From my many years in the gym training female clients I found that Barbell chest exercises are not as effective as Dumbell chest exercises for women. Let me explain further....

As we all are aware women have breasts, which are located on the chest area. (with me so far or still looking at the picture? :D) When performing a Barbell bench Press exercise (refer to video gallery), on the way down the bar will touch/rest on the chest area before going back up to the starting position. Now, depending on the size of the females chest, if she has a large chest the bar will touch/rest at a higher point or elevation than a female with a smaller chest. The disadvantage of the point raised is simply, you are not getting enough depth or range of movement with the Barbell press exercise which means less stretch on the Pectorals (chest muscles) which means less results in the way of strength, muscular endurance & toning.

The solution is to use Dumbells instead of Barbells on either the flat or incline bench press. The Dumbells can move unimpeded regardless of chest size as they are two separate pieces of free weight equipment and can move freely down and around the sides of your chest area. This will create a much greater stretch on the pectorals and give you superior results across the board. So swap your Barbell for Dumbells next time your in the Gym Ladies.

- APG

.