10 Best Chest Exercises for Men

1. Cable Cross-Over

This is a popular chest workout for men at the gym that can be performed low-to-high or high-to-low. Both versions require a cable pulley machine. To execute low-to-high, set the machine to the lowest setting, attach a D-handle on both sides, and grab each handle with your palms facing up. Your feet should be shoulder-width apart, your back straight, your chest up, and your arms down and slightly bent at both sides. Next, bring both handles up and forward to eye level before returning them slowly to the starting position. Stick with lighter weights and lower reps.

If you’re going high-to-low, set the cable pulley machine to the highest setting, and grab each handle using an overhand grip. Keeping your feet shoulder-width apart, extend each arm out to the side in a T-like formation, with your elbows slightly bent. Now, bring both handles down toward your gut until they meet in front of your hips. Give your pecs a little squeeze and tighten your core before slowly bringing the handles back up to shoulder level. Repeat.

Muscles worked: sternal heads of pectoralis muscles
Equipment needed: cable crossover machine
Level of difficulty: intermediate

2. Push-Ups

Believe it or not, push-ups are one of the best chest workouts for men, which is great news because you can do them just about anywhere. We won’t insult your intelligence by explaining how to do a push-up. What we will say is that your hands should be shoulder-width apart and your legs should be hip-width apart. Also, when you’re performing the actual push-up, your elbows should form a complete 90-degree angle. Last but not least, if anything but your palms and the tips of your toes is touching the floor, you’re doing it wrong.

Muscles worked: pectorals, deltoids, triceps, abdominals, serratus anterior
Equipment needed: no equipment
Level of difficulty: beginner to advanced

3. Suspended Push-Up

So you’ve mastered the push-up, but can you handle the suspended push-up? If you’re ready to try, you’ll need TRX straps, which put your hands and body in an unstable suspension. Keeping your feet shoulder-width apart, grab the handles, extend your arms in front of your chest, and put your body at an angle of 45-90 degrees to the floor. Tighten your core as lower yourself toward the floor, stopping when your hands are just outside your shoulders. Bring yourself back and do it again. Your elbows and head should remain in a neutral position throughout.

Muscles worked: chest, delts, pecs, shoulders, triceps
Equipment needed: pull-up bar, TRX
Level of difficulty: intermediate

4. Incline Dumbbell Bench Press

Any gym regular can tell you that chest exercises and dumbells go together like peanut butter and jelly, but did you know that performing bench presses at an incline reportedly maximises upper pec activation during contraction? To make it happen, set the incline bench at a 30 to 45-degree angle, grab two dumbbells using an overhand grip, and sit all the way back. Keeping your feet flat on the ground, lift the dumbbells above your face, and extend your arms. Next, lower the dumbbells toward the middle of your chest on either side and then lift them up while drawing them slightly closer to one another. Repeat.

Muscles worked: chest, shoulders, triceps
Equipment needed: dumbells, inclined bench
Level of difficulty: intermediate

5. Barbell Bench Press

Studies might say that incline presses are more optimal, but don’t let that stop you from tackling the good old barbell bench press. Widely considered the best chest workout for mass.  A true mainstay in gyms across the world, this exercise remains synonymous with strong and healthy pectoral muscles, presuming you don’t overdo it (or underdo it, for that matter). Just remember to have a spotter on hand at all times when performing this chest exercise. Also, try not to arch your back or move your chest during each rep.

Start by lying back on the bench with your feet flat on the ground and your eyes even with the bar. Use an overhand grip to grab the bar, keeping your arms a little more than shoulder-width apart. Next, fully extend your arms and take the bar off the rack so that it’s hovering directly over your chest. Keep your elbows in as you lower the bar, stopping when it touches the tippy-top of your chest (i.e. your nipples), and holding for one second. Now, thrust the bar up with considerable power until your arms are back in the starting position. Repeat.

Muscles worked: chest, triceps, delts
Equipment needed: barbell, bench
Level of difficulty: advanced

6. Close-Grip Bench Press

While standard bench presses are as common as they are effective, some experts suggest that a close-grip bench press is better for your shoulders. The actions are more or less the same with one main exception: your hands and arms are closer toward the middle of the bar, though still just outside of shoulder-width. From there, you raise, lower, hold, raise, lower… you get the drift.

