reason for starting with this exercise is to prioritize the upper chest. This is often the lagging portion of the chest in most people. However, I’ll further discuss exercise order later on in this articl.