Fix a Flabby Chest

Sculpt a more masculine physique with this pectoral-strengthening routine.

By Martica Heaner, M.A., M.Ed., for MSN Health & Fitness

Are you keeping your chest under cover because you have fleshy flab that feels, um, feminine? Have no fear: Your voluptuous endowment is not a genetic curse that you’re stuck with. In fact, beefing up your pecs while whittling off chest fat is easier than you might think.

The answer is not to simply pummel away at your pecs with grueling chest exercises. While a chest-blasting routine will make you stronger, it won’t do a thing to decrease the fat that is at the heart of the problem.

The secret to a more sculpted physique is to combine chest-building weight moves with fat-burning cardio. The pec-strengtheners will firm up flabby muscles. (We’ve also included one back exercise to help you avoid the concave look that so many chest-heavy workouts can produce.) The cardio will help you skim the excess fat that surrounds them. You can choose any kind of cardio; it does not have to involve arm movement. Cardio exercise burns fat from all over the body, including your chest and torso.

For fast results, cut calories in your diet by focusing on nutritious, portion-controlled meals. (And lay off the booze and sweetened beverages.) And for even faster results, throw in additional minutes of cardio into your week. In as few as six weeks, you can be flexing a brand new chest!

How to do it:

Choose a weight that is heavy enough to challenge your target muscles, but not so heavy that your joints feel strained. Start with dumbbells that are at least 5 to 10 pounds and gradually work up to using 10 to 25 pounds, depending on the exercise.

Start with the first Fatburner interval. Then perform one to three sets of eight to 12 repetitions of the first exercise. Proceed to the next Fatburner interval, followed by one to three sets of eight to 12 reps of the next exercise. Continue until you have completed all six exercises.

You can choose your own activity for each Fatburner cardio interval. Use cardio machines if you have access in a gym or at home. If you are doing a home workout with no extra equipment, you can step up and down while facing forwards on the first step of a staircase, or you can do combinations of marching and jogging in place with jumps and jumping jacks. (Or you can even turn on your favorite hip hop or Rolling Stones tunes and dance to burn off the fat.)

Always wear sneakers. If you are not used to high-impact cardio such as jogging or jumping jacks, start with low-impact cardio such as marching and insert five to 10 seconds of a higher-impact move. Work up to longer intervals gradually.

Do this workout two to three times a week, with a rest day in between.

Include 30 to 60 minutes of pure cardio, such as walking, cycling, the elliptical trainer, running, or other cardio activities on the days of the week that you do not do this routine.

Modify this workout to match your fitness level. Adapt the recommended moves as needed to make them easier or more challenging. If you feel out of breath, dizzy or nauseous during the cardio, slow down, or stop if needed.

What you need: weights, a stability ball and cardio equipment if you have access to it.