Muscles worked: chest, triceps, delts
Equipment needed: barbell, bench
Level of difficulty: advanced

7. Dip

You know you’re making progress when you can implement a mighty dip routine into your chest workout regimen. When ready, head over to the dip machine or parallel bars, standing dead center between both bars. Put one hand on each bar and lift yourself off the floor, leaning forward until your chest is at a slight downward angle. Next, bend your arms and lower yourself while maintaining the lean, before lifting yourself back to the starting position. Not only are you working your pectoralis major, but you’re also strengthening your triceps and shoulder muscles.

Muscles worked: chest, shoulders, arms and back
Equipment needed: dip bar
Level of difficulty: intermediate

8. Seated Pec Deck Machine

Here’s another ubiquitous chest exercise that never fails to generate results. Sit at the pec deck machine with your elbows at 90 degrees, your forearms on the vertical pads, and your hands on the handles in an overhand grip. Maintaining the 90-degree angle of your elbows, pull the handles backward until you feel the stretch in your chest. Return to the starting position and repeat. Don’t rely on momentum from your hands when performing this exercise, as the energy should be coming from your chest and forearms.

Muscles worked: pectoralis major, pectoralis minor, serratus anterior
Equipment needed: pec deck machine

9. Plate Press-Out

Start this exercise by picking up a plate that weighs between 10 and 45 pounds. Keeping your feet hip-width apart, grip the plate using both hands and put your arms in front of your chest. With your back and arms straight (and your core tight), squeeze your shoulders to draw the plate closer to your chest. When it’s as close as it will go, extend it back out again. Repeat. After 10-15 reps of horizontal plate press-outs, you can mix things up by performing the same exercise in an overhead (i.e. vertical) fashion.

Muscles worked: pectorals, triceps, anterior deltoid
Equipment needed: plates

10. Resistance Band Pull-Apart

Ahh, the trusty old resistance band pull-apart, which makes for a great warm-up or cool-down routine. Keeping your feet even with your shoulders and your arms fully extended, hold a resistance band using an overhand grip. Next, spread your arms wide as you stretch the band while bringing your shoulder blades together. Spread the band until it’s touching your chest, and then slowly return to the starting position. Repeat.

Muscles worked: upper back, shoulders
Equipment needed: exercise band
Level of difficulty: beginner

Tips for Training Your Chest

Here are some other pointers: perform chest workouts 2-3 times a week, find the chest exercises that function best for you, and confine yourself to no more than three of those exercises per workout. Also, stick to a range of 60-140 reps per week, as anything above that officially qualifies as overkill.

Additionally, avoid redundancy when you go to the gym, i.e. don’t perform the same general exercise on or with a variety of different equipment. On the flip side of that coin, don’t bench press yourself to burliness without mixing things up a little. It’s all about finding and using the right tools for the job, especially when the “job” in this case is your body.

When it comes to effective chest workouts for men, there’s a tendency to push your body to its limits. And while you’re not barking up the wrong tree, a number of experts will iterate that you should stop just short of extremes when performing chest workouts with dumbbells or barbells, in particular. It’s an important distinction to address, as it can ultimately make the difference between healthy chest muscles and severe injury. In other words, take a smart and balanced approach when enacting chest workouts, even if you’re building mass.

What are Your ChestMuscles?

Ever wonder why all those dudes at the gym refer to their chest muscles as their “pecs?” Well, some of them are doing it because they picked up the term from their bros, but others are actually aware that the chest is comprised of pectoral muscles.

First and foremost, there’s the pectoralis major, a thick and broad muscle located under the breast that fans out across the chest. It contains at least six separate sets of muscle fibres and receives dual motor innervation from both the medial and lateral pectoral nerves. By pulling on the humerus, the pectoralis major enables lateral, vertical, or rotational motion.

Situated underneath the pectoralis major is a thin and triangular muscle by the name of pectoralis minor (naturally). The smaller of the two, it extends from three origins on the ribcage and assists with movement of the scapula. Together, the pectoralis major and pectoralis minor form your pectoral muscles (aka your “pecs”) and play a significant role in both arm motion and deep inhalation.

Tips to maintain knee health

1. Maintain a Healthy Body Weight

Excess body weight creates significant pressure on the knees. An additional kilogram of body weight increases the pressure on the knees by 2-3 times while walking and climbing stairs, and therefore, this can accelerate the wear of the cartilage. Maintaining a healthy weight through proper nutrition and regular exercise reduces the amount of stress on the knees, thus helping to maintain the function of the joint.

