Jeff Cavalier of Ahtlean-X demonstrates an innovative lower pec workout for a defined chest.

Lower Pec Workout Video by Jeff Cavaliere

Do you want a defined lower pec area? Let’s check out a movement or exercise that really specializes in this. Have you done cable cross overs? It’s a great lower chest workout. That’s not what we’re going to do, but we’ll take a little something form it. What this exercise really center on is developing that tie-in between your lower pecs and your inner pecs – something that’s really difficult to accomplish.

The cable crossover is easy and familiar – lean forward a bit, then bring your arms to a cross in front of you. Don’t get me wrong, an exercise, any kind, is definitely a good thing – however there are some things about the typical cable crossover that we don’t like. The first thing is momentum – just a slight push from your legs backward can already deprive your chest of the true isolation that the exercise requires. Exactly how much work is being done by either momentum or the pecs? It’s been the topic of debate, but definitely there is some deprivation on the side of pectoral involvement. Another thing is that a lot of people doing this exercise push forward near the top of the movement, right before crossing their arms over. This kind of movement heavily involves multiple joints and other muscles like the lats, serratus and triceps. Since you are using other muscles, it no longer becomes an isolation exercise – why not do bench presses instead?

Therefore, what we advise you to do is to adjust the pulleys down low, near knee or thigh height. Almost all cable machines should have this adjustment feature. Assume a natural standing position and grasp the handles by your side. Make an OK sign with your hand while you hold the handles and point your thumb towards your thighs. Now move your hands closer together, squeezing your pecs to bring your thumbs together. Don’t bend your arms at the elbow or wrist, just have them be tight. Cross your hands, one over the other, and then reverse the motion, back to your starting position. For your next rep, if you crossed your right hand over your left hand earlier, then now cross your left hand over your right hand, and vice versa. If you do this right, you’ll feel how this really works out the tie-in of your lower pecs and your inner pecs. Since your main goal is isolation and definition, you don’t need to make this too heavy. Just around half of what you normally do for your usual crossovers should suffice. Make sure to squeeze your pecs for the movement, then release to get back.

Perform around 10-12 of these and move up in weight when you are ready. This really targets only the pecs – no other muscle is contracting and/or stretching for this movement. This is a great step to replacing exercises in your program that you’re used to, but don’t really get you the kind of results that you want anymore.

The best and quickest path to getting the body that you want is really to find exercises that work for you. It’s possible that you replace or stop the exercises that don’t work for you anymore, even if you love them or if you’re used to them. The Athleanx training system, found at Athleanx.com is a good place to start with this. Don’t worry if some exercises are uncomfortable or look weird, or whatever – if it works for building the body that you want, then go with it! Hopefully you got a few ideas from my lower pec workout video.