Exercises for the sternum muscles for women and girls: workouts to pump up the chest with dumbbells and without equipment in the gym and at home

There seems to be no more enduring stereotype than the belief that women and strength training are incompatible. In the quest for a slim figure, many representatives of the fair sex try diet after diet, but refuse to work with weights. The fear of becoming like Schwarzenegger is still strong. But exercises with dumbbells for women are a very effective means of losing weight, without creating the risk of over-pumping.

By exercising with extra weight, you will get a feminine figure and a whole series of pleasant bonuses. Read more about the benefits of dumbbells below.

We tighten the breasts with physical activity

There is no universal way to pump up your breasts. This is primarily due to its special structure. The basis of this organ is the mammary glands. They change size only during pregnancy and lactation. There is also fatty tissue in the female breast, which regulates the size of the bust, so often as a result of weight loss, the most obvious effect is seen in this area.

There is no muscle tissue in the chest, but the mammary glands themselves are attached specifically to the muscles of the sternum, therefore, by pumping them, it is quite possible to change the overall contour of the entire bust. Don't expect tangible results after a week of training. Correcting this part of the body will take a long time and require effort. But the main thing is that you can train both at home and in the gym.

Be sure to check out: Recommendations on how to pump up a girl’s chest and quickly tidy up a man’s sternum muscles at home Features of chest-back training in one day: an exercise program for beginners and advanced athletes Pumping up the chest correctly and with maximum impact Exercises that will help pump up the sternum muscles man

Contraindications for use

Exercises with dumbbells on the chest, like any type of physical activity, have a number of absolute and relative contraindications.

Doctors and qualified fitness instructors recommend refraining from upper body training for girls who have:

benign or malignant neoplasms, regardless of the area of their localization (physical activity ensures blood flow to the muscles, which significantly accelerates metabolic processes. As a result of an increase in the speed of lymph and blood flow, the tumor will be “fed”, which will inevitably lead to a rapid increase in its size);
diseases of the cardiovascular system (including the presence of various types of metal implants);
bronchial asthma or other pathologies of the respiratory system;
displacement of the vertebrae, the presence of protrusions or intervertebral hernias;
umbilical or inguinal hernia (incorrectly selected load can provoke acute pain in the hernia area, which can only be eliminated with medication or surgery);
hypertension of 2 and 3 degrees (strength training provokes an acceleration of blood flow, as a result of which blood pressure naturally increases. In the case of a diagnosed disease, such a jump can be dangerous not only for health, but also for human life).

Relative contraindications, which require individual selection of working weight and the preparation of a lightweight training regimen, include:

pregnancy (in the absence of pathologies or threats, the expectant mother is allowed to perform exercises with dumbbells on the chest);
rehabilitation period after surgery (at least 6 months);
recovery period after injury in the upper body (at least 2 weeks);
3 days before and during menstruation (excessive physical activity can provoke uterine bleeding, which can only be stopped with the help of medical intervention).

What should be included in a workout for girls' chest muscles?

The most effective exercises for strengthening the sternum muscles of women are:

push ups;
approaches with dumbbells;
sets with fitball and ball;
exercises with an expander.

The last three sports machines stimulate recoil, overcoming which allows you to pump up muscle tissue.

One of the most effective exercises is push-ups. Their lightweight version with emphasis on the knees can be performed even by beginners. The classic version on toes is more effective, but the result of the workout depends on the correct technique. In order to achieve this, you need to remember the following points:

The width of the elbows is directly related to the work of the sternum muscles. The wider the hands, the better the work goes.
The number of sets should not be less than 2-3. Each of them contains 10-15 repetitions. People with poor physical fitness should start with 4-5 reps.
The body should be in a straight line. It is necessary to ensure that the buttocks do not rise and the lower back does not fall.
Breathing is even. Lowering the body - inhale, returning to the starting position - exhale.

You can work with dumbbells both in the gym and at home. The simplest exercise is lifting a projectile with outstretched straight arms to the sides or forward. In this case, it is necessary to maintain a straight posture, and perform all actions slowly and smoothly. Dumbbells are universal, and exercises with them are very variable. They allow you to work almost all muscle groups of the chest.

The same can be applied to the expander. It's easy to work with. The basic principle is stretching in any direction and at any angle. The main thing is to perform 10-20 repetitions in each position and at least 2-3 sets. At the end of the exercise, you need to fix your arms apart for 5-8 seconds.

Important! A fitball is often used to increase the difficulty level of push-ups or dumbbell exercises. It allows you to increase the load on the pectoral muscles and additionally work the abdominal and buttock muscles. You can also work with it separately, squeezing and unclenching it with force. The same principle applies to training with a small ball.

