In the event you’re like most gym-going guys, you’re most likely trying to find the “secret” to constructing a much bigger chest.
And chances are high, you’re overcomplicating it.
You don’t want a laundry checklist of workouts or the newest health gimmick to see outcomes.
What you want is a fastidiously chosen set of confirmed horizontal push trains—strikes which are straightforward to carry out, protected to load with heavy weights, and assured to spark progress.
In my expertise, the 8 finest horizontal urgent workouts for constructing mass in your chest, shoulders, and triceps are:
- Barbell bench press
- Incline barbell bench press
- Dumbbell bench press
- Incline dumbbell bench press
- Shut-grip bench press
- Dip
- Horizontal chest press machine
- Push-up
On this article, you’ll study why these workouts are so efficient, uncover how you can do them to maximise progress, and perceive how you can put them into mass-building exercises.
What Is a Horizontal Push Train?
A horizontal push train is any strength training motion the place you press in opposition to resistance away out of your physique roughly perpendicular to your torso. Notable examples embody the bench press and push-up:
Some folks additionally think about the leg press a horizontal push train since your legs press horizontally. Whereas that’s not totally flawed, I believe it muddies the definition and will be complicated, particularly for brand spanking new weightlifters.
That’s why, for readability, this text will focus completely on higher physique horizontal push workouts.
What Muscle mass Do Horizontal Presses Work?
If you press horizontally, you prepare the next muscular tissues:
Right here’s how these muscle look in your physique:
Horizontal press workouts additionally prepare many different stabilizer muscular tissues all through your physique, particularly the side delts, lats, traps, serratus anterior, and biceps.
The 8 Greatest Horizontal Push Trains for Chest Mass & Energy
Whereas some “specialists” declare you want all kinds of horizontal pushing actions to see outcomes, that’s merely not true.
In actuality, just some key workouts are all you want—ones that will let you raise heavy weights safely, prepare by a full vary of movement, and persistently acquire power.
Add the next to your routine, and also you’ll see huge progress in your chest, shoulders, and triceps.
1. Barbell Bench Press
Why: In terms of horizontal push trains, the barbell bench press is unbeatable. It trains all the most important higher physique “urgent muscular tissues” and allows you to raise heavy weights safely. That’s why you’ll discover it as the primary train in nearly each nice horizontal press exercise.
How one can:
- Lie on a flat bench and place your toes flat on the ground.
- Pull your shoulder blades collectively and down, and with out lifting your butt or shoulders off the bench, barely arch your again.
- Seize the bar with a barely wider than shoulder-width grip and unrack the barbell.
- Decrease the barbell to your chest, protecting your elbows tucked 6-to-8 inches out of your sides.
- Press the bar again to the beginning place.
2. Incline Barbell Bench Press
Why: The incline barbell bench press is a staple in most chest-building routines as a result of it’s one of the best ways to focus on your “higher chest.” No different train that includes urgent horizontally engages this space as successfully, so it’s essential for constructing a full, well-rounded chest.
How one can:
- Lie on a bench angled at 30-to-45 levels and plant your toes on the ground.
- Pull your shoulder blades collectively and down, and with out lifting your butt or shoulders off the bench, barely arch your again.
- Seize the bar with a barely wider than shoulder-width grip and unrack the barbell.
- Decrease the barbell to your higher chest, protecting your elbows tucked 6-to-8 inches out of your sides.
- Press the bar again to the beginning place.
3. Dumbbell Bench Press
Why: The dumbbell bench press trains all of your pushing muscular tissues whereas permitting either side of your physique to maneuver independently, which helps develop balanced, symmetrical mass. It additionally trains your pecs by a barely longer vary of movement than barbell presses, which can additional benefit progress.
How one can:
- Whereas sitting on a flat bench, maintain a dumbbell in every hand and relaxation them in your thighs.
- Lie again and produce the dumbbells up so that you’re holding them on both aspect of your chest by giving them a nudge along with your thighs.
- Press the dumbbells over your chest till your arms are straight and your elbows are locked.
- Decrease the dumbbells to the beginning place.
