Chest Workout Routine

A broad chest oozes confidence and sex appeal. This fact has been reinforced by several Hollywood movies like Casino Royale, where the scene in which Daniel Craig comes out of the water, left his female fans asking for more. Traditionally a broad chest has been associated with strength and the ability to protect: the two qualities women seek in men. So how do you get a chest like that? You can try incorporating some of these exercises to make a great chest workout routine.

Basic Exercises for a Chest Workout Routine
For greenhorn exercises, it is better to start small and slow. Here is a basic chest workout routine to get you started.

1. Push-Ups: It is arguably the simplest and most basic chest workout routine you'll find. Start with two sets, 10 push ups to a set. Gradually increase the number of repetitions in the set to 25 and do 4 sets of push-ups. This is the most basic form of a chest workout routine for men and women. When you reach the harder exercises, you can do push-ups as a warm-up. You can increase the difficulty level of the push-ups by keeping your toes on an elevated surface, or place your hands on a push up stand instead of on the ground. Alternatively, you could place weight on your back and then do the push-ups.
2. Pec-Dec: Another very simple and basic chest workout routine for women and men. A good exercise to get you started. Do 2 sets of 10 reps and gradually increase to 3 sets of 15. You can increase the difficulty level by increasing the weight.
3. Machine Bench-Press: Doing the bench press exercise on the machine will help get you acquainted to the movement. Most people find it difficult to balance dumbbells and barbells in the beginning, so you can start on the machine. The rules for repetitions and sets remains the same. Start in a 2X10 format and improve to 3X15.

These exercises are a part of a simple chest workout routine for beginners to get your chest acclimatized to the workout. A month or two of religiously following this routine will condition your chest for strength training exercises. At the end of the two months, you should be able to do all the three exercises in one day, every alternate day. If you face a difficulty chalking out a dedicated gym routine, check Gym Workout Plan
for more information.

Better Exercises for a Chest Workout Routine
Once you feel comfortable with the previous chest workout routine and feel that you are ready for the next level, these are some of the exercises you could plan in your exercise program

1. Dumbbell/Barbell Bench-Press: What makes dumbbell/barbell bench press more difficult, is that balancing them is tougher than a machine. Hence it is important that you first get used to the motion in the bench press using a machine. You can introduce variations in this workout by doing your bench press on a declined or inclined bench. An inclined bench-press is a workout specifically targeted at the upper chest. A declined bench-press on the other hand works on the lower part of your chest. These two exercises should be tried only once you feel comfortable with the normal bench press. Also, it is better if you do them in the presence of a trainer as there are high chances of muscle pulls and injuries while doing these exercises in your muscle building routine
2. Dumbbell Fly: Dumbbell flies too can be done either on a flat bench, inclined bench or declined bench. An inclined bench dumbbell flies will work on the upper chest and declined bench dumbbell flies will work on the lower chest.
3. Chin-Ups: Chin-ups are also a good exercise for the chest. At the same time, they also work on the back and the shoulders.
4. Parallel Bar Dips: These are quite difficult and should be tried only under the close scrutiny of the trainer. They too do not work on the chest in isolation, but work out the back, shoulders and triceps.
5. Dumbbell Pullovers: Dumbbell pullovers can be done on a dedicated pullover bench or a flat bench. They work out the inner chest.

I recommend that you do 4/5 of these 12 exercises (inclined/declined/flat benches flies/bench-press, counted as different), once a week. Once you reach the higher difficulty level, then you should concentrate on one part of the body only once a week. Doing 4/5 of these exercises in 3X15 format would be a good chest workout routine. For a better idea of chest workouts, check out Chest Workouts - Exercises for Chest Muscles. Take a look at Strength Training, Muscle Building and Exercise Programs for more information.