Rules for performing exercises for female breasts

When performing exercises to develop the pectoral muscles, a girl must take into account three extremely important factors.

1. You need to train in an aerobic-strength mode. That is, perform at least 5 - 6 approaches with a high number of repetitions - at least 12. This regimen allows you to maintain the tone of the mammary glands and will be useful for the chest muscles. By performing sets with repetitions of 10 or less, a woman puts her bust at risk of losing shape. The fact is that during “hard” training the mammary glands are subjected to great stress; Such loads improve the chest muscles no faster than aerobic strength training, but have a negative impact on the shape of the bust.

2. A woman should perform only one chest pressing exercise per week. Bench presses and push-ups are the most effective exercises for developing chest muscles, but doing them for a long time can damage your bust shape. Even following an aerobic-strength regimen, a woman risks losing her breast shape if she overuses presses and push-ups. The fact is that such exercises, performed several times a week with serious intensity, use the muscles and tendons of the chest to the maximum, which is not very beneficial for its glands.

3. Be sure to train the latissimus muscles and shoulder muscles. Without shoulder training, it is impossible to improve chest tone - because weak shoulders will prevent you from fully performing push-ups, flyes and other exercises for the pectoral muscles. Once a week, a woman must perform a basic (complex) exercise for the latissimus muscles; that is, bent over rows, or pull-ups. Also in her training program there should be one basic exercise for deltas - seated or standing presses.

Effective loads with dumbbells at home

Chest training for girls is impossible without the use of dumbbells. This popular equipment can be purchased inexpensively at any sports store and used, among other things, for training at home. The optimal weight of the simulator is from 0.5 to 2 kg.

The single dumbbell bench press can be performed on the floor, bench, or exercise ball. Need to:

Lie on the floor with your knees slightly bent.
Hold the dumbbell in your hands so that it is in a vertical position (the weight should hang down).
Raise your hands to eye level.
As you exhale, place the projectile behind your head and hold for 2-3 seconds.
Return to starting position.

Dumbbell weight – 1-2 kg. The number of repetitions should not be less than 8-12, and the number of sets – 2-3.

The push press is performed on a bench. The starting position is similar, only the arms are spread out to the sides and make an angle of 90° with respect to the body. The rise is carried out while exhaling with a delay at the top for 1-2 seconds, returning to the starting position while inhaling.

When performing this exercise, it is necessary to ensure that the arms move in parallel, without distortion, the body position is stable, and breathing is not interrupted.

The weight of the apparatus should be comfortable in order to perform 3-4 sets of 10-12 repetitions each. The break between series should not be more than 3 minutes.

Working with dumbbells at home is quite simple. The main thing to remember is the correct execution technique.

Raising your arms with apparatus allows you to work not only the pectoral muscles, but also the muscles of the ribs. This exercise will give you an additional bonus by removing a few extra centimeters in the hard-to-reach armpit area. To do this you need:

Fix your body in a lying position, raise your arms up, slightly bending your elbows, thereby reducing the load on your joints.
Slowly spread your arms to the sides, fixing them in the same plane as the body, but without touching the floor. Hold the position for 2-3 seconds.
Return to starting position.

The average number is 10-12 repetitions in each of the 4 series. In order to effectively work the muscles of the sternum, it is necessary to combine straight and inclined surfaces. So, a negative incline will allow you to work the upper area, and a positive incline will allow you to work the lower chest muscles.

Indications for use

In addition to improving overall physical fitness, chest exercises will help the athlete:

improve your posture (the correct position of the shoulder blades can only be achieved if the pectoral muscles are sufficiently elastic and firm. When they are weakened, the width of the chest is reduced and the shoulder blades begin to protrude. This position of the back not only looks unaesthetic, but can also have a detrimental effect on the overall health a person. When the back is in a hunched state, air circulation in the body becomes difficult, the amplitude of movement of the diaphragm during inhalation and exhalation decreases, which prevents the supply of sufficient oxygen to the cells. Lack of oxygen provokes headaches, a weakened immune system and exacerbation of chronic diseases);
transform the décolleté area (tightened chest muscles support the mammary glands in a raised position, visually correcting their shape and making them more attractive. Flabby muscles contribute to sagging breasts, which worsens the overall appearance of the décolleté area of a particular athlete);
increase in strength and endurance (sufficient strength and endurance of the pectoral muscles is necessary for every person in everyday life: carrying heavy packages, pushing a massive iron door, and so on. Being pumped, the pectoral muscles will simplify routine actions, thereby minimizing the risk of excessive fatigue in the athlete during the day);
have a positive effect on other large muscle groups (the vast majority of exercises with dumbbells aimed at working the pectoral muscles involve the use of the muscles of the back and shoulder girdle. Thus, during the training, the purpose of which is to tone the pectoral muscles, the athlete will be able to transform the appearance of the entire upper parts of your body).

