Chest fly workouts with dumbbells, cables, or machines target the upper and lower chest muscles. The chest fly exercise targets your chest muscles by isolating them, making them contract more than when performing a bench press.
It is essential to, therefore, understand the different types of chest fly exercises and how they work for each muscle group differently. In this article, we’ll explore the differences between the chest fly vs. bench press and look at several variations of the chest fly.
Chest Fly vs. Bench Press
The most significant difference between the chest fly and bench press workouts is that with a bench press, you engage multiple muscle groups, including your arms, back, shoulders, and legs. In contrast, with a chest fly, you are focused on isolating only your chest muscles.
As a result, your pecs will work harder with a chest fly than with a regular bench press. Thus, you can expect better chest results faster. A workout must include compound exercises as the foundation and isolation exercises to target specific muscle groups. You can use a post-exhaustion or pre-exhaustion workout program with compound and isolation chest exercises for better results.
Types of Workouts
Several variations of the traditional chest fly can help target different parts of your pectoralis major muscle group. Here are some of the most popular ones:
Dumbbell Chest Fly
With dumbbell chest fly workouts, you can use heavier weights for more resistance or lighter weights for higher reps. To do it correctly, lie flat on an exercise mat or bench, holding two dumbbells in each hand. Lift both arms together until they are parallel to the ground, then slowly lower them back down until they’re just below shoulder height before bringing them back up again in one fluid motion. Keep your elbows slightly bent throughout to protect your joints from overextension.
Cable Chest Fly
Instead of using dumbbells for resistance, cable machines provide an adjustable amount of tension and allow for a more excellent range of motion than other varieties of chest flies, such as those on pec deck machines or seated incline benches. To perform cable chest fly workouts correctly, stand facing away from a cable machine holding two straight handles in each hand at shoulder height and slowly bring them together in front of you, then out to either side before returning to the start position in one fluid motion. Keep your wrists straight throughout for the best results!
Pec Deck Machine
This variation allows you to isolate each side individually, which is excellent if one side is significantly weaker or tighter than the other due to injury or predisposition – something that isn’t possible when using cables or dumbbells because both sides must work together equally for proper form and balance! To do this properly, sit on a pec deck machine with both feet firmly planted on either side while gripping two handles attached at either end in front of you at shoulder height before pushing them together until they meet (or nearly meet), then slowly releasing them back outwards before repeating!
Chest Fly Machine
Unlike other variations requiring free weights or cables, this chest fly machine workout uses a weight stack attached directly to two arms you control via levers at either side, making it easier for beginners who may not be comfortable handling heavy weights yet but still want an effective workout! Begin by sitting upright on top before placing both hands onto their respective levers at shoulder height, then pushing forward until hands meet (or nearly meet) before releasing again into starting position – repeat as desired!
Chest Fly For Lower Chest
Last but certainly not least – if tightness persists in the lower areas of the pectoralis major, don’t forget about doing standing single-arm presses instead! Grab one dumbbell in one hand with elbow bent, then push upwards until arm is fully extended above head – keeping the wrist straight throughout the entire movement – then lower back down towards hip level without locking elbow joint before completing another rep!
Conclusion on Chest Fly Workouts
A good workout routine should include chest fly exercises to build strength and tone up those pectoralis major muscles efficiently and safely.
Variations of the chest fly include:
- Incline Dumbbell Fly
- Decline Dumbbell Fly
- Medium Cable Fly
- High Cable Fly
- Low cable Fly
With all these options available, there’s no excuse not to try some new moves today, so get out there and get lifting!
Whether using dumbbells or machines, always keep good form and focus during each set so that every rep counts towards achieving the maximum gains from each workout session! If you love bodybuilding, share this article on Facebook or Twitter so that others can learn more about building muscle.