Usually, when it comes to the KING of chest exercises (The barbell bench press) we have a couple acknowledgements:
- We want to grip the bar wider if we are looking to target the chest, mainly
- Utilizing close grip bench press is done when targeting the chest
However, if we go closer than traditional close grip barbell bench press, and replace the bar with a dumbbell, we get TREMENDOUS inner chest activation.
Of course, the triceps are also doing some work, but if we squeeze and focus our attention solely on the pecs, the difference will be felt.
execution
- 1Grab a dumbbell of a relatively heavy weight and lie down on the flat bench
- 2Set yourself up comfortably and keep the head rested back
- 3Hold the dumbbell comfortably with both hands
- 4Keep the dumbbell over your torso
- 5Bend elbows slightly, out of lockout to avoid excessive triceps tension
- 6Lower the dumbbell to your chest slowly
- 7Once the dumbbell touches the chest slightly, pause for a split second, keeping the tension on the chest
- 8Push up with a moderate pace, keeping the pecs squeezed and under tension
Note that the goal here would be to mainly keep the chest under tension, rather than going extra heavy and pumping out repetitions.
