Perfect Female Chest: Exercise Motivation and Inspiration
Can you guess what muscle group women don’t work enough? The chest! While men love to work their chest muscles, women often skip it because of the “girls.” There is a common myth floating around that exercising your chest can actually make your breasts smaller. In fact, the opposite is true! Okay, maybe your breasts won’t get bigger, but since the muscles under them are firmer, your boobs may be higher and perkier. Ladies, it’s time to work that chest!
Best Workouts for Women: Good Routines, Great Results
A strong chest in women have a multitude of benefits. First, a strong, toned chest will help keep your upper-body muscles in balance and ultimately improve your posture. No more rounded shoulders! Secondly, strong pectoral muscles add power and strength to your shoulders and arms. You’ll be able to lift and carry the heavy grocery bags into the house and push the lawnmower up the hill faster.
How to Get a Strong Chest
Whether goal is to give the “girls” a natural lift or to develop a toned chest to match your washboard abs, a strong chest will improve your posture and make you a badass at the gym.
Your pectoralis major is the primary chest muscle that is shaped like a fan and helps move your arm in the shoulder joint. The pectoralis minor and serratus anterior are two secondary muscles found in the chest that also aid shoulder movement.
The best way to get a strong, toned chest is through body weight exercises and traditional resistance training. If traditional weight lifting isn’t your style, some women find yoga, like Astanga and Vinyasa, to be powerful strength builders.
Do you suffer from hunched shoulders? It’s common among desk workers today. If you work a 9-5 desk job you might find that your pecs are extremely tight from spending all day typing away on your computer. Before you start rigorous chest workouts for women, it’s best to spend some time stretching out your chest and strengthening your back. You’ll find your posture will improve hugely!
Expert Tip: To stretch your pecs, find a corner in a room. Stand in a lunge facing the corner. Place your hands in a “T” on the wall. Lean into the wall. You should feel a stretch in your chest. Hold this for 20-30 seconds.
Exercises to Get a Beautiful, Toned Chest
There are no special exercises to lift the breasts naturally. The best chest exercises for women are the same for men. It’s time to hit the weight bench with the boys!
One of the best chest exercises for women is the good old fashion push-up, the exercise that women love to hate. Don’t skip the push-up, they will help you get a killer set of pecs. If you can’t do a push-up on your toes, it’s totally fine to start on your knees.
Now it’s time to get comfortable with the weight bench. Dumbbell or barbell bench presses are one of the best exercises for the chest and should be included in every female chest workout. If you’re a total newbie to the bench press it’s best to ask an expert for assistance. Start with a barbell with no weights. A barbell itself usually weighs about 20 lbs. Once you have mastered the form, you can start to add weights. Dumbbell presses are a great alternative variation that works the secondary chest muscles as well.
Chest flyes are one of the best chest exercises for women. It helps stretch and widen your pecs. Grab a set of dumbbells and lay down on an incline bench. Once you’re comfortable on the bench, you can do the chest fly on a balance ball. The balance ball adds an element of difficulty and works your core, too.
A simple female chest workout looks like the following:
- Barbell bench press
- Chest fly
- Push-ups
- Dumbbell pullover
Do 3-4 sets of 12 reps of each of the chest exercises for women with 1-2 minutes of rest between each set. Start with light weights and add more as each exercise gets easier.
Expert Tip: Some gyms have women-specific barbells that are lighter and smaller than regular barbells.
Now, let’s take a look at 30 women who know all about chest workouts for women and who have the toned chest to prove it!
Image Source: Instagram @ciara
1. Ciara
Svelte yet strong, you can tell this singer treats her body well with just one look at her beautifully muscular bod and perfect legs.
Image Source: Instagram @juleshough
2. Julianne Hough
The dancing queen is a fitness fanatic, so no wonder she has a toned chest to go with the rest of her ideal figure.
