Activity is indeed the law of life, and to exercise is to keep one’s muscles and bones strong and healthy. As a woman, you need to exercise your chest regularly, considering how crucial it is to your balance and several locomotive functions. Besides keeping your pectoral muscles up and running, regular chest exercise will aid the movement of your arms and help keep your breasts in shape.
If you intentionally searched for this article, the chances are that you already know what you stand to gain by exercising your chest. Your main concern is most likely the choice of activity that will deliver the right results and not be harmful to you. If so, it means you have to clearly define your goals before you start, as this will also guide the choice of chest exercise.
Similarly, while some chest exercises at home do not cost you a dime, others require that you tweak your home decor to look slightly like a gym. For instance, you may discover that you need a mat, dumbbell, gloves, etc. for many of these qualifying activities, which may set you back by a few dollars.
Consider joining a neighborhood gym if you’ve got the time and means. That’s because exercising can get tiring without the right motivation. It’s not enough to start; you have to work on how to sustain it, and membership in a gym can be an ingenious way to ensure you don’t lose focus readily.
Having said all these, here are eight chest exercises that women can try out to keep their muscles optimally agile.
1. Plyometric Push-Up
If you want an explosive exercise that will work your entire chest, go for plyometric push-ups. It doesn’t require that you purchase anything, and it trains your triceps, core, and shoulders. Push-ups are also the right chest exercises for women hoping to improve their power and speed.
To commence this exercise, get into a plank position with your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart and your body in a straight line from head to heels. You then need to bend your elbows and lower your chest a bit to the floor while maintaining your elbow close to your body. In this position, push yourself up with enough force to lift your hands off the floor and clap them together in front of your chest.
For optimum results, push up and down at least ten times more on average each time you do the exercise. There are other types of press-ups you can do as well, but this is the best for the chest as it affects it directly.
2. Chest Press
As the name of this exercise already indicates, it involves a press on the chest either through a machine or through its designed activity. It is one female chest workout at home with dumbbells that delivers quick results. If you are using a chest press machine, you only need to sit on it and place your hands on the handles, with your elbows at a 90-degree angle and your palms facing down. As you push the handles forward, your arms will be fully extended and this will help you squeeze your chest muscles.
If you hope to opt for the non-machine method to achieve chest press, you will need two dumbbells and a bench. Your back will be on the bench while you’ll put your feet on the floor and bend your knees. In this position (the dumbbells already on your hands), move your hands back and forth and raise the dumbbells while breathing in and out. Depending on your carrying capacity, you can go up to ten rounds per day. Please, take things slowly at first so you don’t sustain any injury.
3. Hook Punches
It’s punching time! How does that make you feel? Throwing some heavy punches to the winds is one of the best exercises to strengthen your chest. Expect your heartbeat to go up faster as you release energy for the process. If you’ve always wanted to be a boxer but haven’t had the opportunity, here is an excellent excuse to indulge in it.
This exercise relies on your power of imagination, as you would have to stand and act like a real human opponent is in front of you. By assuming a boxing stance, bend your left arm to a 90-degree angle and start delivering the “deadly blows” to your opponent’s jaws. Make your hips go around for power and pivot your knees, too. Do the same for your right arm and repeatedly for the left and right arms.
4. Chest Squeeze
Get ready for a well-toned pectoralis muscle with this versatile upper-body exercise. As you can see from the image above, you only need two dumbbells or something that can stand in its place. Do you know how to squeeze things well? This exercise is for you. It will improve your posture and overall body fitness. The catchphrase is to always squeeze as hard as possible.
The correct standing position for this exercise is to ensure that your feet are hip-to-toe apart. Once you are in this position, grab a light dumbbell with your two hands, and move your arm at 90 degrees, about shoulder height – like you are pressing towards the roof. Maintain the 90 degrees as you rotate both arms together so that the forearms are very close. If you can, do it for ten seconds; release, and then restart again. Take a short break and do it repeatedly for a few minutes.
5. Wall Pushes
If you’re searching for a female chest workout at home without equipment, here is one. You can do this anywhere, and if you’re just coming up in the exercise adventure, it’s an excellent way to warm up. It stretches your chest and empowers your arms.
To get the best out of this simple exercise, you must stand straight – like two feet away from a sturdy wall – and put your two palms flat on the wall. Once you are in this position, extend your arms slowly and outward. Do as if you are trying to push the wall, and maintain the position until you feel a stretch on your chest. You can punctuate this exercise with a few seconds of rest before resuming another round.
6. Plank Row
While there are many female chest workouts at home with dumbbells, plank row stands out by using one stone to kill many birds. It targets not only the chest but also the arms, shoulders, legs, and abs. To perfectly carry out this workout, stand in a plank stance and hold dumbbells. You need to hold the dumbbells directly below your shoulders and feet separately or even wider to improve your stability. Keep a stable and static core while lifting the right weight off the ground and moving your elbow high toward the roof. Stop at the top and return to your initial stance. Repeat on the other side.
7. Resistance Band Arm Pulses
If you are very intentional about working on your posture in addition to your chest, resistance band arm pulses may be what you need. You must maintain the tension on the band during the whole movement and avoid it going slack.
Stand straight with your feet hip-width apart, and put the bands around your wrists. Once done, pull your shoulders on and off to maintain your posture until you complete the movement. Repeat for a couple of minutes.
8. Goblet Squat with Press
Let’s extend our chest exercise to include other body parts such as the thigh, arm, and even the back. Squatting captures all these essential parts. All you need is a pair of dumbbells or kettlebells to create the resistance you are trying to overcome.
Here’s how you go about this activity. First, stand straight with your two legs apart at shoulder-width and involving your core. After this, hold a dumbbell or kettlebell against your chest with both elbows under the weight.
Maintain your feet flat on the floor and move your knees out while lowering down. While doing this, keep your chest high at the bottom as you press your arms out to your front. Let your arms move back to your chest and involve your glutes as you are standing back.
The 7-Day Chest Workout Challenge
There is something unique about the number seven, as many people believe it stands for perfection. Get onboard this seven-day challenge to see the transformation you are bound to experience doing so. Are you ready? Let’s go!
Day 1
Start with push-ups—10 reps 3 sets
Day 2
Chest press: 10 reps 3 sets
Day 3
Hook punches and chest squeezes: 10 reps 3 sets
Day 4
Wall pushes: 15 reps
Day 5
Plank row: 10 reps, 3 sets
Day 6
Resistance Band Arm Pulses: 10 reps, 3 sets
Day 7
Goblet Squat with Press—Complete the challenge with 10 reps, 3 sets.
Do this for another 7 days, and even beyond that, you can even make it your weekly workout form for the best results and to perfectly strengthen your chest.
Bottom Line
Are there only eight chest exercises that women can do? Not. However, among the best, safest, and results-oriented options, the ones listed in this article stand unique. Some don’t even require that you purchase any equipment to enjoy them.
What are you still waiting for? Get into the exercise mood and give your muscles some happy moments! But while you are still at it, please understand your body clock and stop when it signals to you that you’ve had enough. After all, there is always another day.
