Tips for Training Chest.

If you feel like your chest is not being trained well during the bench press, then this post is for you. I will discuss 4 practical tips. Swipe left for more!
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The first mistake that is often made is pressing the dumbbells outward. The main function of your chest is horizontal shoulder adduction, which is bringing your upper arm towards your midline. While you are benching, focus on mimicking this movement pattern by bringing the dumbbells up and in. If you press the dumbbells up and out, your chest cannot contract as well.
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The next mistake is about the barbell bench press in which you let the shoulders move forward when you press the weight. Instead of letting your shoulders move forward, focus on keeping your shoulder blades retracted. This is especially helpful if you find that your shoulders fatigue first during the bench press. By keeping the shoulder blades retracted, you can focus more on the chest.
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Back to the dumbbell bench press, when you press the weight up, prevent the dumbbells from touching each other. You lose tension on your chest as the dumbbells tap each other. Stop the repetition right before the dumbbells touch.
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Lastly, having a good warm-up routine is helpful. I suggest doing some dynamic stretches and warm-up sets before you go into the bench press. This way, your chest is warm and ready to lift heavy loads. Going into the bench press with no warm-up tends to make it harder to feel your chest engaging well.