Image Source: Instagram @emilyskyefit
3. Emily Skye
A personal trainer in Queensland, Australia, fitness model, and founder of the F.I.T.—Fitness Inspiration Transformation—workout program, Skye is your go-to fitspo source on Instagram, from her flat tummy (by doing this plank challenge)to her round and strong butt. She knows how to program the perfect female chest workout.
Image Source: Instagram @jessicaalba
4. Jessica Alba
While some celebs try to train hard for the camera, Alba thinks the best way to get and stay healthy is working out and eating well in your every day life, too.
Image Source: Instagram @atyaelisehenry
5. Katya Elise Henry
Ladies who lift and look even more fabulously feminine are motivation to get in the gym. Henry makes muscles look stunning, not masculine.
Image Source: Instagram @gwynethpaltrow
6. Gwyneth Paltrow
She loves to dish out advice on healthy living, and her body is proof she practices it, too. Her website, Goop, is full of plans and programs that will show you how to get on the right track.
Image Source: Instagram @bellafalconi
7. Bella Falconi
A certified personal trainer, fitness model and a motivational speaker from Brazil, Falconi is another muscular babe who makes strengthening your pecs look empowering, not masculine. We bet she knows exactly which are the best chest exercises for women.
Image Source: Instagram @caliabycarrie
8. Carrie Underwood
This country singer superstar proves a fit body is all about putting your best foot forward — and hitting those chest workouts for women.
Image Source: Instagram @katehudson
9. Kate Hudson
The actress is so dedicated to fitness that she’s made a name for herself in the industry. The best way to get motivated? Get inspired by fun and cute workout clothes, like Hudson’s line, Fabletics.
Image Source: Instagram @hollyrilinger
10. Holly Rillinger
The Nike master trainer, master flywheel instructor, former pro basketball player, and celebrity trainer has the ideal chest of steel, and she gives her clients all the insight on the plans and programs it takes to be your strongest self yet.
Image Source: Instagram @jlo
11. Jennifer Lopez
From her hourglass frame to her toned muscles, Lopez is motivation to embrace your curves while strengthening your body.
Image Source: Instagram @evalongoria
12. Eva Longoria
“I’m a runner. I don’t need a gym, I’ll go run anywhere,” Longoria says. Great for toning up while staying trim, the workout sure shows the payoff on this babe.
Image Source: Instagram @alessandraambrosio
13. Alessandra Ambrosio
The stigma that models are too thin has been changing in recent years, with the idea that strong is better than trying to be skinny. Ambrosio’s toned physique proves the beauty of muscle, even on the runway.
Image Source: Instagram @irinashayk
14. Irina Shayk
“You cannot wake up and see yourself in the mirror and think ‘I look great so I can just relax’, you have to always push yourself to be better,” the Russian model says.
Image Source: Instagram @tanaashleee
15. Tana Cogan
A certified personal trainer, fitness competitor, and owner of Train with Tana in Las Vegas, Cogan is seriously strong and gorgeous to boot!
Image Source: Instagram @sofisia7
16. Sofia Boutella
Madonna’s go-to dancer, Boutella knows a thing or two about staying in shape. “I learned discipline from Madonna. She works out for two hours a day. When I danced on her Confessions and Sticky & Sweet tours, she taught me to start every day with a workout and I still do,” she says. If two-a-days are your thing, eating well and breaking that sweat will surely melt the fat away, especially in your chest.
Image Source: Instagram @gisele
17. Gisele Bündchen
The supermodel is an all-around athlete, and loves to kick it into high gear with boxing. The workout burns some serious calories, so if you’re looking to lose fat, this is definitely worthy of putting into your workout plans.
Image Source: Instagram @mankofit_
18. Massy Arias
Formerly known as Mankofit, this gorgeous and toned gal is a health coach and bilingual trainer from the Dominican Republic currently shaping bods in LA. When it comes to slimming down quickly, Arias is a big fan of weightlifting five days a week, incorporating 20 minutes of cardio. You can be she’s an expert on the best chest workouts for women.