4. Incline Dumbbell Bench Press
Why: The incline dumbbell bench press is likely one of the only horizontal press workouts for constructing your higher pecs and making a chest that appears full and well-proportioned from each angle.
How one can:
- Whereas mendacity on a bench angled at 30-to-45 levels, maintain a dumbbell in every hand and relaxation them in your thighs.
- Lie again, hoisting the dumbbells up so that you’re holding them on both aspect of your chest by giving them a nudge along with your thighs.
- Press the dumbbells over your higher chest till your arms are straight and your elbows are locked.
- Decrease the dumbbells to the beginning place.
5. Shut-Grip Bench Press
Why: Whereas many view the close-grip bench press as a triceps train, it’s additionally nice for training your pecs, notably the higher portion. Utilizing a narrower grip and tucking your elbows additionally makes it extra shoulder-friendly in comparison with different horizontal push trains.
How one can:
- Lie on a flat bench and place your toes flat on the ground.
- Pull your shoulder blades collectively and down, and with out lifting your butt or shoulders off the bench, barely arch your again.
- Grip the barbell with a shoulder-width grip or barely narrower and unrack the barbell.
- Decrease the barbell to your decrease chest, protecting your elbows tucked 2-to-4 inches out of your sides.
- Press the bar again to the beginning place.
6. Dip
Why: The dip deeply stretches your pecs and trains them by a full vary of movement, which seemingly benefits muscle progress. It might additionally goal the decrease pecs extra successfully than different horizontal push trains, making it useful for rounding out your chest growth.
How one can:
- In the event you’re utilizing a dip belt, wrap the chain round your waist, add the specified quantity of weight to the chain, and fasten the carabiner.
- Seize each handles of a dip station, then press your self up by straightening your arms and gently leaping off the bottom so your arms are straight and supporting your whole physique weight.
- Barely bend your knees to maintain your toes from touching the bottom, then decrease your physique by bending your elbows till your higher arms are roughly parallel to the ground.
- Reverse the motion and return to the beginning place.
7. Horizontal Chest Press Machine
Why: The horizontal chest press machine is likely one of the best urgent workouts to study, making it an important selection for beginners who’re nonetheless mastering correct urgent method. For extra skilled lifters, it’s additionally ultimate for including further chest volume (units) towards the top of a exercise, when lifting heavy free weights is likely to be too taxing.
How one can:
- Modify the chest press machine handles and seat so the handles are according to your shoulders and just some inches out of your chest.
- Grip each handles along with your palms going through down and press ahead till your arms are straight.
- Reverse the motion and return to the beginning place.
8. Push-up
Why: The push-up is a basic horizontal push train you possibly can carry out wherever with out tools, making it extremely versatile. Plus, it’s straightforward to switch—whether or not you’re a newbie and wish to make it simpler by doing it in your knees, or superior and wish to make it tougher by elevating your toes or fingers.
How one can:
- Get on all fours and place your fingers barely wider than shoulder-width aside.
- Lengthen your legs behind you so that you assist your physique weight in your fingers and toes, and your physique types a straight line out of your head to your toes.
- Decrease your chest to the ground by bending your elbows, then push your physique up and return to the beginning place.
Instance Horizontal Press Exercises
You now know the very best horizontal push trains for concentrating on your pecs, shoulders, and triceps. Subsequent, let’s dive into how you can construction these workouts into efficient, mass-building exercises.
For optimum outcomes, preserve these key ideas in thoughts when planning your horizontal press exercises:
- Do a mixture of compound exercises that prepare your pushing muscular tissues at totally different angles and thru various ranges of movement.
- End your exercises with a triceps isolation train that emphasizes the long head, since this a part of the triceps get’s little stimulus from horizontal urgent.
The next two exercises meet these standards completely. In addition they comprise the perfect quantity of units to construct muscle with out sporting you out.
Right here’s how you can incorporate them into your coaching:
Carry out Horizontal Push Exercise #1 as soon as per week for 8-to-10 weeks as a part of a well-designed program. Then, take a deload and change to Horizontal Push Exercise #2 for the following 8-to-10 weeks.
