Get Fit With The Total Gym Chest Workout
Our beautiful bodies have the ability to move in a variety of angles and directions. Instead of focusing on what a specific muscle body does, it’s important to understand that our muscles work synergistically (together) and antagonistically (in opposition) to help us perform all our daily activities.
When thinking about training your chest, it’s important to understand the action of the chest muscles. The chest muscles are used primarily for movements around the shoulder. Things like bringing the arms together towards the center of the body (like in a push up), throwing a ball, or holding groceries. On a Total Gym, we can do a variety of exercises that target the chest muscles, and strengthen the shoulder and the core simultaneously.
For today’s chest-focused workout, we will perform the chest press through a variety of angles to help keep the shoulder joint strong as you push your arms together. Perform one set of 12 to 15 challenging reps with great form. Try one arm at a time.
When using Total Gym, your core muscles are the back support: that’s what makes it so functional – the core works harder when you do a single arm chest fly to help you stabilize.
Next, perform 12 to 15 chest flies. You may need to lower the glideboard since opening the arms without bending the elbow is much more challenging.
Our next exercise is the kneeling or seated chest fly. Choose the body position that you feel most comfortable in. Repeat this exercise on the other side of the body, performing 12 to 15 reps on each side.
We’ll finish the chest sequence with a variety of push-ups. The incline push-up on the Total Gym really works the triceps because of the narrow grip. Flip around and try some decline push-ups with the hands out wide. As you get stronger, attempt moving the glideboard away from the bottom so you have to stabilize with your core musculature even more. Remember to go with the highest intensity you can control with great form for maximum results.
Enjoy these exercises for the chest, shoulders, back of the arms and core, and you’ll look and feel better in no time.
