Maximus Gage
There are many ways to activate your pec muscles, including static stretching and doing a few pec activation exercises before you lift. One way to tell if your pecs are activating is to place one hand on your opposite pec and bring the other arm across your chest. If you can feel the pec contracting, your chest is activating.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Stretching | Find a door and stand in its opening. One arm should be at shoulder height against one edge of the doorway. Assume a split stance with your feet, avoiding the natural inclination to bend forward, rotate downward until you feel a small stretch. |
| Static stretching | Not always the best option as it can lessen the amount of weight you can lift. |
| Proprioceptive response | Press as hard as you can into your chest with your opposing hand to increase the proprioceptive response. Repeat this drill until you can stimulate the pec to fire back and push the hand on your chest away. |
| Touch | Touching the muscle as you work it can help you learn by exploring. |
| Isolation exercises | Dumbbell flyes for 15-20 reps. |
| Straight-arm flies | These are not good. |
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What You'll Learn
Static stretching before lifting
To activate your pecs, one method is to put one hand on your opposite pec, and hold the other arm out horizontally. Bring it across your chest, and you should feel the pec contracting. You can also try pressing hard into your chest with your opposing hand to increase the proprioceptive response. Repeat this drill until you can stimulate the pec to fire back and push the hand on your chest away. Touching the muscle as you work it can help you to learn to activate it.
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Pec activation exercises
There are several ways to activate your pec muscles. One method is to stand in a doorway, with one arm at shoulder height against the edge of the doorway. Adopt a split stance with your feet, and rotate your body downward until you feel a stretch.
Another way to activate your pecs is to place one hand on your opposite pec, and hold the other arm out horizontally. Bring the outstretched arm across your chest, and you should feel the pec contracting.
You can also try pressing hard into your chest with your opposing hand to increase the proprioceptive response. Repeat this until you can stimulate the pec to fire back and push the hand on your chest away.
Static stretching before lifting weights is not always the best option, as it can reduce the amount of weight you can lift.
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Bench pressing
To activate your pec muscles during bench pressing, you should focus on bringing your elbows together, not your hands. A wide grip and greater elbow flare will improve pec recruitment. You can also try doing pause reps, which don't have to be very long – 0.5 seconds should be enough.
If you want to isolate your chest during bench pressing, you can try this drill: imagine you have a weight in your palm and pull your elbow back into the bottom position of the bench press. Then, as if you were lifting the weight off of you, extend your elbow forward. Around the halfway point of the movement, you should see the pec firing. If you don't feel it in your chest but more in your shoulders, press as hard as you can into your chest with your opposing hand to increase the proprioceptive response. Repeat this drill until you can stimulate the pec to fire back and push the hand on your chest away.
You may also find that stretching your shoulders and triceps before bench pressing can make your pecs do more of the work.
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Dumbbell flies
To perform a dumbbell fly, pick up two dumbbells off the floor using a neutral grip (palms facing in). It's common to do this exercise while lying on your back on a flat or incline bench, but there is also a standing variation.
If you're new to this exercise, start with 5-pound dumbbells and focus on your range of motion, getting a deep stretch on the pecs. Keep your elbows locked with your arms straight or slightly bent. Only increase the weight when you can do a full set with full extension without any pain or discomfort.
If you're doing flies with straight arms, try doing them with bent arms instead. This can help to take the stress off your shoulders and activate your pecs.
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Touching the muscle as you work it
To do this, place one hand on your opposite pec, hold the other arm out horizontally, and bring it across your chest. You should be able to feel the pec contracting. This is your chest activating. Repeat this drill until you can stimulate the pec to fire back and push the hand on your chest away.
If you don't feel it in your chest but more in your shoulders, press as hard as you can into your chest with your opposing hand to increase the proprioceptive response. This will help you to activate your pecs.
You can also try static stretching before you lift, but this isn't always the best option as it can lessen the amount of weight you can lift. Instead, you could try starting your workout with a few pec activation exercises, such as dumbbell flyes for 15-20 reps.
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Frequently asked questions
Try placing one hand on your opposite pec, holding the other arm out horizontally, and bringing it across your chest. You should be able to feel the pec contracting.
Try doing some pec activation exercises at the start of your workout. Static stretching before you lift can lessen the amount of weight you can lift, so try other exercises like flies with straight arms.
Try pressing as hard as you can into your chest with your opposing hand to increase the proprioceptive response. Repeat this drill until you can stimulate the pec to fire back and push the hand on your chest away.
