How To Tone Your Chest Muscles
chandrama deshmukh 
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When you were a teenager, your chest muscles would’ve been firm and taut, and your breasts would’ve been perky. Over a period of time, your chest may have lost its firmness for several reasons, such as breastfeeding, aging, and weight loss.
Seeing your body sag isn’t a good feeling – don’t you agree? But, worry not. We bring you four simple exercises that can be done at home without any gym equipment or heavy weights. And yes, they surely help you get firm and toned chest muscles. The more regular you are with these exercises, the sooner you will see the difference. All said and done, there is no substitute for a fit and toned body. So, are you ready to take up the challenge and give those chest muscles a good boost?
What Are The Chest Muscles?
Chest muscles comprise the pectoralis major and pectoralis minor muscles. The former is a thick, fan-shaped muscle, situated below the chest area. It makes up the bulk of the chest muscles and lies immediately under the breast.
Below the pectoralis major muscle, lies the pectoralis minor. This one is a thin, triangular muscle.
Precautions Before Exercising
As a precaution, note that when you are starting any new exercise, you should start slow. Perform appropriate warm-up exercises. Also, start by doing simple and easy exercises that do not cause too much strain. Then, once your body gets accustomed to the exercise regime, you should increase its intensity and duration.
Exercise regularly with dedication and discipline. Also, make sure these exercises are done at least three times a week.
Simple Exercises For Firm Chest Muscles
1.Dumbbell Fly
Lie down on a bench. Spread your back flat over the bench with your feet placed firmly on the floor. Squeeze your abdominal muscles and grab a dumbbell in each hand. Your hands should be perpendicular to your body at your sides. Maintaining the same 90-degree angle, raise your hands to the front of your chest. Then, slowly lower your arms to their original position.
Do 15 to 20 reps.
2. Bench Press With Dumbbells
This one is also a simple home exercise that requires only a bench and dumbbells. I believe bench press with dumbbells is a far better exercise than using a barbell. Dumbbells let you focus on the muscles better and work other secondary muscles as well.
There are incline and decline variations of this exercise.
Start by lying down properly on the bench with your head resting at ease. The back should be flat. There should not be any gap between your bottom and your back. Rest your feet firmly on the ground. Hold the dumbbells in each hand, and at a right angle, bend the elbow and bring the dumbbells to the center of the chest. Raise the dumbbells towards the ceiling by straightening the elbows in front of your chest. The coming down position should be very relaxed. Do this for about 20 reps.
3. Touch Hands Without Separating Fingers
Join the palms of your hands. Keep your wrists in front of your chin. Now, move your hands away from you without separating the fingers. The motion should be in a straight line in front of your chest as if you’re trying to touch your hands without separating your fingers. Breathe slowly and deeply while doing this simple exercise. Repeat this exercise 20 times every day.
4. Push Ups
Stretch out your arms and place them in front of your shoulders while facing down. Let both arms be parallel to each other. Now, go down without touching the knees to the floor while keeping your body in a straight line. Keep your neck relaxed all the time.
A push-up is a great exercise that not only tones your chest muscles but also helps you get better and stronger shoulder, back, and core muscles. You can do it at home, office, or anywhere. It’s an easy exercise where you can increase the count and intensity as per your own will, interest, and availability of time.
To make it more intense, you can do pushups by placing your legs on a stability ball.
These four simple exercises are perfect for women who want to strengthen their chest muscles and give their bust line that natural lift!
Make sure you start your workout with at least a 10-minute warm up. Do sets of 3 of 12 reps each and choose dumbbells wisely. Start with lower weights and slowly increase. Stretch your upper body at the end of your workout and even in-between breaks. Also remember, eating right is as important as exercising. Include high protein and low carb foods in your diet to build and maintain your muscle mass.
Once you incorporate these small yet significant changes in your lifestyle, see how quickly will your chest muscles tone up, giving you a firmer, smarter, and fitter look.
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