Exercise with dumbbells on the chest has a positive effect on the appearance of the whole body.
Despite the proven effectiveness of chest exercises, visible results with their help can only be achieved with regular physical activity that involves following generally accepted techniques.

A set of exercises without equipment

Girls can pump up their breasts without using equipment. The simplest exercise is wall push-ups. The execution technique is as follows:

Stand against the wall.
Place your feet shoulder-width apart, bend your arms at the elbows and lean against the wall.
Start “pressing” on the wall for 3-4 minutes. In this case, the body must remain in a fixed state and not move.
Move your hands 5-7 cm lower, repeat the “pressure”.

To achieve results, you need to perform 4-5 series per day.

Swinging your arms is a simple and convenient, but no less effective exercise. To complete it you need:

Stand straight, feet shoulder-width apart.
Raise your arms and perform 15-20 swings, fixing at the point of tension during extension.
You can also imitate “scissors” (an exercise for legs) by clenching your hands into fists.

This workout has many variations: you can lower your body at a right angle to your legs and swing to the side, or do circular movements while standing upright.

“Prayer” or clenching your palms allows you to maximally tense the muscles being developed. To do this, you need to press your palms against each other as level as possible and hold in this position for 1-2 minutes. The series consists of 8-10 repetitions.

How to properly pump up a girl's breasts

Almost all girls want to improve their breast shape, but depending on their physical fitness, they use different programs: for beginners and professionals.

Detailed program for beginners

There are several ways to pump up the breasts of a girl who has just started “making friends” with sports. The set of exercises consists of the same exercises with dumbbells, an expander, a ball and push-ups.

The latter can be done not on straight legs, but on bent knees, which will greatly facilitate their implementation. The technique is as follows: inhale - lower the body - rise while exhaling. For the first time, 3 episodes with repetitions 10-12 times are enough.

Important! Control of reaching the bottom point - touching the chest with the floor.

The “Prayer” exercise should also become a constant companion in a beginner’s training. To make it more difficult, you can add a small ball, which you will squeeze with your palms.

The dumbbell chest press is the place to start with this exercise. It must be remembered that the technique of execution is much more important than the number of approaches. Once the athlete masters it, he can increase both repetitions and sets.

The expander can be replaced with a similar exercise machine called Easy Curves. It is a rubber shock absorber that can be stretched at any angle. First, the external muscles of the sternum work, then the central ones are connected. It also partially replaces dumbbell presses. The complex consists of 2 series:

Easy Curves open and close parallel to the floor.
Alternate movements with each hand at different angles.

Effective program for advanced

Trained sports enthusiasts can start working with a barbell. You can push it up on a horizontal surface in 3 sets with repetitions from 10 to 15 times and breaks of 60-90 seconds. You can complicate the task by moving the bench to a position at an angle of 35-40°.

Simple dumbbell flyes can be complicated by taking a 2 kg weight and increasing the number of sets to 4. Each series should be at least 15 times with a break of no more than 1 minute.

Dips are beyond the capabilities of a beginner, but quite suitable for a trained athlete. This exercise works the deepest muscles.

Working with a fitball can be quite challenging, especially when it comes to push-ups. To do this you need:

Place your feet on the ball and your hands on the floor, slightly bending your elbows.
Start doing push-ups, straightening your arms completely as you rise, and exhale deeply.

The number of episodes is 3-4, the number of repetitions is from 15 to 20.

Girls can also do chest training with dumbbells on a gymnastic ball. A simple fly will become more difficult if the body has to additionally strain the muscles of the back, legs and hips to maintain balance.

Exercises for breast reduction

Monday: Dumbbell presses – crossover crossover – pullover with dumbbell. Perform 15 reps of the press, but with dumbbells that you can handle for 20. Then do 20 reps of hand raises. Then do 20 pullovers - the same principle as the dumbbell press. Rest between each exercise – 1.5 – 2 minutes. 3 episodes.

Wednesday: Push-ups. Perform 6 approaches. In each approach - one third less than the maximum number of repetitions.

Friday: Wiring. Perform 5 approaches. 4 sets are a quarter less than your maximum reps. 5th set – full effort. Rest between sets – 1.5 – 2 minutes.

You can change the shape of your breasts and increase your breast size through surgical placement of breast implants. These plastic surgeries are called: mastopexy (breast lift) and mammoplasty (breast augmentation).

