Target muscles: Chest

Equipment: weights

Place the weight on the floor and lie down so that it is at shoulder level. Turn your body towards the weight and grab it. Lie down on the floor, gradually lifting the weight. Bend your arm at the elbow and place it next to your body; if you place it close, the load will fall on the triceps. If you place your arm at an angle of 45 degrees, the load will be greater on the pectoral muscle. Shoulders should be completely pressed to the floor. If you take the weight in your left hand, then your right leg remains straight. The left leg bends at the knee and rests on the floor. The second hand rests on the floor at a 90-degree angle for support.
Squeeze the weight upward as you exhale, turning your wrist so that your palm faces forward. Straighten your arm completely. At the top point, tighten your pectoral muscles and triceps, then smoothly lower your arm. When you lower your arm, the weight should not lie on the bicep itself; place it on the brachialis, the outer part of the arm. Repeat.
Watch the position of the weight on your hand; it should lie on the outer part of the forearm. Place a mat under your body to increase amplitude. Mistakes: tearing part of the back off the floor, twisting the wrist.

Random program

Exercise type: basic

Core muscles: pectoral, triceps

Accessory muscles: anterior deltoid

Difficulty of the exercise: average

Equipment: kettlebell

A good exercise to increase punching power and speed. A limited range of motion will help you develop strength and overcome sticking point in the bench press. This exercise can be performed either alternately with each hand or together; it’s okay if you have one weight at home. To load the pectoral muscles more, you need to lie on a bench or something similar. If this is not possible, then first you need to perform a preliminary exercise, such as dumbbell flyes or push-ups.

Starting position

Place the weights on the floor the width of your body, and position yourself between them so that they are at shoulder height. Lie on the floor with your legs straight and shoulder-width apart. There is a natural deflection and tension in the lower back, bring your shoulder blades together. Turn your body on its side, turn your arm slightly to the side, and return the body and the weight to a horizontal position. The elbows are pressed to the body, the weight lies on the outside of the forearm. Try not to bend your wrists too much; if you keep them straight, the weight will press hard, find your optimal position. Hold the weights with your thumb pointing toward you.

A different position of the elbows is possible - move them apart at an angle of 45 degrees, then the load will fall more on the pectoral muscles. The technique is exactly the same as with pressed elbows.

Technique for performing kettlebell presses while lying on the floor

As you exhale, press the weight up, almost straightening your elbow, and turn your palms outward. Press the weights at shoulder level. As you inhale, lower the weights down, returning your elbows and hands to their starting position.

• To increase the load, bend your knees, placing your feet on the floor, and press your lower back into the floor, this will give you more isolation.
• Perform supination and pronation; you can generally hold the weights like a barbell all the time and not turn them around.

Many men, and not only them, want to be in good physical shape and have developed muscles. Strength training helps you become strong and muscular. More and more people are coming to fitness centers and gyms to make their dreams come true.

But not everyone has the opportunity to visit gyms. The reasons for this may be different. Unlike professional athletes, ordinary people have other things to do besides training. And it's not just work. But even the lack of opportunity to train in the gym does not mean that you can give up on your dream. Strength training can be done even at home, with just one weight at hand, and still achieve results.

Kettlebells can not only develop almost all physical qualities, but also pump up absolutely all the muscles of the body. A lot of exercises with this apparatus have been invented. In this article we will show you three basic exercises with one weight, with which you can pump up your pectoral muscles.

Kettlebell press with two hands lying on the floor

To maximize the use of your chest in this exercise, concentrate as much as possible on its work during the exercise. At the top, do not straighten your arms all the way, additionally contract your pectoral muscles and hold for a second. Slowly return to the starting position. Be careful not to let the weight slip or fall. You can lubricate your hands with magnesium.

One-arm kettlebell press lying on the floor

This exercise is a little more difficult than the first. Position yourself on the floor and grab a kettlebell with a neutral grip. Having assumed a stable position on the floor, lift the weight up, while rotating your wrists so that at the end point of the amplitude, your palm faces forward. Do the required number of repetitions, and then do the same with the other hand.

Kettlebell push-ups

With the kettlebell on the floor, grab the handle with one hand and press the other into the floor. From this position, lower yourself down enough to feel a stretch in your pectoral muscle. Then go up. After completing the required number of times, change hands.

You can choose any two of these exercises. Remember to warm up before starting your workout to avoid injury. Know that not being able to go to the gym is not a death sentence. You can always find a way out and train at home, even with a minimum of sports equipment.

