Following each exercise, subjects were given five minutes of rest for full recovery while researchers recorded the subjects’ ratings of perceived exertion (RPE).Īfter crunching the numbers and data, researchers found that out of the nine exercises tested, the pectoralis major was activated the most during the barbell bench press. For the exercises that did not use body weight, subjects used 80 percent of their predetermined 1RM for the exercise. EMG testing and analysis included motor-unit recruitment, firing rate and synchronization to determine which chest exercise resulted in the highest level of muscle activation.Īfter a short warm-up, subjects performed five repetitions (with 30 seconds of rest between reps) of each of the nine chest exercises, in random order. Electromyography (EMG) electrodes were carefully placed on the pectoralis major muscles of each subject. 1 RM evaluations were not performed for the four exercises that rely solely on bodyweight for resistance: dips, suspended push-ups, stability-ball push-ups and standard push-ups.Īfter a minimum of three days of rest, subjects returned to the lab for a second day of testing. Then, to set a baseline of fitness for each subject, on the first day of testing a one-repetition max (1 RM) was determined for five moves: barbell bench press, bent-forward cable crossovers, seated chest press, incline dumbbell flys and pec deck. Researchers began by choosing nine of the most commonly used exercises for strengthening the chest muscles.
To ensure proper lifting and exercise technique, all participants had previous experience in resistance training. Porcari, Ph.D., a team of researchers from the University’s Department of Exercise and Sport Science recruited 14 healthy male volunteers ages 19 to 30. Led by Whitnee Schanke, M.S., and John P.
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