The other day I was working out chest with one of my friends and we were talking about which muscle groups are easier to train (or build) versus others.  Everyone’s got their “hero” muscle group that they can seem to develop with no problem, and then they their antagonist muscle group that’s just a pain in the a$$ to get progress out of.

For me Chest is my problem muscle group.  It’s super hard for me to see gains and build a bigger chest.  My friend is built like a bull dog and has that naturally thick barrel chest.  Our discussion and workout turned into a marathon of different chest exercises and he showed me a few I had never heard of before.  The Svend Chest Press is one of them.

Svend Chest Press

I had never heard of the “svend chest press” when he mentioned it to me, however when he showed it to me I immediately recognized it as an isolation exercise. Supposedly Svend Karlsen who was 2001’s “World’s Strongest Man” coined the phrase and name for this chest exercise.

1.  Grab two plates and squeeze them together against your chest.  Hold your hands up in a praying position with your elbows naturally out to your side.

2. Rotate your hands so that you’re pointing away from you, and proceed to “press” the weight in front of you.

3. Pause for a minute and then return back to the starting position.  This is one rep.

Svend Chest Press Tips

–  More weight does not mean a better chest workout.  This is a controlled “isolation” exercise.  Your focus is on squeezing the plates together and keeping the chest engaged.  More weight will cause you to put more strain on the shoulders as you hold the weight out in front of you.

–  Keep your abs tight.  You’ll find as you push the weight out in front of you, you’re throwing off your center of gravity.  Keep a shoulder wide stance with your feet and your abs tight.  This will help to keep your posture in alignment.

photo courtesy of getemchecked.blogspot.com

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