Can Resistance Bands Build Muscle in My Chest and Triceps?
If you have been working out for any amount of time, you no doubt have been working to develop your chest and triceps to make them both larger and more defined. You might have been performing traditional high volume low reps workout routines. And have not gotten the results you want. Maybe you have been lifting and perform slow, controlled negative descents to build a larger chest. Still not getting results that will fill out your T-Shirt the way you want. It can be frustrating to work hard and not get results. You should change up your workout routine for the chest and triceps by incorporating resistance bands into your training.
Resistance bands are a great addition to your home workout routine. The Fusion Cable Home Training System allows you to keep constant tension on your muscles throughout your workout. Muscles are fatigued during the pressing movement, when you perform a slight hold at the top of your exercise, and then also as you control the descent of the muscle back to the starting point. The following video is a great at home workout that will challenge and build your chest and tricep muscles.
Incline Fusion Cable Fly and Push-Up
The first superset begins with an Incline Fusion Cable Fly and Push-Up set. A superset is an exercise group that is performed at the same time with no rest period between the exercises. The rest period occurs at the conclusion of both exercises. The Fusion Fly is a great chest exercise. Perform this fly with a slow and controlled movement. Keeping your elbows at chest height so the pecs will be under constant tension. When your arms are fully extended make sure you squeeze your chest muscles at the top before slowly descending to the starting point. This extra squeeze and controlled decent will increase the amount of time the muscles are under tension, increasing blood flow to the chest. You should be failing during each Fusion Cable Fly set. After performing this exercise to failure then immediately move into the Push-Up in this superset. During the Push-Up make sure your hands are by your chest. Keep your back straight and your abs tight as you perform max push-ups to failure. If you have wrist pain put your hands into a neutral position, an open grip and pull your elbows to your side. Don’t let them flare out from the body during the movement. And for additional chest stimulation push your hands together throughout the Push-Up. Complete 4-5 sets to failure with a15-20 second rest period between supersets.
Cross Press
Get set up for the Cross Press by placing a Fusion Cable on each of the mounts with a Fusion Handle on the end. Step out from the wall so you will be under constant tension at the start of the exercise. Get in a good athletic stance with a slight bend in the knees and a flat back. Keep your hand in front of your body and perform a simple Cross Press completing 12-15 reps on each side. You should feel this in your chest. Keep your hands at your chest level pressing your hand across at your nipples. Continually flex the muscle during the decline movement back to the start. This ensures the chest muscles are working throughout the exercise. Flip back and forth from the right and left sides before taking a break. Complete 4-5 sets with a quick pace.
Performing an isolation exercise such as this is a great exercise to chase after the first superset of full range of motion exercises. The isolation will have the muscles burning faster and will take them over the top faster. This means the chest muscles will be engaged and will be straining to keep up and perform. This will force more blood to the chest that helps the chest to build, grow and develop.
Center Press and Plange Static Hold
Get set for the next superset for the chest and triceps using an upper level resistance Fusion Cable. Since the resistance is going to be very heavy make sure you get your legs into a split stance for good leverage. Don’t arch your back but keep it flat and then press forward keeping your hands again at chest level. The range of motion may not be large since the resistance has increased. That’s okay. Keep a quick pace and perform 8-12 reps to failure.
After completing the Center Press then quickly move into the Plange Static Hold. This is a classic gymnastic move where the athlete balances their body weight only on their hands. We are not at that level yet so we have a modification that will work your chest, abs and triceps. In this static hold your hands should drop down by your belly button or waist. Slide your body as far forward as you can. This will overload the topside of your chest. Keep your elbows pulled in tight to your side. Your hands should be down and turned out. Once you get into position squeeze your chest throughout the static hold. Keeping good form will challenge your chest, abs and triceps. Once your perfect this move you will see why gymnasts are so ripped and developed.
Medium Cross Punch
The final exercise in this chest and triceps workout is a Medium Cross Punch. We will be using the same Fusion Cable set up that we used in the second superset. Get in a good athletic stance and keep a flat back and stable core. During the top of the movement flex the muscle for extra stimulation. Keep the arm straight to focus on the chest. If you like you can slightly bend your elbow and make the movement more like a standing fly. Either form will have your chest burning at the completion of each set. When performing this exercise we are planning to cross punch for 30-40 seconds. Usually the muscles want to fail and stop performing an exercise after 18-20 seconds. This exercise is going to push them longer than they are used to. This will cause muscle confusion and ultimately muscle growth as more blood is pushed to the area to help the muscle work longer. You should be under constant tension from the start of this exercise. Perform each arm, flipping between the right and left side. Perform a total of 4-5 sets of this exercise.
Can Resistance Bands Build Chest and Triceps Muscles?
At the completion of this chest and triceps workout you know the answer to this question. Resistance Bands can definitely help you build and develop muscle in chest and triceps. Resistance Bands are a great addition to our home fitness workout because they easily adjust to your fitness level. As your strength increases so can the resistance level to ensure you can always work to failure. When performing each of these supersets get into the habit of isolating and flexing the muscle during the descent portion of the exercise. This will increase the blood flow to the muscle, which is necessary to stimulate the muscle. It also ensures you are working the muscle properly to get maximum results. You can alternate the days when you perform this workout superset but the key is to challenge these muscles multiple times each week. Work your muscles 3 or 4 times a week for 4 weeks and you will get stronger. This will allow you to increase the volume or the reps in your home fitness routine. You will see definition changes in your chest and triceps if you consistently work these muscles and challenge them to failure with each set.