Lower chest is the name given to the lower muscle fibers in weight training, and this is precisely what corresponds to the human anatomy. The "one" large chest muscle is divided into three areas in weight training and bodybuilding: the upper and middle chest and the lower chest. But even if you train the lower chest, you also activate the other two areas at the same time. Although you can create different loads with different work-outs, which you can also feel, you still train the pectoral muscle as a whole or as an entire unit.
Thus, this means that the shape of the muscle is genetic and you can't change it either. But still, here are some exercises with which you can focus on the lower chest and among them is also the famous dips. In order to train the chest specifically, you should not write exercises only from the lower chest area on the plan, but compose a healthy mixture of all three categories.
Another kind of dips: the Arnold Dips for the lower chest
Named after Arnold Schwarzenegger, these dips are an exercise for the lower chest and triceps. While the exercise was very popular in the 1980s and -90s, it is still rarely seen in modern gyms.
In the exercise, especially the lower chest or the lower part of the large chest muscles are used, as well as the front part of the shoulder and the triceps.
This is how the Arnold Dips exercise for the lower chest is performed:
You sit down in the middle of a flat bench, and then grasp the edge of the pad to the left and right of the body. Then lift the buttocks with arms almost extended and then move them to the front edge of the pad. The upper body is upright and the back straight. The abdominal muscles are tense.
Depending on your fitness level, you can now choose between three variations to train the lower chest:
- The light variation: here the legs are bent and the feet stand with the soles of the feet firmly on the floor.
- The medium variation: Here the legs are held in an almost fully extended state and the feet are placed on the floor.
- The heavy variation: Here the legs are completely stretched out and the feet stand only with the heels on the floor.
Then inhale and lower the buttocks almost to the floor, bending the elbow in a controlled and gentle way until the forearms and upper arms are at an angle of about 90 degrees. If you want to train the lower chest more, you can do it by pointing the elbows outwards. On the other hand, if the elbows are kept close to the body, the triceps are worked more and the lower chest is relieved.
Then exhale and at the same time push the upper body back up. It is important to note that at the end of the movement, the arms are not fully extended, but they are always slightly bent.
Common mistakes in the exercise for the lower chest
It is often observed that the arms are stretched after each completed repetition. But this puts a lot of stress on the shoulder joints, so it should be stopped. It is best to concentrate on the execution of the exercise for the lower chest and to observe yourself in a mirror during the execution. This is because you can quickly spot the form error and perform the exercise perfectly.
In addition to Arnold Dips, you can then train the lower chest with Negative Bench Press or Negative Flying for example. The most popular Diziplin are however also the Dips, which are gladly and frequently used for the lower chest training.
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Editorial fitnessmarkt.de (EA)
Published on: 6 March 2015