You’ll be able to then proceed alternating between these exercises each 8-to-10 weeks, or create your personal exercises utilizing the workouts above.
The Legion Horizontal Press Exercise #1
The Legion Horizontal Press Exercise #2
Horizontal Push Trains: Key Takeaways
Horizontal push trains are important for constructing larger, stronger pecs, shoulders, and triceps. In addition they prepare many different smaller stabilizer muscular tissues all through your torso, making them glorious for gaining all-around higher physique measurement.
You don’t want a protracted checklist of those workouts to see outcomes. These eight actions are sufficient so as to add mass and power to all of your pushing muscular tissues:
- Barbell bench press
- Incline barbell bench press
- Dumbbell bench press
- Incline dumbbell bench press
- Shut-grip bench press
- Dip
- Horizontal chest press machine
- Push-up
Incorporate these into your exercises, and also you’ll quickly discover your chest, shoulders, and triceps rising.
FAQ #1: Are you able to carry out horizontal pushing workouts at house?
Sure, you possibly can carry out horizontal pushing workouts at house. The workouts you do rely on the tools you’ve gotten accessible.
In case you have no tools, the push-up is the best choice. To discover ways to adapt it to your health stage, take a look at this text:
How to Do the Push-up: Form, Variations, and Workouts
In case you have dumbbells however no bench, the dumbbell ground press is a viable different to the dumbbell bench press. Right here’s the way it appears:
And you probably have dumbbells and a bench, you possibly can carry out all of the dumbbell horizontal push trains listed above.
FAQ #2: What are the advantages of horizontal pushes?
Horizontal push trains are glorious for constructing higher physique muscle, notably within the pecs, shoulders, and triceps. In addition they will let you raise heavy weights safely, which makes gaining power easy. Moreover, horizontal presses boost upper-body energy, which might improve athletic efficiency in sports activities involving pushing, throwing, or explosive upper-body actions.
FAQ #3: What are the very best horizontal push trains for rookies?
The one finest horizontal push train for rookies is the push-up as a result of it requires no tools and you’ll simply modify it primarily based in your health stage.
The horizontal chest press machine is one other glorious selection, because it’s extra easy to study and carry out than free-weight workouts that require extra coordination.
Barbell exercises, just like the flat and incline bench press, are additionally beginner-friendly. I normally advocate these over dumbbell presses as a result of they’re inherently extra secure, which can assist rookies focus extra on their kind with out worrying as a lot about stability.
Scientific References +
- Rodríguez-Ridao, David, et al. “Effect of Five Bench Inclinations on the Electromyographic Activity of the Pectoralis Major, Anterior Deltoid, and Triceps Brachii during the Bench Press Exercise.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, vol. 17, no. 19, 8 Oct. 2020, p. 7339, https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17197339.
- Oranchuk, Dustin J., et al. “Isometric Training and Long-Term Adaptations: Effects of Muscle Length, Intensity, and Intent: A Systematic Review.” Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, vol. 29, no. 4, 13 Jan. 2019, pp. 484–503, onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/sms.13375, https://doi.org/10.1111/sms.13375.
- “(PDF) Effects of Variations of the Bench Press Exercise on the EMG Activity of Five Shoulder Muscles.” ResearchGate, www.researchgate.net/publication/232217991_Effects_of_Variations_of_the_Bench_Press_Exercise_on_the_EMG_Activity_of_Five_Shoulder_Muscles.
- Wolf, Milo, et al. “Does Longer-Muscle Length Resistance Training Cause Greater Longitudinal Growth in Humans? A Systematic Review.” Sportrxiv.org, 17 June 2024, sportrxiv.org/index.php/server/preprint/view/423/version/539. Accessed 24 June 2024.
- Schoenfeld, Brad J. “The Mechanisms of Muscle Hypertrophy and Their Application to Resistance Training.” Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, vol. 24, no. 10, Oct. 2010, pp. 2857–72.
- López-Laval, Isaac, et al. “Relationship between Bench Press Strength and Punch Performance in Male Professional Boxers.” Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, Aug. 2019, p. 1, https://doi.org/10.1519/jsc.0000000000003362.
