“A brief insight to Chest workout” – Delna Pooniwala.
When working on the chest it is extremely important to understand that we require working the complete pectorals. To simplify this lets split it into what is called the upper chest which comprises of the Pectoralis major and the clavicular pectoralis major and the lower pecks or sternocostal head. All these muscles have their own unique fiber angles and hence depending on the particular set of exercises and angles that you use, the body will shift its muscle emphasis on the muscle mechanically worked upon at that point.
Although any pressing movement does work the entire chest, flies isolate yr chest at a different angle than presses do. So it is important to include a combination of both for complete peck development. You could make any one of them your primary exercise.
It is important to know that an incline elevation of 30` would increase the focus of workout to the upper chest whereas a flat or decline bench would shift the focus to the lower fibers. However, when the incline is more than 30`, the focus is shifted from the chest and moves to the shoulders.
A combination of dumbbell presses & high cable flies work as a great choreography to accomplish a well rounded chest workout for consistent gains and strength. Flies isolate yr chest at a different angle than presses do. So it is important to include a combination of both for complete peck development.
There is often a confusion which is better- Dumbbell press or Barbell Press. There are several ways and variations to work the pecks. Any workout that places your pecks under tension will result in gains.
However, I personally prefer Dumbbells because the primary function of the pectorals is horizontal abduction of the humorous which means bringing your arms horizontally towards the front of your body. While using dumbbells the arms follow a certain natural arch motion, working specifically the pectorals rather than shifting focus to the shoulders or triceps.
Since you can place your arms in a position that is more comfortable and natural for you, it reduces the chance of shoulder injury / shift in muscle tension.
Also, while doing a Dumbbell press each arm moves independently and hence there is equal load. One arm does not cheat for the other so it maintains the balance and development of muscle onto both sides of the chest.
Hence I find a Dumbbell workout much more effective.
Another common question that often comes up is what would be better – Dumbbell flies or cable flies. Although one should always do something that they are comfortable with, Dumbbell flies would exert a high degree of tension only in the bottom half of the rep, but as your arms are pulled up, there is very little to no stress on the peck.
As for Cable flies, the resistance is pulled to the side rather than a straight up n down motion hence there would b significant tension exerted to the pectorals at the bottom as well as top of the movement. Again, placing the cable high n then pulling down would place tension directly on the lower fibers of the pectorals.
Always remember to plan your entire workout before you start so that you do not forget any variation & use the weights you can manage.