2. Strengthen the Muscles Around the Knee

Muscles are very important for providing stability and support to maintain all motion around the knee joint. Performing a variety of regular strengthening exercises, including squats, leg raises, cycling, and low-impact resistance exercises, will build up the endurance of these muscle groups, as well as improve the stability of your joints. In addition, pre-conditioning the knee’s muscular structures helps prevent injuries while performing day-to-day activities and sports.

3. Wear Proper Footwear

Knee health is often overlooked in discussions about footwear. A good pair of footwear is important and has an overall effect on the alignment of the knee joint. Cushioned shoes are essential as they reduce excess load on your knees. Poor-fitting, plastic, or worn-out shoes may increase the risk of soreness, pain, or redness. Proper footwear is a must.

4. Maintain Good Posture

Sitting, standing, or lifting heavy items with incorrect posture can increase the amount of stress on your knees. Poor posture can occur due to slouching, improper bending techniques, or sitting for extended periods in an awkward position, affecting your overall spinal alignment as well as the alignment of your hips and knees. Practising proper posture, maintaining a straight back, and avoiding prolonged pressure on your joints can prevent excessive stress and discomfort.

5. Include Joint-Friendly Nutrition

Healthy joints depend on the nutrition and foods one consumes. Adequate levels of calcium and vitamin D are said to keep bones and joints strong and healthy. Foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids, such as fish, avocado, eggs, dairy products, and vegetables, help strengthen muscles. By including these types of food in your diet, you will not only help support the overall function of your joints but also reduce inflammation in your body.

6. Do Not Ignore Minor Injuries

Minor knee pain, swelling, or stiffness are often dismissed as temporary annoyances. In reality, many people ignore mild injuries to their knees. A small problem could eventually become a large chronic issue in the long run. Having an early evaluation for an injury with the right medication and treatment can prevent long-term problems with your knees.

Knee pain is a common complaint that affects individuals of all ages. By taking the right precautions, one can reduce their chances of developing knee-related problems in the future by keeping their weight in check, building muscle mass through strength training exercises, wearing good footwear that supports the knees and ankles, and consuming whole foods. These small lifestyle changes can make a huge difference in the quality of life in the long run.

Memory changes can be a normal part of aging. But your everyday habits can help you stay sharp over time.

“When it comes to memory and brain health in general, it’s most helpful to be proactive,” says neuropsychiatrist Drew Cumming, MD.

Dr. Cumming shares practical tips for improving memory and beyond.

13 ways to improve memory

To sharpen your mind and memory, focus on healthy habits related to sleep, movement, nutrition and stress management. Dr. Cumming dives into the specifics.

1. Move your body

Exercise has been shown to improve sleep and reduce stress levels, both of which are closely tied to memory. Regular physical activity also gets blood flowing to your brain, which helps reduce inflammation over time.

“Exercise is key,” Dr. Cumming says. “Sleep and exercise help decrease inflammation in the body. And over the long run, inflammation contributes to difficulty remembering things and other aspects of cognition and memory.”
That doesn’t mean you have to pump iron every day. Consistency is key — so any type of movement you’ll keep coming back to, including walking and yoga, can help.

2. Engage your mind

Your brain needs regular challenges to stay strong.
“It’s important to stay mentally engaged, especially as you age,” Dr. Cumming says. “Keeping your brain active is like working out a muscle. If you stop using it, it will weaken over time.”
Mental activity looks different for everyone: Reading, problem-solving, creative projects and meaningful hobbies all count. But the bottom line is: Find things you love to do, and enjoy doing them. Your brain will benefit.

3. Get enough sleep

Sleep is essential for forming and retrieving memories. So, when you don’t get enough sleep (or enough good sleep), your brain can’t work at its peak.
“Chronic sleep deprivation definitely takes a toll on memory,” Dr. Cumming says. “It becomes harder to encode new information and access memories you already have.”
Sleep also helps your brain clear away waste products after working during the day. This includes limiting the buildup of substances like beta amyloid, which is involved in Alzheimer’s disease.