Chest exercises: video

Tags: exercises

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Tips and tricks from professionals

All professionals agree that you cannot increase breast size through physical exercise, but you can improve its contours and tone.

Lena Miro, a famous blogger who covers, among other things, issues of body beauty

“...girls can and should pump up their pectoral muscles. I don't see any threat to female beauty in this. The breasts of professional bodybuilders are reduced due to general weight loss, and not due to physical exercise.”

Ilya Timko, fitness trainer, author and founder of the website tvoytrener.com

The creator of the popular site believes that women should not be afraid that their bust may become smaller due to training on the sternum muscles. Diet is more likely to change the volume of this part of the body than training.

Yaroslav Brin, famous blogger, trainer and bodybuilder

Yaroslav says that it is impossible to radically change your breasts through training. It is a fact. But it is quite possible to slow down sagging, improve tone and elasticity, and also form a posture in which the bust will look more advantageous.

Essence and basic principles

Exercises with dumbbells on the chest will be most effective only if the girl understands the essence and basic principles of drawing up a scheme of narrowly focused exercises.

Qualified fitness trainers recommend taking into account the need to:

uniformly working out all the muscles of the upper body (despite the fact that during sports, regardless of the specific focus of the training, almost all the muscles of the body are involved, it is important to select exercises so that with their help it is possible to periodically shift the main load. This will help achieve the greatest relief and tone of the pectoral muscles);
combine exercises aimed at increasing the definition of the pectoral muscles with loads designed to increase the strength and endurance of this muscle group (on different training days it is recommended to perform different numbers of repetitions with parallel variations in the working weight of sports equipment);
change your training regimen at least once a month (exercises using the same algorithm for a long time lead to stagnation of muscle development, stagnation of lymph and blood flow, as well as a slowdown in metabolic processes);
perform exercises with dumbbells at full amplitude (amplitude movements not only minimize the risk of injury to the athlete, but also stretch the pectoral muscles, preventing stagnation of lactic acid, which provokes pain in the post-training period);
give enough time for the muscles to fully recover after working them out (regardless of the specific goal that is planned to be achieved during exercise, the muscle fibers in the chest area recover for quite a long time. To avoid the opposite effect (loss of muscle mass), train the pectoral muscles more often than 2 times per week is not recommended).

For girls, the essence of performing exercises with dumbbells is not to increase the volume of the pectoral muscles, but to maintain tone and visually transform the décolleté area (with tightened pectoral muscles, the breasts look fuller and more attractive).

Main conclusions

You can effectively work out the muscles of the sternum both in the gym and at home. The main thing you should pay attention to is the execution technique:

Exercise will not turn a size 3 breast into a size 5.
Beginners should start with simpler complexes, gradually adding complex elements.
To achieve the best effect, training should go hand in hand with nutrition, massage, contrast shower and cosmetic procedures.
Correct technique is more important than the number of repetitions and the number of sets.

Exercising will not increase the size of your breasts, but it will help give them a beautiful shape.

Consolidate the result

Exercises with dumbbells on the chest, provided they are performed regularly, will give the athlete the first result in the shortest possible time. Despite this, in the absence of proper measures taken to maintain the achieved muscle condition, a return to the original parameters will occur after 2-3 weeks.

To avoid regression, you can consolidate the result in several ways:

2-3 times a week, perform a set of simple exercises with weights (it is acceptable to use improvised equipment) aimed at comprehensively working out the whole body (you can train at home or in the gym);
maintain a drinking regime not only during training, but also in everyday life (formula for calculating the optimal volume of liquid: 30 ml of liquid * 1 kg of the athlete’s actual weight. Tea, coffee, sparkling water and other drinks are not taken into account. Only the pure drink consumed by the girl should be counted drinking water);
on days free from strength training, do stretching for 20-30 minutes (a set of exercises aimed at stretching the muscle corset);
adhere to the principles of proper nutrition (minimize the consumption of flour, salty, spicy, fried, smoked, sweet. In your diet, focus on protein foods, slow carbohydrates and fiber);
keep a diary of measurements (indicators of key parameters must be recorded at least once every 2-3 weeks. In this case, it is advisable to take measurements at the same time after waking up in the morning on an empty stomach);
devote the proper amount of time to sleep at night and rest during the day (at night the athlete needs to sleep at least 8 hours, and during the working day devote at least 10 minutes every 3 hours to spend in a relaxed state in a calm environment);
once every 3-4 months. undergo a course of massage (at least 7-10 procedures) (professional influence on the body will not only keep the muscles in good shape, but will also prevent lymph stagnation in key areas of the body, in particular in the thoracic region, shoulders and collarbones).