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| Chest Exercise |
| Dumbbell Bench Press |
 Lying squarely on a flat bench, position dumbbells with a wider-than-shoulder-width overhand grip (pinkie should be away from the body). Keep your feet flat on the floor and your head, back and hips pressed against the bench at all times. To begin exercise, press forcefully upward until your arms are fully extended. Pause, then lower the dumbbells until they reach chest height. Repeat movement. |
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| Incline Dumbbell Bench Press |
| Lying squarely on an incline bench, position dumbbells with a wider-than-shoulder-width overhand grip (pinkie should be away from the body). Keep your feet flat on the floor and your head, back and hips pressed against the bench at all times. To begin exercise, press forcefully upward toward the ceiling until arms are fully extended. Pause, then lower the dumbbells until they reach chest height. Repeat movement. |
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| Dumbbell Flyes |
| Sit down on the edge of a bench with the dumbbells on your thighs. Then, lie back, keeping the dumbbells close to your chest. Get firmly situated. Remember to keep your hips and shoulders on the bench and your feet on the floor. For the first rep of the exercise, push the weight up using a "pressing like" motion with your palms facing each other. Then, slowly lower the dumbbells with your elbows slightly bent, to a point where they are on a horizontal plane even with the bench. Really stretch those pecs, but don't try to lower the weights all the way to the floor, as injury may occur. Take at least a count of "one thousand one, one thousand two" to lower the weight down to the fully stretched position. Inhale as you lower the dumbbells. Once you get to the bottom, hold for a quick count of "one", then slowly bring the weights back up in an arched motion. Repeat. |
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| Cable Crossovers |
| Begin by standing in the center of a cable rack with a single hand attachment in each hand. The attachments should be connected to the upper cable pulleys. With one leg in front of the other, lean forward slightly while keeping your abs tight and hips forward. While keeping arms slightly bent contract the chest muscles to bring your hands together at the midline of your body just below your chest. Do not actually cross your hands as this decreases emphasis on the chest. Bring hands back to the starting position in a controlled manner. Repeat movement. |
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| Pushups |
| Lying face-down on the floor, position your palms next to your chest a little wider than shoulder width apart. While keeping your body straight, push against the floor allowing your body to rise just short of your elbows locking. Your body should be supported by your hands and the balls of your feet. Slowly lower your body down to the starting position. Repeat movement.
*Remember to keep your body straight and back flat throughout the exercise. |
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| Modified Pushup |
| You can easily vary the degree of difficulty of the pushup:
For an easier position, perform the exercise on your knees instead of your feet.
For a more challenging position, place your feet on an elevated surface such as a step. |
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