4. Follow a balanced diet

When you’re eating for brain health, aim for a balance of fruits, vegetables, healthy grains and healthy fats. As much as possible, avoid heavily processed foods and very sugary foods.
Why? Because processed and sugary foods contribute to inflammation and oxidative stress (a process that damages cells), which can harm brain function over time. On the other hand, whole foods are full of antioxidants that keep you healthy and help fend off negative effects.
“Following a healthy diet doesn’t just give you the energy to exercise and fuel your brain,” Dr. Cumming clarifies. “It also ensures that you’re getting appropriate vitamins and micronutrients to support normal brain function.”

5. Make social plans

Conversation, shared activities and emotional connection all stimulate the mind and help reduce stress.
“Studies suggest that people with strong social ties experience slower memory decline over time,” Dr. Cumming shares. “Long-term relationships and having a sense of purpose in life have also been linked to better cognitive health as we age.”
But social isolation can speed up cognitive decline by as much as 50%. So, get together with people you love … and call it a workout for your mind!

6. Try something new

Your brain loves novelty, Dr. Cumming explains. Learning new skills pushes you to form new mental connections, which supports cognitive flexibility and recall.
So, consider taking up a language, an instrument or some other new-to-you hobby to help keep your mental pathways active.

7. Play games

Just as exercise keeps your body healthy, mentally challenging activities help keep your brain healthy.
“There’s good evidence that engaging games can help keep the brain active,” Dr. Cumming says. “These activities work your mind in different ways than you usually do throughout your day. They’re just one more way to work out your brain.”
Playing games stimulates your brain to make new neurons and form new connections. And there’s no single game that does it — everything from card games and chess to crosswords and Sudoku can bring benefits. So, pick one you like, and get gaming!

8. Manage stress

Chronic stress can harm your whole body, including your brain. It causes continued inflammation — and in the long term, even low levels of inflammation can negatively affect memory.
“Inflammation makes it harder and less efficient to encode new memories and to access existing ones,” Dr. Cumming explains. “It also slows your processing speed. So, even if you can access information, it may not come to you as quickly or easily as it once did.”
Stress management looks different for everyone. Whether you unwind by reading, meditating or delving into hobbies (or all of the above!), the key is to find ways to keep stress from getting the best of you — or your brain.

9. Reassess your substance use

You may not think twice about pouring yourself a nightcap. But the reality is that even one drink can impact your cognitive function.
“Habits that harm your overall health can also affect your memory,” Dr. Cumming warns. “Moderate, occasional drinking may be fine for some people, but guidelines increasingly suggest that no amount is truly healthy. And regular, heavy use takes a toll on the brain.”
Smoking and drug use can have serious (and seriously negative) effects, too. Talk to a healthcare provider if you need help quitting or scaling back.

10. Spend time with a pet

Meaningful connection isn’t limited to humans. Caring for a pet can encourage routine, movement and emotional engagement — all of which can help keep your brain healthy and active.
“Pets can help reduce stress and keep you socially and physically active, which indirectly supports cognitive function,” Dr. Cumming says. In fact, one study found that owning a pet could reduce your “brain age” by up to 15 years!

11. Hydrate

Hydration helps keep your body and mind working at their best. Research shows that even mild chronic dehydration can raise the risk of dementia in people over age 65.
“Your brain relies on blood flow to remove waste and deliver oxygen and nutrients,” Dr. Cumming explains. “But dehydration slows these processes and makes it harder for it to function efficiently.”
To help support healthy circulation and overall brain function, make a habit of drinking enough fluids throughout the day — every day.

12. Use memorization techniques and hacks

As you get older, it can become harder to remember the little things. But a few strategies can help:

• Mnemonics: There’s a reason you still remember “Roy G. Biv” for the colors of the rainbow (red, green, blue). “If something is funny, catchy or emotionally meaningful, your brain flags it as important, and you’re more likely to retain it,” Dr. Cumming says.
• Repetition: Your mind doesn’t have unlimited storage space; it prioritizes what it uses most. The more often you access certain information or repeat certain activities, the easier it becomes to access those pathways.
• Chunking: This memory strategy is when you group related bits of information together into smaller units to make them easier to store and recall later.
• Brain breaks: “If you have to remember a lot of information in the short term, it helps to take breaks, rather than cramming for long stretches without rest,” Dr. Cumming says. “Your brain needs energy, and periodic breaks help restore that energy and clear metabolic waste.”
• Organizational tools: Get in the habit of writing things down. Notebooks, calendars, planners and to-do lists can all help you keep your memory sharp.

