A Good Chest Workout: Everything You Need to Know

Perhaps the most defining part of a well-built body is a strong chest. All the bulk you can muster on your biceps, triceps and other '-iceps' won't amount to anything if you have nothing but a puny little chest to show for it.

In order to develop your chest muscles, the best exercises you can do are bench presses, flyes, and the ever popular pushups. There are many different varieties on these standard routines, and endless combinations you could put together for a good chest workout.

A bench press can be done laying flat or inclined (45 degrees is the ideal incline). You don't even need a very heavy bar to do it. Simply hold the bar (or dumbbells) at shoulder level, push it up till your elbows are straight, then bring it back down to starting position. And as with all exercises, bench pressing requires your full and undivided attention, so that you actually feel your chest and not just your arms working. It's your body that may be active, but exercise is as much a mental activity as it is a physical one.

Chest flyes are done by also laying on the floor or bench, or on an incline. Open your arms and allow them to stretch at your sides so that you look like a cross. With a dumbbell in each hand, raise your arms and bring the dumbbells together in front of you as though you were clapping your hands, making sure to keep your arms outstretched. A slight bend in the elbows is acceptable, as long as it's not an outright fold in the joint.

For a good chest workout, try aiming for 30 pushups, then follow it up with bench presses and chest flyes. Do 12-15 reps each, or until fatigue sets in. Then gradually increase the number of reps to as many as you want or as many as you can handle. Take a one- to two-minute rest, then repeat the whole set.