10 Best Lower Chest Exercises To Build a Stronger, More Defined Chest
Looking to build a bigger, stronger, and more defined lower chest? If so, you’re not alone. The lower chest is one of the most coveted and admired muscle groups, and for good reason.
The lower chest is one of the harder areas to train because of the lack of variations available and the limited motion range. That is why it is so important to include these best lower chest exercises into your routine.
People who want to develop their lower chest muscles can try doing a range of exercises that strengthen the pectoral muscles.
In this post, we will explore the way to effectively train the lower chest.
We will discuss the following topics:
- Anatomy of the lower chest
- Best lower chest exercises
- Correct form and technique
- Lower chest workout plans.
Lower Chest Muscle (Anatomy)
To effectively train the lower chest, first we need to take a closer look at the chest anatomy and how to train it.
The muscles of the chest consist of the pectoralis major and the pectoralis minor.
The pectoralis major is the primary muscle of the chest. It is generally divided into two main parts:
- The clavicular part is the smaller, upper portion, which originates from the first half of your clavicle. This is what we usually mean by upper chest.
- The sternocostal part is the larger, lower part that mainly comes from your sternum (and to a small degree from your upper abdominal sheath and ribs) This is your middle and lower chest.
Muscle fibers from this whole range come together into one single tendon that inserts on the front of your upper arms.
The pectoralis minor is the triangle-shaped muscle located under the pectoralis major, a layer deeper, and draws the shoulder blades down and forward.
How to Train the Lower Chest
Training your lower chest isn't as straightforward as targeting other muscles, like your biceps. You won't find one exercise that directly isolates that exact area of the chest muscle group, like curls do for your arms.
Chest exercises will engage the complete muscle group more broadly, so you'll also be training the other parts of your pectorals as you aim to hit the lower portion.
What you can do is focus on training your chest muscles as a whole unit. You can change up the angles on some of these exercises to give your muscles a different stimulus to better activate the lower chest—some studies do suggest this method might be effective.
Here are some key tips for effective lower chest training.
1. Pressing Position
The pectoral muscles work differently depending on the angle at which you bring your arm forward.
- The upper chest muscle fibers are the target of Incline pressing.
- The lower chest muscle fibers are the target of decline pressing.
- It is possible to target your complete chest muscle with a flat pressing.
Research indicates that the correct angle for the decline bench press should be 15–30 degrees declined from flat in order to target the lower chest.
Even though 15-30 degrees may seem like a small angle, it is the proper decline for placing the strain on your lower pecs and minimizing the effect on the anterior deltoid muscles.
2. Body Position
In incline push-ups, the surface is slanted, so more of your lower chest, shoulder muscles, and tricep muscles are used.
Incline push-ups are easier than compared to the normal push-ups ones because of the angle at which the exercise has to be done.
3. Training Volume
Strength, Hypertrophy and Endurance table of Mell Siff’s Supertraining
1. Strength Gains
To build your lower chest muscles, strength, do 2 to 6 sets of exercises and do 3-5 reps.
Use a load that is at least 85% of your one-repetition maximum (1RM). For fewer reps, aim for closer to 90% of your 1RM.
2. Hypertrophy (Muscle Growth)
To promote muscle growth in the lower chest, perform three sets of each exercise.
Use a load that falls within the range of 60 to 80% of your 1RM. Aim for 8 to 12 reps per set.
3. Endurance
The purpose of endurance training is to enhance both cardiovascular and muscular endurance. Use a load that falls within the range of 40 to 60% of your 1RM. Aim for 15 to 40 reps per set.
10 Best Exercises To Build The Lower Chest
Here is a list of 10 best lower chest exercises that help to build a well-developed chest. You can also find out how to put together a lower chest workout.
Read the full article
