In the field of health, fitness, and aesthetics, most people are interested in enhancing the mass and definition of the chest, since it is one of the major muscles groups just like the shoulders, back, legs, and abs. While several exercises are geared toward improving the upper chest muscles, some are curious on how to develop the lower chest. In line with this, the following are some exercises that target the lower chest muscles.
Decline Dumbbell Press
According to natural bodybuilder, fitness coach, and best-selling author Sean Nalewanyj, decline exercises should be the focal point when it comes to getting the most efficient lower pectoralis (or lower pec) possible. As per Nalewanyj, the decline angle transfers the emphasis onto the lower chest area, as usual chest exercises also activate the entire pec muscles.
The dumbbell press offers a wider range of motion to activate the pecs, as opposed to the barbell press. In addition, they let a person work each side of the body iso-laterally to avoid having imbalances in strength and size. Moreover, less stress will be placed on the shoulder joint secondary to a more natural arching motion.
As a compound pushing exercise, the decline dumbbell press is done with the person securing the legs at the end of the decline bench and lying down with a dumbbell on each hand on top of the thighs. A good practice is to keep the palm of the hands facing each other. Then, the dumbbells are moved in front of the body at shoulder width. Once done, the person rotates his wrists forward, so the palms of the hands are facing away from the person. Next, the person slowly brings down the weights to the side as he exhales, while maintaining complete control of the dumbbells. After that, the dumbbells are pushed up using the pectoral muscles, locking the arms in the contracted position while squeezing the chest. The person holds the contracted position for a second and slowly lowers the dumbbells. The movement is done for the recommended amount of repetitions.
Decline Cable Fly
Another efficient exercise for the lower pecs is the decline cable fly. It is a compound pushing exercise that a person can use as finisher to his lower pec workout, as it is designed to train the chest get some mass through varied motion patterns. Though it has the same target as the decline dumbbell press, the decline dumbbell fly differs from the former because the cables maintain the tension with the chest toward the upper half of the exercise.
As per Ex Rx, the exercise is done by grasping two opposing high pullet dumbbell attachments. Then, the person lies supine on decline bench, which is placed in the middle and perpendicular to the pulleys. The person also slightly bends his elbows and internally rotates his shoulders to keep the elbows back. Once ready, the person brings the cable stirrups together above the upper abdomen with a motion similar to hugging a tree. A good practice is to maintain the fixed position of the elbows and the internal rotation of the shoulders to keep the elbows at the sides. After that, the person goes back to starting position until the chest is slightly stretched.
The exercise is performed for the specific number of repetitions. A key point for the exercise is that a flat bench can also be used if cable stirrups are brought together above the upper abdomen, as the bench angle does not generally influence the pulling angle with dumbbells.
Overall, the lower chest muscles respond the most to decline movement, such as the aforementioned exercises. In addition, maximum chest development can be achieved through constant training with correct form, proper nutrition, and adequate rest.
