The band chest fly is an upper body exercise to strengthen the chest and shoulders. It helps build muscle, strength and endurance.
Using a resistance band for a chest fly exercise is easier on the joints because you’re working against tension rather than gravity.
To do this exercise:
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart.
- Wrap the band around your mid-back and across the outside of your arms to your hands.
- Let your hands go as far back as they can then contract your chest so they meet at your front.
- Keep your arms slightly bent at the elbow.
- You should also ensure your shoulders remain back and down.
- Your arms should be facing each other.
- Inhale when you stretch your arms out. Keep the arc motion in line with your chest.
Exhale when you pull your arms back in.
Do 10-15 reps for one set. You can do up to three sets after rest.
WHAT MUSCLES DO BAND CHEST FLY WORK
As mentioned earlier, the band chest fly works on the chest and shoulders.
1. CHEST
The chest is made of two main muscles, the pectoralis major and the pectoralis minor. These are the muscles known as the pecs.
These muscles are engaged when pulling or pushing and when getting up off the floor.
The pectoralis major is the largest muscle in the chest. It has a fan shape across the breast. It covers half of the upper chest and is attached to the clavicle, sternum, ribs and humerus.
The pectoralis major helps lift your arm forward and is responsible for the adduction of the arm. Additionally, it is responsible for the rotation of the humerus.
When you do the band chest fly you engage this muscle.
The pectoralis minor is located behind the pectoralis major. The pec minor helps with spreading the shoulder blades and helps us breathe properly.
2. SHOULDERS
Band chest fly exercise helps work on your traps and delts in a minor way.
If you add variations where you raise the resistance laterally you can help grow the traps and the delts.
The anterior delts sit on the front of the shoulder. It is involved in the abduction, flexion and internal rotation of the arm.
It helps you raise your arm in front of you and turn your shoulder inwards.
The lateral deltoid sits on the side of the shoulder between the anterior and posterior deltoids. It helps with lateral arm movement and is involved in the adduction of the arm.
The posterior deltoid sits on the back of your shoulder. It helps move your arm horizontally.
The trapezius is a large triangular muscle that sits on the upper back. Traps support head movement, stabilize arm motions and help with pulling and pushing motions.
BAND CHEST FLY BENEFITS
1. BUILD AND ENGAGE STABILIZER MUSCLES
Using resistance bands for the band chest fly means you have to work against the resistance of the band.
The muscles in your shoulder help stabilize your movements and the muscles in your chest help control the movement.
2. PROTECT YOUR JOINTS
Using a resistance band helps you protect your joints by putting less strain on them. You are only working against the resistance of the band rather than gravity.
3. BUILD MUSCLES FASTER
Due to the energy you use for your pecs, it may be easier to build chest muscle mass using the band chest fly exercise rather than the bench press.
4. MORE VARIETY
Using a resistance band gives you more options for the ranges of motion during the chest band fly. You can move your arms in different directions to increase the stretch.
Increase intensity on one side compared to the other if you feel one side has gotten weaker.
You can also twist your wrists which contract your pecs.
Using weights like barbells can hide muscular imbalances caused by one side compensating for the other.
ALTERNATIVES TO BAND CHEST FLY
1. DUMBBELL CHEST FLY
To do this exercise:
- Lie flat on your back on a flat bench.
- Keep your head and back firmly flat on the bench.
- Slowly pick up the dumbbells off the floor with each arm.
- Lift your arms so they’re extended above your head.
- Keep your elbows slightly bent and keep your arms and dumbbells facing each other.
- Inhale and slowly lower the dumbbells in an arc motion until they’re in line with the chest. Don’t lower your arms lower than your shoulders.
- Exhale then slowly raise your arms in the same arc motion.
- Perform 10-15 reps for one set. Do three sets between breaks.
2. INCLINE BENCH PRESS
To do this exercise:
- Lie on a bench that is angled at 45 degrees from the floor.
- Puff up your chest with your shoulders slightly depressed.
- Plant your feet firmly on the floor.
- Grab the barbell with a grip slightly wider than shoulder-width.
- Straighten your arms to unrack the bar and use your lats to pull the bar from the pins.
- Lower the bar to your chest slowly and hold when it touches your chest to avoid it bouncing off your chest.
- Hold then return to the starting position.
Also check out how to do bench press with bands properly
3. TRX Pushup
TRX straps rely on gravity and your body weight. It is a great alternative to band chest fly that doesn’t put a lot of strain on your body.
To do this exercise:
- Adjust the straps to knee-level or shorter.
- Grab the handles with your palms facing down. Position your wrists directly beneath your shoulders.
- Straighten your legs to make your body a straight line.
- Put your elbows at a 45-degree angle, lower your upper body down. Ensure your core stays engaged and your hips don’t sag.
- Ensure your body doesn’t lower further than your hands because this could lead to injury.
BAND CHEST FLY MISTAKES TO AVOID
When doing band chest fly, avoid squeezing the grips of the band too much. This will move tension away from your chest and into your forearms.
If you lower your arms too much during band chest fly, you can compromise your shoulders. Don’t move your arms further than the range of motion allows because this increases the risk of injury.
Always ensure your elbows are bent. Keep the angle at about 10 or 15 degrees. However, don’t bend them too much. Doing band chest fly exercise with completely bent elbows will move tension from your chest to your biceps.
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