Exercises with kettlebells for the pectoral muscles will help develop physical strength, endurance and create an athletic figure. The main thing is a systematic and targeted approach and the desire to achieve results. Let's figure out how to pump up your chest with a kettlebell and what exercises you can do with it to train your muscles.

Males under forty-five years of age who do not have health problems can engage in exercises using weights.

All exercises use weights of various weight categories from 16 to 22 kilograms. For the first four months of systemic training, you should use a 16-kilogram weight, after which you can change the weight to 20-25 kilograms, and after another year to the maximum - 32 kg.

Important! It is not recommended to rush to increase the load. You need to move to heavy weights gradually according to the principle of performing the technique fifteen times without breaking; the weight category can be increased so that any exercises can be done 5 to 6 times.

You can train on a daily basis or three times a week. It is best to perform exercises with kettlebells on the pectoral muscles at the same time.

Important! If you do exercises during the day, it is best two hours before meals or three hours after.

Before starting a workout with weights, you need to do a short warm-up with dumbbells, and if the exercises take place in nature, then it is better to do a short jog with periodic transition to a light step.

Important! Exercises with kettlebells on the pectoral muscles must be performed clearly, easily and without holding your breath.

Important! For all types of exercises with weights, you need to squeeze and lower them smoothly, so that there are no jerks. You should also keep your breathing even. Inhale when pressing or pushing the weight, and exhale when lowering.

• other types of exercises using weights also give no less effect, although they give priority to pumping up other muscle groups. They allow you to improve the muscle corset of the forearms, as well as triceps and biceps. In addition, the weight will not damage the oblique abdominal muscles, as well as the trapezius;

For example, place your feet shoulder-width apart and your back should be straight. The weights should be lifted. The exercise is performed with one or both hands at the same time. The position can also be used while sitting on a bench or chair;

Important! Elbows should be straightened completely. At the same time, a small load is placed on the chest muscles, the back muscles and triceps are pumped to a greater extent.

Fitness expert Sergei Strukov translated Greg Dea's text about best exercise for the shoulder.

One-arm kettlebell press works for everyone

Whether you're looking to improve power and strength or are rehabilitating movement patterns, the one-arm kettlebell press fits the bill.

I used this exercise to compensate large volume throws, receptions, serves and contacts of volleyball and handball players of international level. Athletes who consistently perform one-arm presses as part of their training program increase their punching power and endurance.

But even if you're just doing fitness, you can use it to improve your posture and increase shoulder strength.

The one-arm press is the best because it meets the following criteria:

1. Safe starting and ending position.
2. Safe movement pattern.
3. Development of “push” power.
4. Identifying and protecting weak links.

Now let’s explain in more detail each of the listed advantages.

Safe starting and ending position

The starting and finishing positions of the one-arm press are safer than other popular shoulder strength exercises such as front and lateral raises. The long leverage of front and side lifts often forces the scapula away from a stable position at the beginning and end of the movement. This is similar to lifting a crane off the ground before lifting a load onto a tall building.

Frontal and lateral raises cause more shoulder problems than any other exercise by targeting the muscles that try to hold the shoulder blades in relation to the neck and torso (the trapezius and rhomboids).

The main role of the scapula is to support the arm. It can move freely to maintain the correct position of the glenoid fossa in relation to the head of the humerus. With a winged scapula (the medial edge moves away from the rib cage or tilts forward), or the medial/superior part of the scapula is higher than the lateral part, which places the glenoid fossa in a position that limits arm elevation. This is wrong and not stable. In this position, the scapula loses the necessary orientation.

The one-arm press, on the other hand, offers correct position. With one-arm presses, the scapula is dynamically stable, there is unlimited freedom of movement with situational support and maintaining the correct position.

The movement begins in a rack position, with the kettlebell directly in front of the shoulder. The weight is located on the forearm, on the outside of the hand clenched into a fist, with the elbow pointing forward. The palm of the hand is directed towards the face. In the final position, the kettlebell is strictly above the shoulder, the elbow is straight. Both of these positions, initial and final, stabilize the position of the scapula.

Safe movement pattern

The press from the initial to the final position should be vertical. The elbow in the initial position is directed forward, and in the final position it is directed to the side. This means the shoulder joint moves from a neutral position to a position of external rotation, while at the same time the scapula moves into a safer position of retraction and superior rotation, opening up space for the shoulder joint to rotate and glide in a well-balanced position.

