Working out with a fitness rubber band. 4 best pectoral muscle exercises for men

Well-defined pectoral muscles in men are always beautiful. But how to pump them is an individual question, everyone decides for himself. We offer you a cool way to work the chest muscles at home or on the street. Together with the trainer we have analyzed the most effective exercises with fitness rubber bands and gave useful tips for beginners.

Qualified trainer and co-founder of the FitStars online platform

“A fitness resistance band is a rubber band in the shape of a ring. It increases the load during exercises due to its main property – tension. The rubber bands are standard in size, but differ in stiffness. With stiffer and thicker ones, the load is greater, with less stiff ones it is easier to perform exercises”.

Exercising with an elastic band is the most convenient and affordable option, especially when you want to exercise at home. With a band you can work a lot of muscle groups. With its help it will be difficult to replace exercise machines and various weights, but to maintain shape and comfortable home exercises it is an ideal assistant.

Well-developed pectoral muscles are the correct posture, because without them it is impossible to have a correct position of the shoulder blades. If you want an athletic physique, then you need to pay attention to each muscle group, the body should develop harmoniously and in a balanced way. Well, of course, a powerful chest is an aesthetic pleasure, which is why most men emphasize pumping these muscles.

What type of rubber band should I choose?

Mikhail Prygunov: The great advantage of the rubber band is that the more it is stretched, the more the load increases. That is, it creates a dynamic load – in the relaxation phase there will be no tension, but at the point of maximum tension the rubber band will be fully stretched and there will be maximum load.

As a rule, there are two types of bands. Not sure which one to choose? One option is a rubber expander with two handles. On them you can attach rubber harnesses, thereby changing the load. But a more common option is a regular rubber loop, described above. Both variants are suitable for training pectoral muscles, so you can try different rubber bands in the store and decide for yourself which one you like better.

The hardest choice you will have to make when it comes to stiffness, because it is this indicator that will determine your training process. You should assess your abilities, so, of course, it is best to buy rubber bands not in online stores, so that you can try to do the exercise. But if you have the opportunity – take two fitness rubber bands so that you can adjust the load.

Effective exercises with a rubber band

Mikhail Prygunov: Before we move on to the workout, let’s discuss the preparation. Be sure to do a standard warm-up, which includes joint exercises, dynamic stretching and several approaches of light exercises to prepare your muscles for work.

Push-ups from the floor

Tehnika

• Throw a rubber band over the body in the area of the shoulder blades and grab its ends with both hands.
• Stand in a plank on straight arms and perform a push-up.
• At the top point, the rubber band should tighten, increasing the load.
• At the bottom point, it should almost completely relax, and the load, respectively, will decrease.

Mikhail Prygunov: Push-ups from the floor is a basic exercise that develops all the muscles of the body: chest, back, abs and even legs. They are good for strengthening the torso. The rubber band will help to increase the load if you want to diversify the training process.

Arm curls with a rubber band in a standing position

Tehnika

• Use a support behind your back, where you can hook the rubber band.
• Grab both ends of the rubber band with your hands and straighten your back.
• As you exhale, pull your arms apart.
• Ieelpojot atgriezieties sākuma pozīcijā.

Bringing palms together in front of you with a rubber band while lying down

Tehnika

• Lie on your back on a bench or on the floor. Place a rubber band across your body behind your back.
• Spread your arms to the sides and on exhalation bring them to the center.
• Ieelpojot atgriezieties sākuma pozīcijā.
• Perform the exercise with proper angles at the elbows and shoulders.
• Perform the negative phase slowly, and the power movement a little faster.

It will be much more effective to chain the rubber band to something that is about a meter away from you. Then it will be pulled tighter and the load will be felt better.

Bench press with an elastic band in standing position

Tehnika

• Stand with both feet on the rubber band.
• Take the other part in your hands and throw it on your shoulders.
• Hold the rubber band so that your arms are bent and your elbows are turned away from you, the grip should be straight.
• As you exhale, lift the elastic band up to its maximum tension.
• As you inhale, slowly return to the starting position.

Recommendations for training

Mikhail Prygunov: As for intensity – perform several approaches depending on your goal. If you want to make progress in push-ups, emphasize the number. If you want to strengthen your chest, 15-20 repetitions in an approach, performed until failure, will help. Perform five to six approaches.

If you work out with a barbell in the gym, you can attach the rubber loop to the power frame for special hooks at the bottom. Then doing exercises with a barbell will be more interesting. This is one of the means to create a dynamic load. You can use an expander with handles, it should also be attached behind the back. Many fix on the door and step away from it to perform exercises. However, if you do not follow safety techniques, the rubber band can detach and hit you on the back, so be careful.

Regularity and intensity of workouts

Perform the above exercises once or twice a week: four or five sets of 15-20 repetitions will be enough. In each approach, try to reach the limit of your capabilities to give your muscles the necessary stress.

If you are a beginner, and this is your first training, you can increase the load gradually, perform the exercises we have described without fanaticism. Increase the number of approaches to the extent of your strength. At first, work with a rubber band of small stiffness, so as not to overload the muscles.

If you need a heavier load, additional weights, such as a barbell or dumbbells, will help. They will make your workout even more interesting and challenging.