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Exercises for your chest muscles are important for both health and appearance. It’s even more important as you get older.
As you grow older, it becomes more difficult to build muscle mass, and that can lead to a reduction in strength and definition. Chest exercises are particularly good for building strength—even though they often don’t seem that tough at first glance.
However, don’t let the easy-looking nature of these moves fool you: when done properly, they can be hard work indeed.
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Best Chest Exercises For Adults Over 60
Here's a look at seven best chest exercises for adults over 60:
1) Dumbbell Bench Press
This exercise works the pectoral muscles and is a great way to build strength in the chest.
If you're at an age where you are no longer as mobile as you used to be, getting into position can be difficult. However, it's worth making sure that your chest muscles are strong enough so that they can support good posture and allow for proper breathing.
It's important that people maintain good posture throughout their lives, as it keeps them from becoming hunched over or rounded at the back. Not doing so could lead to chronic pain issues along with other complications, like poor circulation and decreased range of motion in the joints (which could make movement difficult).
Having a healthy posture also helps with overall functionality; people who stand up straight tend not only to look healthier but also feel healthier.
2) Chest Flyes
This is a great way to work the chest muscles and strengthen your shoulders. You can use a resistance band or even dumbbells for this exercise.
Start with lighter weight, and then build up to heavier weights as you get stronger. The chest fly with the band can be performed standing or sitting down (with feet together).
You can also choose whether to hold the handles of the band at shoulder level (close grip) or lower down by your waist (wide grip).
3) Seated Machine Chest Press
If you're new to the gym or have an injury that prevents you from performing certain exercises, the seated chest press machine is a great option.
It's easy to use and can be adjusted for different heights, which makes it accessible for anyone. Moreover, it's safe and versatile! This piece of equipment won't take up much space in your home, either. It's affordable and easy to store till you need it again.
It allows you to isolate your chest muscles more efficiently than a barbell, which may employ your shoulders and triceps (albeit sparingly) to lift weights. It allows a restricted range of motion, which is beneficial when muscular hypertrophy is what you're looking for.
The fixed path and assisted motion makes life a little easier for the lifter and less taxing on your pecs.
4) Medicine Ball Push-Ups
Medicine Ball Push-Ups are a great way to build strength. They are also a good way to strengthen the upper body and core muscles, which can help you get stronger in other exercises as well.
Push-ups target the chest, triceps, shoulders, back and abs while improving your coordination and balance.
They allow you to focus on different parts of your body according to what you want to work on at that moment by varying how much weight is held in each hand or foot.
5) Parallel Bar Dips
Parallel bar dips are a great exercise to strengthen the chest, shoulders and triceps. To do this exercise:
- Stand with your arms extended in front of you on parallel bars.
- Place hands shoulder-width apart.
- With feet slightly wider than hip-width apart, bend at the waist to lower body till your forearms come within an inch of being parallel with the floor.
- Pause briefly; press up, and repeat for 8-12 repetitions each set.
Dips may seem overwhelming and taxing especially for older lifters, but they really arent as difficult as you think. If you're still going strong at 60, you must have a ton of muscle maturity and built-up strength waiting to be harnessed.
Even if you're new to the gym at a later stage in life, don't worry. You can perform the other exercises on this list and work your way towards performing your first set of dips.
6) Incline Dumbbell Press
The incline dumbbell press is a great exercise for chest muscles. It's also good for strengthening your triceps and shoulders.
To perform this move, lie on an exercise bench set at an incline angle, and grab the dumbbells in both hands with a pronated (palms facing away) grip. Lower the weights down to either side of your chest with your arms slightly bent. Oress them up till they are fully extended above your head.
Slowly lower back down to the starting position, and repeat for one set of eight reps. If you have shoulder issues that prevent you from doing this exercise, you can perform the flat bench counterpart instead.
Increase the difficulty by adding more weight or performing slighter reps with longer rest periods between sets. You can add more sets as well if needed, but remember not to do too much volume if you want better results.
7) Cable Crossovers
The secret to building pectoral is gains simple: Train every part of your chest. No, the chest isn't one single muscle that can be targeted with just a simple bench press.
Sure, the bench press is great, and it'll engage most of your chest, but to build a great and strong chest, especially at the age of 60, you need to put in some extra work.
Cable crossovers target the sides of your chest, which often goes untouched during more conventional chest exercises.
They aren't as intense or taxing as the other exercises on this list, making them a great option for older gym-goers.
Takeaway
As you age, your muscles become weaker. That's just a fact of life, but that doesn't mean you should stop exercising. In fact, when you exercise regularly, you can reverse some of the effects of ageing on your body.
Your chest muscles play an important role in keeping your spine erect and maintaining good posture as well as supporting proper breathing patterns. The stronger these muscles are, the better they'll be able to do these tasks for you.
Working out at the age of 60 and beyond is no joke. We know how taxing it can be, especially if you walk into a gym without a plan. Remember to stay consistent, and get a good night's sleep. That's the formula for gains.
