General Upper Body Chest Exercises

 

These are a sample of general upper body chest exercises you could perform. Most distance runners probably ignore upper body strength training because they think it will add unwanted weight. While there is some truth to that, if you are not spending the majority of your time in the gym lifting heavy weights, the weight gain will be very small. The improvements you make in running economy and injury prevention will more than offset any possible weight gain. Is it absolutely necessary to do these general upper body chest exercises? Of course not, but I believe that the improvements in running economy and upper body endurance are worth the time. These general upper body chest exercises become more important as your race distance decreases so a 5K racer should do more of these than a marathon runner.

CHEST FLY

This exercise can be performed using dumbbells, single or multi-station machine or resistance bands.

MUSCLES STRENGTHENED

  • Primary: Pectoralis major, Coracobrachialis
  • Secondary: Anterior deltoid

PARTS OF BODY STRENGTHENED

  • Primary: Chest
  • Secondary: Front of shoulder

MOTIONS STRENGTHENED

Pushing, punching, throwing, shooting a basketball, serving a tennis ball, serving a volleyball.

TECHNIQUE

  • Lay flat on the bench.
  • Contract your abdominal muscles to stabilize your trunk and spine.
  • Grasp the weight with your hands in a neutral position, like you are holding a candle or glass of water. Your palms should face each other when your arms are extended.
  • Hold the weights with your arms extended away from your body, Rotate the weights so that your palms face each other. Slightly flex or bend your elbows.
  • Move the weights outward in a wide arc. Keep the angle or bend at your elbow stationary. Keep your palms up and your elbows pointed towards the floor.
  • Slowly lower the weights until they are approximately even with the shoulders. Do not allow the weights to go as low as the limit of your range of motion (where your shoulders won’t move any farther).
  • Push the weights back up following the same wide arc and keeping the angle at your elbow stationary.

THINGS TO WATCH OUT FOR

  • Breath throughout the exercise. Exhale on the upward portions and inhale on the downward portion.
  • Do not arch your back.
  • Control the weight throughout the exercise.
  • On the downward phase do not allow your arms to be pushed back to the limit of their motion. At this point your shoulder joints are being stressed excessively.

DECLINE BENCH PRESS

This exercise can be performed using dumbbells, barbell, single or multi-station machine or resistance bands.

MUSCLES STRENGTHENED

  • Primary: Pectoralis major, Coracobrachialis, Serratus anterior, Pectoralis minor, anterior deltoid
  • Secondary: Triceps brachii

PARTS OF BODY STRENGTHENED

  • Primary: Front of chest, front of shoulder
  • Secondary: Back of upper arm
  • This exercise emphasizes the lower chest.

MOTIONS STRENGTHENED

Pushing, throwing, shooting a basketball, serving a tennis ball, serving a volleyball.

TECHNIQUE

  • Lay flat on the decline bench.
  • Contract your abdominal muscles to stabilize your trunk and spine.
  • Grasp the weight with your palms facing away from your body.
  • Keep you elbows pointing away from your body.
  • Slowly push the weight away from your body and slightly towards the inside of your body. Push until your arms are straight, but do not lock your elbows.
  • Slowly return to the starting position.

THINGS TO WATCH OUT FOR

  • Breath throughout the exercise. Exhale on the upward portions and inhale on the downward portion.
  • Do not arch your back.
  • Control the weight throughout the exercise.
  • On the downward phase do not allow your arms to be pushed back to the limit of their motion. At this point your shoulder joints are being stressed excessively.

INCLINE BENCH PRESS

This exercise can be performed using dumbbells, barbell, single or multi-station machine or resistance bands.

MUSCLES STRENGTHENED

  • Primary: Pectoralis major, Coracobrachialis, Serratus anterior, Pectoralis minor, anterior deltoid
  • Secondary: Triceps brachii

PARTS OF BODY STRENGTHENED

  • Primary: Front of chest, front of shoulder
  • Secondary: Back of upper arm
  • This exercise emphasizes the upper chest.

MOTIONS STRENGTHENED

Pushing, throwing, shooting a basketball, serving a tennis ball, serving a volleyball.

TECHNIQUE

  • Lay facing forward on the incline bench.
  • Contract your abdominal muscles to stabilize your trunk and spine.
  • Grasp the weight with your palms facing away from your body.
  • Keep your elbows pointing away from your body.
  • Slowly push the weight above your head and slightly towards the inside of your body. Push until your arms are straight, but do not lock your elbows.
  • Slowly return to the starting position.

THINGS TO WATCH OUT FOR

  • Breath throughout the exercise. Exhale on the upward portions and inhale on the downward portion.
  • Do not arch your back.
  • Control the weight throughout the exercise.
  • On the downward phase do not allow your arms to be pushed back to the limit of their motion. At this point your shoulder joints are being stressed excessively.

PUSH UP

This is a body weight exercise.

MUSCLES STRENGTHENED

  • Primary: Pectoralis major, Coracobrachialis, Serratus anterior, Pectoralis minor, anterior deltoid
  • Secondary: Triceps brachii

PARTS OF BODY STRENGTHENED

  • Primary: Front of chest, front of shoulder
  • Secondary: Back of upper arm

MOTIONS STRENGTHENED

Pushing, throwing, shooting a basketball, serving a tennis ball, serving a volleyball.

TECHNIQUE

  • Begin face down on the floor supporting yourself with your hands approximately shoulder width apart and your arms extended. Your feet can be together or up to 12 inches apart.
  • Keep your body in a straight and neutral position. Do not arch your back.
  • Contract your abdominal muscles to stabilize your spine.
  • Slowly lower your upper body until your chest touches the floor. Keep your elbows pointing away from your body.
  • Slowly return to the starting position.

THINGS TO WATCH OUT FOR

  • Breath throughout the exercise. Exhale on the upward portions and inhale on the downward portion.
  • Do not arch your back.

RESISTED PUNCH

This exercise can be performed using dumbbells, cable machine or resistance bands.

MUSCLES STRENGTHENED

  • Primary: Pectoralis major, Anterior deltoid
  • Secondary: Coracobrachialis, Triceps

PARTS OF BODY STRENGTHENED

  • Primary: Chest, front of shoulder
  • Secondary: Back of upper arm

MOTIONS STRENGTHENED

Pushing, punching, throwing, shooting a basketball, serving a tennis ball, serving a volleyball.

TECHNIQUE

  • Lay flat against the bench.
  • Contract your abdominal muscles to stabilize your trunk and spine.
  • Grasp the resistance with your hand in a neutral position, like you are holding a candle or glass of water.
  • Hold the resistance with your elbow pointing down and slightly away from your body. Your elbow should be flexed at approximately 90 degrees.
  • Slowly extend your arm out and across your body.
  • Slowly return through the same path of motion to the starting position.

 

THINGS TO WATCH OUT FOR

  • Breath throughout the exercise. Exhale on the outward portions and inhale on the return portion.
  • Do not arch your back.
  • Control the weight throughout the exercise.
  • On the return phase do not allow your arm to be pushed back to the limit of their motion. At this point your shoulder joints are being stressed excessively.

This is just a sample of many general upper body chest exercises that you could do. If you have your favorites, by all means do them. Just try to include a variety of exercises to work all chest motions, especially those used when running