One of the inevitable effects of the aging process is that our body begins to sag. Unfortunately, the first area where we notice this downward gravity pull is the breasts.
While there is no cure for the ravages of aging, there are things we can do to dramatically slow down its effects. At the top of the list is targeted resistance exercise. In this article, we will highlight the best chest exercises for women that are designed to give your bust a lift and achieve a firm and full chest.
A Closer Look at Your Bust
Your bust is composed of two main muscles; the pectoralis major and the pectoralis minor. Both of them sit beneath the breast tissue and on top of the breast bone. They connect to the humerus, which is the arm bone closest to the shoulder joint. The main job of the chest muscles is to bring your arms across your body and to allow your shoulders to move forward.
Women have an additional set of muscles in their chest which are known as Cooper’s ligaments. These are thin collections of connective tissues that work together to lift the breasts. The Cooper’s ligaments are responsible for lifting the bust and keeping it pert. As we age, these ligaments tend to become weak and slack. The result is that the breasts start to droop .
Targeted exercise will tighten the Cooper’s ligaments, just as a worker might tighten the guide wires on a suspension bridge. This will lift your bust, giving you more volume and a fuller cleavage.
It is easy to neglect the chest in favor of the areas where fat tends to accumulate in a woman’s body; the hips, thighs, and abdomen. Yet, neglecting the bust is a mistake. Regular chest exercises will quickly transform your bust, making it more pert. At the same time, you will have better upper body posture. Your whole upper body will also become stronger. As a side benefit, your shoulder will become more sculpted, adding to the toned athletic look which is the hallmark of an in shape woman.
5 Beginner Chest Exercises for Women
Exercise #1: Pillow Squeeze
Muscles Involved:
- Primary: Pectoralis major (inner)
- Secondary: Triceps
Execution method:
- Lie on your exercise mat with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Hold a cushion or pillow in your hands directly above your chest. Fold the pillow up into a ball.
- Squeeze the pillow in as tightly as you can to feel the contraction in your inner chest. Aim to touch your hands together through the pillow. Hold the contraction for a second and then release.
Exercise #2: Side Arm Lift
Muscles Involved:
- Primary: Pectoralis major
- Secondary: Deltoids
Execution method:
- Get down on your exercise mat on your hands and knees. Your arms should be directly below your shoulders.
- Keeping your arms straight, and with your tummy tucked in, bring one arm up and out to the side. Bring the arm up as high as you can. Feel for the stretch in your chest.
- Alternate each arm for the required number of reps.
Exercise #3: Floor Chest Press
Muscles Involved:
- Primary: Pectoralis major
- Secondary: Deltoids
Execution method:
- Lie on your exercise mat with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Hold a light pair of dumbbells in your hands directly above your chest. Your palms should be facing toward your knees.
- Keeping your shoulders down, and your tummy pulled in to the floor, bring your arms down to the side until your arms are touching the floor. Squeeze your chest muscles in the bottom position.
- Push back up to the top position, so that the dumbbells are touching at the top. Breathe in as you lower the dumbbells and breathe out as you lift them back up.
Exercise #4: Floor Fly
Muscles Involved:
- Primary: Pectoralis major
- Secondary: Deltoids
Execution method:
- Lie on your exercise mat with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Hold a light pair of dumbbells in your hands directly above your chest. Your palms should be facing each other. Your arms should be slightly bent (imagine that you are hugging a tree).
- With your arms locked, bring your arms down to the floor so that they are moving in a semi arc. Keep your tummy muscles pulled in. Keep your arms in line with your bust.
- Squeeze your arms in the bottom position. Without straightening your arms, bring the dumbbells back to the start position. Squeeze the chest muscles in the top position and hold for a second before moving into the next repetition.
Exercise #5: Knee Push Up
Muscles Involved:
- Primary: Pectoralis major
- Secondary: Triceps
Execution method:
- Kneel on your exercise mat in a push-up position. Your hands should be slightly wider than shoulder width apart. Keep a neutral spine and pull your tummy muscles in.
- Rest on your knees and lift your lower legs from the floor. Your body will now be supported by your knees and the palms of your hands.
- Lower your body toward the floor while maintaining a neutral spine. Bend your elbows to go down, allowing them to flare out to the sides. You should feel a good stretch in your chest as you go down to the floor.
- Push back up to the start position. Remember your breathing when you do this exercise – breathe in on the way down and breathe out on the way up.
4 Intermediate Chest Exercises for Women
Exercise #6: Bust Shaper
Muscles Involved:
- Primary: Pectoralis major
- Secondary: Deltoids
Execution method:
- Stand with a light pair of dumbbells in your hands. Your feet should be set at shoulder width. Pull in your tummy muscles and maintain a neutral spine.
- Lift the dumbbells up to the sides of your head with palms facing out and elbows at shoulder height.