Another useful option overhead press, which the author of the article recommends: Bottoms-Up Kettlebell Presses for Solid Shoulders

One-arm kettlebell press – a “clean” movement. It is almost impossible to determine the correspondence of the timing, sequence and coordination of the motor pattern. However, if the pattern is unstable, abrupt, or divided into stages, we call the movement "dirty and heavy." The essentially opposite movement is smooth, which we call “clean and light.”

The one-arm press position does not produce a pigeon motion.: Many shoulder strength exercises that require lifting weights from behind the head result in an attempt to remove the weight from the neck. The result is a movement reminiscent of a pigeon's head movement, hence the name "pigeoning". The pigeon motion leads to joint misalignment and muscle activation in the upper neck, leading to pain and limited movement of the head and neck. If you want to avoid pigeon movements, watch your neck during rows or front raises. In a one-arm kettlebell press, the kettlebell is pressed from the normal position of the neck overhead, so no pigeon motion occurs.

The pressing pattern further tilts the scapula back, freeing up space for the rotator cuff to work and minimizing the risk of impingement. In addition to tilting backward, the scapula rotates upward, opening up even more space. Rotation of the scapula requires coordinated contraction of all back muscles.

Propulsive Power Development

This is a great exercise for developing “push power.” Power is work done per unit of time, so it requires strength, speed and control of movement.

The advantage of the vertical press is the ability to lift more weight than a front or lateral raise due to the relatively short lever. There is more stimulation to the upper limb and the scapula remains stable. When the weight is too heavy, the movement loses speed and therefore power. It becomes messy and difficult. In this situation, the bench press can perform more work with a stable scapula and a larger load than the competing exercises (pulldowns, lateral or front raises).

By the way, there is also a review on Zozhnik scientific research American Council on Exercise However, that study did not test the kettlebell press with one arm.

Protecting the Weak Links

The final benefit of this great exercise is the ability to eliminate weak links that are associated with injury risk.

The thoracic spine and rib cage, and everything that attaches to them, are involved in the one-arm press just as much as in the two-arm press. We have difficulty understanding and imagining precise joint movements that require complex coordination between stabilizers and prime movers. When someone can't perform any more reps or the weight they're lifting reaches a plateau, we assume they've simply reached their limit. But the reason is not always fatigue.

If you are getting different reps on the kettlebell press with your left and right arms, we understand that the cause of the asymmetry may be in the thoracic spine, rib cage, all associated muscles, neck and shoulder girdle. Identifying side differences directs us to improve function in these areas, removing barriers to bench improvement. When dirty and heavy reps reveal a weak link, we can change the weight and performance conditions to further improve.

When the load is too large for the normal pattern, compensatory movements occur. Most compensations occur with the person leaning back to turn the movement into an angled chest press. In this case, the neck makes a “pigeon” movement, the lower back bends, and the shoulder blade moves away from the optimal position. Pigeon neck is a dysfunctional compensation that impairs trunk stability. It can lead to pain, limited movement, and loss of motor control—three well-known risks of injury.

There are two simple ways To fix a similar error:

1. Sit down and complete the approach. This reduces demands on the hips and pelvis, providing a stable position for the lower back. Or you can stabilize your hips and pelvis by placing one foot on a chair or bench. The flexed hip of the elevated leg reduces the likelihood of anterior pelvic tilt and arching in the lower back.

Put your foot on the bench - this will help.

If your lower back still arches, simply elevate your leg off a chair or bench to prevent it. I prefer this single-leg variation as it involves pressure on the surface through the feet, ankles, knees and hips rather than through the six bones of the pelvis. This is a more complex exercise that loads not only the shoulder girdle.
Placing your foot on a box can help correct pelvic rotation.

2. The second method is to reduce the weight and finish the set cleanly.. This is not best choice as long as a person compensates for light weight by chasing repetitions. It is also a less favorable strategy because it requires conscious control of technique. Methods with self-restraint are preferable for adaptation than methods with conscious control. This helps keep the pattern in your nervous system better than weight loss.

Balanced shoulder – strong shoulder

If you want good shoulders, then you need to switch to one-arm pressing in your pressing workout.

I have used this simple strategy for years to train athletes with high shoulder workloads. The combination of position, pattern and force power adjustments provided protection for athletes in pre-season training, as well as integration with other core exercises. Using the one-arm press, I improved the shooting ability of a Chinese national handball superstar with a torn labrum and rotator cuff tendon. I used the bench press for my own development and had no problem surprising big guys with starting weights greater than their max lifts in front of me.

Despite the obvious difficulty of the positions and pattern, none of my athletes who benched to failure experienced injury or post-exert soreness. Try this exercise. It works.