By healthiergang writer , personal trainer.
Chest press
The chest press is a machine that mainly trains the pectoral major in its intermediate bundles, the anterior deltoid and the brachial triceps.
There are many ways and many exercises to train the pectoral muscle such as, for example, bodyweight exercises, exercises with free weights, exercises with the use of machines (for example pushups, flat bench presses or dumbbells, chest presses, pectoral machine ...). In this article, we focus on using the chest press.
Anatomical notes
Let's make a brief introduction to the pectoral muscle before moving on to explain how the Chest Press is performed.
The "Pectoralis Major" is a muscle that occupies the front-upper part of the chest. The pectoralis major can in turn be divided, from a functional point of view, into:
- pectoral clavicular bundles
- sternal bundles of the pectoral
- abdominal bundles of the pectoral
Having said that, we must not forget that the "pectoralis major" muscle is a single muscle and therefore, during the execution of the various exercises, it works everything as a whole, with greater emphasis on some fibers, which can be high or low depending on of the inclination of the bench or of the machine (ex: incline bench or declined bench, incline chest press, chest press).
functions
The main function of the pectoralis major muscle is that of adduction of the humerus, on the frontal plane, and of internal rotation of the humerus; moreover, with the low and high beams, it has the function of extending the arm on the shoulder and flexing the arm on the shoulder, respectively, movements that occur in synergy, respectively, with the great dorsal and anterior deltoid.
As for the pectoralis minor muscle, its function is that of rotation and descent of the scapula.
Do not forget that this muscle is heavily stressed when performing other exercises, such as bench presses, so it may not even be necessary to train it separately; if you want to train this muscle apart, there are specific exercises.
The pectoral muscle is heavily trained by athletes especially male and sometimes you end up overtraining this area, especially with respect to the rear muscles of the body.
In the long run, excessive training can lead the body to assume a kyphotic attitude with the shoulders placed before and closed on the chest itself.
To overcome this problem it is very important not to forget to train the body in a complete way “far ahead, far behind”.
Chess press correct execution
The Chest Press is a basic type exercise that involves more joints and more muscles such as pectoral major, anterior deltoid and triceps.
For a correct execution, position yourself on the special seat with your back and head well adherent.
Grasp the handles with hands in pronation; it is important to remember to position the height of the seat so that the handles are at the height of the center of the pectoral.
Having assumed the correct position, extend your arms without reaching full extension.
Return to the starting position avoiding excessively long pauses.
The most common mistakes made are:
- detach the back from the backrest to help the execution, especially arching the lumbar spine;
- lift the buttocks;
- fully extend your arms;
- raise your shoulders while running;
- taking too long breaks;
- use excessive or too light loads.
Do not forget that the use of the machine also reduces the possible errors that can be made during execution!
The Chest Press is an excellent machine that can be used by inexperienced athletes as well as more advanced athletes, to vary the usual training routine, and by athletes who have suffered trauma and who need gradual muscular stress (thanks to the possibility of varying the ROM ).
Chest press variants
Furthermore, the Chest Press is useful as, by varying the height of the seat, up or down, it emphasizes more the work of the high or low beams of the chest.
There are various types of Chest Press:
- Vertical Chest Press
- Incline Chest Press
- Multipurpose Chest Press
Each of them can be free, where it is possible to add grippers of different weights, or with cable, where it is not possible to add any type of weight, but only select the latter.
Finally, we must not forget that, if the purpose of training is to obtain a significant increase in strength or muscle mass, the ideal are workouts with the use of free weights (barbells, dumbbells). If the aim is to work the muscle in detail, the ideal is the use of cables and machines.
Finally, the use of machines is excellent both to vary the training routine and to give the muscle different stresses.
In conclusion, a balanced and well-planned training program must include the alternation of exercises with the use of free weights and machines.