13. Manage other health conditions

Anything that affects your overall health can also affect your memory. Work with a healthcare provider to tend to conditions that increase your risk for cognitive decline, like:

• Depression
• Diabetes
• Head trauma
• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol
• Obesity
• Sleep disorders

“What’s good for your general health is also good for your brain health,” Dr. Cumming points out. “When you manage other conditions, you help your brain, too.”

Final thoughts

Some memory changes are normal as you get older. But practicing consistent healthy habits can help you stay sharp over time.

“The best way to support all areas of cognition is to maintain healthy habits — sleep well, eat well, exercise and manage stress,” Dr. Cumming reiterates.
But if your memory problems start to interfere with daily life — like if you’re forgetting to pay bills or getting lost in familiar places — then it’s time to talk with a healthcare provider.

For many, just getting out of bed and making it to the gym can feel like a challenge. But on the other end of the spectrum are those who find it just as hard to stop. Even when their body is asking for rest, through injury, illness, or sheer exhaustion, they feel compelled to keep going. Taking a break doesn’t feel like an option; it feels like failure.

While a lack of physical activity can certainly harm your health, constantly pushing your body without adequate recovery can be just as damaging. This kind of behaviour, often described as workout addiction, goes beyond discipline or dedication. It reflects an unhealthy relationship with exercise, where rest is neglected and the body’s limits are ignored, sometimes at the cost of both physical and mental well-being.

Now, you might be thinking, in a culture that glorifies hustle, discipline, and no days off, working out every day is basically seen as the gold standard of health. So…

Can exercise actually turn into an addiction?

Deepti Sharma, fitness expert and director at Multifit, a fitness community, tells India Today that this behaviour is more common than people think.

“There’s this growing idea that if you’re not working out every single day, you’re somehow not disciplined enough. And somewhere along the way, consistency started getting confused with obsession. Yes, exercise can become addictive. The moment it stops feeling like a choice and starts feeling like a compulsion, that’s when the shift happens.”

Further, Dr Vipul Lunawat, fitness expert and founder-director at the Institute of Sports Science and Technology, explains that workout addiction, sometimes referred to as exercise dependence, often begins with positive intentions.

You may start exercising to improve your health, manage stress, or enhance your physical appearance. Over time, however, this behaviour can shift from being a healthy habit to a psychological necessity. The problem arises when exercise is no longer driven by enjoyment or overall well-being, but by anxiety, guilt, or a constant sense of obligation.

So, instead of improving health, it starts to harm the body and mind, leading to fatigue, sleep problems, mood changes, and even anxiety if a workout is missed, as the person may tie their self-worth only to fitness goals, adds Dr Sharadhi C, consultant – psychiatry, Aster CMI Hospital, Bengaluru.

Even though you may know when working out is turning into an obsession, the early warning signs are often easy to miss, especially because society tends to praise extreme discipline. Someone waking up at 5 am every day to work out is often admired rather than questioned.

But when you start feeling distressed, irritable, or restless on days you cannot exercise, it may point to something deeper. “Like many forms of addiction, the change is gradual, an extra session here, a skipped rest day there, until eventually, even rest begins to feel like failure,” Dr Lunawat adds.

And then there’s guilt around rest days

Sharma points out that many people don’t even realise when things start to go off balance. They begin to feel guilty about resting, calling themselves lazy or worrying that they’re losing progress. Some even try to “make up” for it by overtraining the next day. It becomes concerning when rest starts to feel like failure instead of something the body genuinely needs.

Vipin Agarwal (name changed), 36, shares how a regular fitness routine slowly turned into an addiction for him. “I started working out to lose weight, and I did end up losing about 25 kg with consistent exercise and diet control. But before I knew it, it started becoming an addiction. I stopped taking rest days, avoided eating anything that didn’t fit my plan, and even when I did, I would try to compensate with an extra workout.”

Despite being as serious as any other form of addiction, workout addiction is often glorified. As Sharma explains, we’ve normalised phrases like “no days off” and “push through no matter what.”

On social media, the more extreme a routine looks, the more it tends to be celebrated. What you rarely see, however, is the burnout, the injuries, or the mental strain behind it. Over time, that skews perception, making people believe that this intensity is not just admirable, but expected.

