What are the methods of barbell chest training?

Barbells are also a very common piece of fitness equipment in gyms. The use of barbells is very flexible. As long as they are used properly in daily exercise, barbells can help us exercise our abdominal muscles, chest muscles, arm muscles, as well as the muscles of the waist and buttocks. Generally speaking, it is most common to use barbells to train the chest and arm muscles. So what are the ways to train your chest muscles using a barbell?

1. Bench press with barbell

The lever must be raised and lowered in the area of ​​the chest muscles being trained (from the diaphragm down to the clavicle up). The chest should be trained from bottom to top and from wide to narrow, that is, first train the lower chest (lying on the side), then train the middle chest (lying flat), and finally train the upper chest (lying on the side). First, use a wide grip, then a medium grip, and finally a narrow grip. Use a wide grip to train the width of your chest muscles, and use a narrow grip to train the height (thickness) of your chest muscles.

2. Breathing for bench press

Inhaling when exerting force can increase the amount of myoglobin that stores oxygen and muscle glycogen that supplies energy, expand the muscle capillaries, and facilitate exertion. If you exhale while exerting force, you will be deprived of oxygen and insufficient muscle glycogen energy supply, which will reduce muscle strength and the number of muscle fibers involved in exerting force will also decrease. In addition, insufficient "burning" of muscle glycogen will produce more lactic acid, causing muscle soreness and fatigue. Therefore, the correct breathing method for the bench press is to inhale when pushing the barbell up and exhale when lowering the barbell.

3. Bench Press Speed

The use of fast contraction (1-2 seconds) and slow extension (2-4 seconds) contradicts Wade's slow continuous tension rule (4 seconds of contraction time and 2 seconds of recovery and extension time). The author's experience is that the recovery time should be the same as the contraction and lifting time (2 to 3 seconds). Lifting too fast or too slow means the weight you are lifting is inappropriate.

4. The influence of triceps on chest muscles

While training the pectoralis major, you should also strengthen the triceps in your upper arms. Without well-developed triceps, it is impossible to bench press a heavy barbell, and it is impossible to develop well-developed pectoralis major muscles.

The four sets of movements introduced above all use barbells to achieve the purpose of training the chest muscles. Friends in need can use it as a reference. Strong and powerful pectoral muscles not only make men look more majestic, but are also a favorite among female friends, so pectoral muscle training is very important in fitness exercises.