This exercise involves lying on your back and holding a dumbbell in each hand, then extending your arms out to the sides to form a cross shape. You then bring the dumbbells back together over your chest, keeping your arms straight throughout the movement. This exercise primarily targets the chest muscles.
Type
Strength
Equipment
Dumbbell
Difficulty
Intermediate
Key Benefits
- Targets the chest muscles, specifically the pectoralis major and minor
- Helps to improve upper body strength and endurance
- Engages the stabilizer muscles in the shoulders and arms
- Can be modified to target different areas of the chest by adjusting the angle of the arms
- Can be performed with a variety of weights to increase or decrease the intensity of the exercise
- Can be done at home or in the gym with minimal equipment
How to perform
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold a dumbbell in each hand.
- Extend your arms out to the sides, parallel to the ground, with your palms facing down.
- Slowly bring the dumbbells together in front of your chest, crossing them over each other.
- Pause for a moment, then slowly lower the dumbbells back to the starting position.
- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
FRONT VIEW
BACK VIEW
Chest
Primary
Anterior Deltoid
Primary
Triceps
Primary