- Without allowing your elbows to drop, bring your arms together in an arcing motion. The movement should happen through the shoulder joint than with any arm movement.
- Squeeze the chest tightly in the contracted position, holding for a second before returning the dumbbells to the original position.
Exercise #7: Kneeling Row
Muscles Involved:
- Primary: Pectoralis major
- Secondary: Latissimus dorsi
Execution method:
- Kneel on your exercise mat with a light pair of dumbbells in your hands. The weights should be resting on the floor directly under your shoulders. Maintain a neutral spine and pull your tummy muscles in.
- Pull one dumbbell up toward your ribcage, allowing your elbow to travel up and back. Hold this position for a second and then slowly lower the weight back to the start position. Do not allow your hips to move as you perform this exercise.
- Repeat with the other arm for the required number of repetitions.
Exercise #8: Bust Lifter
Muscles Involved:
- Primary: Pectoralis major
- Secondary: Deltoids
Execution method:
- Stand with feet at shoulder width apart and holding a light pair of dumbbells in your hands. The palms should be facing forward and your arms should be slightly bent.
- Keeping your arms locked in the slightly bent position, pivot from the shoulder joint to bring the weight up and out to shoulder level.
- Hold the top position for a second, and then slowly lower to the start position.
Exercise #9: Downward Dog
Muscles Involved:
- Primary: Pectoralis major
- Secondary: Triceps
Execution method:
- Position yourself on your exercise mat on your knees. Your arms should be slightly wider than shoulder width and positioned a little outside of your shoulders. Pull in your tummy and maintain a neutral spine.
- Now straighten your arms and draw your torso back to bring your chest toward your knees. Allow your butt to lift in this position.
- In an exaggerated arcing motion, bring your chest down to the floor and then allow it to arc up to a fully extended arm position. In this position, your butt should be down and your back should be fully arched.
- Reverse the motion to the return to the start position.
4 Advanced Chest Exercises for Women
Exercise #10: Cross Punch
Muscles Involved:
- Primary: Pectoralis major
- Secondary: Deltoids
Execution method:
- Stand with feet at shoulder width apart and holding a light pair of dumbbells in your hands. The palms should be facing towards each other and your arms should be bent.
- Now imagine that you are going to punch someone to the left side of you with the dumbbell in your right hand. Vigorously bring the weight around and up in an arcing movement. In the top position, you should feel a strong contraction in your chest muscles.
- Repeat the cross punching movement on the other side, alternating until you have completed the required number of reps.
Exercise #11: Single Arm Push Up
Muscles Involved:
- Primary: Pectoralis major
- Secondary: Triceps
Execution method:
- Lie on your mat in a normal push up position. Rest your left forearm on the floor and your right palm on the floor, so that your shoulders are at different elevations.
- Bring your body all the way to the ground. Now push through the chest to return to the start position.
- Do the required number of reps and then switch to repeat on the other side.
Exercise #12: Up Down Plank
Muscles Involved:
- Primary: Pectoralis major
- Secondary: Core
Execution method:
- Get down on your exercise mat on all floors. Assume a plank position, with just your toes and forearms touching the floor. Your spine should be in a neutral position and your tummy tucked in.
- Now pull up your arms so that you are resting on your hands. Do not change the position of your lower body.
- Repeat this up / down movement of your arm position for the required number of reps. If you tire out, before your rep count is up, drop down to your knees.
Exercise #13: V Push Up
Muscles Involved:
- Primary: Pectoralis major
- Secondary: Triceps
Execution method:
- Get down on your exercise mat on all fours. Rise up on your toes and straighten your legs. Walk your hands so that they are slightly above your head height and slightly wider than shoulder width apart. Your body should form a ‘V’ shape.
- Bend through your elbows so that your head comes down toward the floor. You only need to come down a couple of inches to fully engage the muscles of your chest.
- Be careful when getting up after doing this exercise. It is best to drop to your knees first, rather than going directly back to a standing position.
Conclusion
You now have access to a full range of movements that will lift, fill out, and maintain a pert bust. The exercises provided are progressive. As you regularly perform them, you will get stronger and more toned and the exercises will become easier.
We suggest that you begin with the exercises in the beginner section. Perform 20 repetitions of each exercise, making sure that you maintain good form on each repetition. Go through all of the exercises in sequence, doing just a single set of each with no rest between moves. Then rest for one minute. Build up to performing this sequence three times.
Once you have been doing three full sets of each exercise of the beginner workout for two weeks, you will be ready to progress to the intermediate level workout. Again perform a single set of each exercise for 20 reps without rest. Work up to doing three complete circuits of the sequence and then move onto the advanced exercises in the same manner.
We suggest that you wear a sports bra when working out to prevent damage to the connective tissues in your breasts.
Have you been using our best chest exercises for women to work your bust? Or do you have favorite moves that we haven’t included? Share your top chest exercises and tips in the comments section below!
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