Image Source: Instagram @halleberry
19. Halle Berry
No one wants to do the same routine all the time,” Berry’s trainer Ramona Braganzashe says of working with the celeb after giving birth. “We’d go for hikes, a jog on the beach, or do kickboxing or yoga.” Braganza also incorporated calorie-burning cardio, and for targeting the chest, she used free weights and planks.
Image Source: Instagram @madonna
20. Madonna
The queen of fitspo, you’d be hard-pressed to find a picture of the singer looking anything less than toned and taught from her flat and rock hard stomach to her buff arms and toned chest. To stay trim when she’s on the road, she’s all about resistance training. It’s great for anyone with limited time who wants to burn fat quickly. Put together 8-12 exercises, focusing at least 2 on the chest area, and ensuring you get in all the other major body parts as well: back, legs, arms, shoulders.
Image Source: Instagram @amandaeliselee
21. Amanda Lee
This certified personal trainer and Pilates instructor is the next Jen Selter with her bootylicious “belfies,” and she certainly knows a thing or two about getting rid of stubborn fat in record time and chest exercises for women. When she’s not showing off her toned butt on Instagram, you’ll find her doing one of her favorite Pilates chest-strengthening moves: the plank.
Image Source: Instagram @normancook
22. Kaley Cuoco
“It took years for me to figure out what my body needs and that what works for my friends doesn’t necessarily work for me. Doing yoga five times a week has transformed my body. I love being toned and having muscle; it’s so sexy and beautiful. And I owe it 100 percent to yoga,” the actress says of how she stays in such great shape. A great yoga pose to strengthen the pecs and banish stubborn fat is Chaturanga.
Image Source: Instagram @paigehathaway
23. Paige Hathaway
The Instagram fitness celeb is a big fan of weight training. “I’m a huge advocate for women to do weight training. One misconception I’m sure you’ve heard a lot is that if girls go to the gym, they’re going to look manly, they’re going to look bulky, or they’re just not going to look feminine anymore. I think strength training helps your body, and it defines your muscles and gives you a lean physique,” she says. Hathaway is known to be a machine at the gym, capable of doing a dumbbell chest press using 45 pound weights in each hand. Try this exercise, perhaps with much less weight, to get a defined chest yourself.
Image Source: Instagram @jadapinkettsmiith
24. Jada Pinkett Smith
Regal and fit is one beautiful combination, and this actress sure has that and more! The key to her fit physique is all about balance and keeping it fun. For her, that means working out for only 45 minutes at a time. If you like short workouts, try this HIIT exercise, which targets the chest as well as the entire body.
Image Source: Instagram @gal_gadot
25. Gal Gadot
Boxing is this babe’s M.O. The largest muscles used in the workout are the pecs, so you know you’ll get a toned chest when you get your gloves on.
Image Source: Instagram @lyzabethlopez
26. Lyzabeth Lopez
An award-winning master trainer in Canada, Lopez is also a holistic nutritionist, and creator of the Hourglass Workout. A big fan of weight training, you’ll find Lopez bench pressing to keep her chest toned.
Image Source: Instagram @rondarousey
27. Ronda Rousey
The MMA fighter has to be on her A-game both in and out of the ring, so she does plenty of workouts that don’t include her actual sport. Among her favorite moves for toning up the chest is the Medicine-Ball Plyo Push-Up.
Image Source: Instagram @camerondiazs
28. Cameron Diaz
The actress loves to surf, which is an incredible workout for the chest.
Image Source: Instagram @kayla_itsines
29. Kayla Itsines
The Australian trainer behind the crazy-popular Bikini Body Guides and Sweat with Kayla fitness app, Itsines loves HIIT workouts. Try incorporating burpees into your routine for cardio, while making sure you complete the push-up to really target the chest.
Image Source: Instagram @camillelbaz
30. Camille Leblanc-Bazinet
a Canadian professional CrossFit Games athlete, and the female winner of the 2014 CrossFit Games, the strong beauty keeps her chest in shape with CrossFit moves like the gymnastic rings.
