Pump Quiz: Chest Day

By Bill Geiger, MA

1) It’s Monday after work at the gym and the crowds resemble the ill-named expressway during rush hour. In fact, there’s a line of people waiting to use the bench press. Which is the best substitute for that exercise?

A. Cable crossover
B. Seated overhead press
C. Incline dumbbell press
D. Flat-bench dumbbell press

 

 

 

 

2) You decide you want to focus on the muscle fibers of your inner chest. Which move best targets that region?

A. Cable flye on flat bench crossing your hands

B. Wide-grip bench press

C. Reverse-grip bench press

D. Cable flye on flat bench stopping well short of crossing your hands

 

3) You decide to finish your chest routine with bodyweight dips. To minimize emphasis on the triceps, what form pointers should you follow?

A. Stay as vertical as possible

B. Bring your feet up behind you and lean forward as much as possible

C. Keep your elbows tight to your sides

D. A and C

ANSWERS

1) The bench press is a multijoint move in which your arms are pressing directing perpendicular to your torso. Answer A is a single-joint chest exercise, and while answer C is also a multijoint exercise, it targets the upper pecs because you’re pushing not just away from your body but upward too. Answer B is for shoulders. Choice D is the dumbbell cousin of the barbell bench press.

2) Answer B targets the outer chest fibers, so that’s not right, and answer C hits the middle and upper chest fibers predominantly. The cable flye is a single-joint move; physically crossing your hands puts more emphasis on the inner pecs, so choice A is correct.

3) The parallel-bar dip hits both the triceps and pecs, but if you’re doing it on chest day you want to minimize triceps recruitment. Answers A and C both increase triceps involvement, leaving answer B as the correct option.

Tagged: Chest, Pecs, Workout | Follow @MuscleMag