The toll on the body and mind

Exercise addiction often starts with good intentions, but over time, it can end up doing more harm than good.

Instead of making you stronger, too much exercise can break your body down, leading to frequent injuries, constant fatigue, poor recovery, and bad sleep. You might even notice your performance dropping despite putting in more effort.

Pushing your body without enough rest can also weaken immunity, increase the risk of injuries, and mess with your hormones. For women, this may mean irregular periods and lower bone density, while men may experience issues like reduced testosterone.

Meanwhile, according to Dr Sharadhi, workout addiction can take a serious toll on mental health. It can increase anxiety, stress, and mood swings, as you may feel constant pressure to exercise and fear losing progress, leading to guilt or irritability if you miss a session.

Over time, it can take the joy out of working out, cause burnout, disrupt sleep, and create a negative body image where self-worth depends only on fitness results. It may also lead to social isolation, making exercise feel more like a compulsion than a healthy habit that supports overall well-being.

If you find yourself relating to these feelings around working out, it might be time to seek help.

Workout addiction, says Dr Sharadhi, becomes unhealthy when a person feels unable to stop despite pain or exhaustion. Seeking help involves recognising the problem, setting balanced routines with rest days, talking to a doctor or therapist, getting support from friends or family, and focusing on overall well-being rather than only performance or appearance.

For all the gym freaks out there

Dr Lunawat says you can absolutely work out every day in a healthy way. In the end, it really comes down to balance, flexibility, and your mindset. If you can switch things up, take a rest day without guilt, and not let fitness take over your life, you’re on the right track.

And working out daily doesn’t mean going all out every time. Some days can be as simple as stretching, yoga, or a walk. The goal is to stay active, not feel forced.

Dr Sharadhi adds that it’s not about how many days you work out, but how you approach it. Listening to your body, mixing up intensity, and being okay with skipping a session are all signs of a healthy routine. When it starts feeling like a compulsion or your self-worth depends on it, that’s when it becomes a problem.

At the end of the day, exercise should fit into your life, not take over it.

Hitting a weight loss plateau can feel frustrating, especially when you are sticking to a healthy diet and staying consistent with exercise. Many people assume that eating less and moving more should always lead to steady results, but the human body does not work that simply. Several hidden factors can slow or even stall progress. Understanding why this happens is the first step toward making progress and finding a more effective approach to weight management.

Dr Thomas Paloschi lists down the reasons you are not losing weight. In a post shared on Instagram, he writes, “Weight regulation is influenced by far more than diet and exercise alone. If progress has stalled, it is worth looking at the bigger picture: sleep quality, insulin resistance, food quality, ultra-processed food intake, daily movement outside the gym, medications, hormone shifts such as PCOS or menopause and overall metabolic health.”

Reasons You Are Stuck In A Weight Loss Plateau

1. You may be moving less without noticing

You might unknowingly reduce your overall energy expenditure outside of workouts by being less active in daily life. This includes regular activities like walking, standing and spontaneous movement.

2. Sleep loss

Poor sleep can affect your hunger, food cravings and even your food intake. “A systematic review found that sleep restriction increases daily calorie intake by about 300 kcal/day on average,” he adds.

3. Ultra-processed food

Ultra-processed foods can stall weight loss and trigger plateaus by interfering with how your body regulates hunger, metabolism and fat storage. Dr Thomas discusses a controlled trial where people ate about 500 more kcal/day on an ultra-processed diet. In 14 days, they gained about 0.9 kg, while the unprocessed phase led to weight loss.

4. Insulin resistance

Insulin resistance changes how the body stores and uses energy. It is often linked to visceral fat, fatty liver, high triglycerides and poorer glucose control.

5. PCOS and Menopause

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome is strongly linked to insulin resistance. In Menopause, lower estrogen often shifts fat storage toward the abdomen. That is why the same strategy that worked earlier in life may stop working later.

6. Medications

Some medications can make fat loss harder, including certain antidepressants, antipsychotics, glucocorticoids, insulin, some diabetes drugs and blood pressure medications.

7. Mitochondria are relevant

Mitochondria help cells produce energy efficiently. When mitochondrial function is impaired, metabolic health may suffer. This is often linked to insulin resistance and poorer energy regulation.

Do not reduce fat loss to calories and exercise alone. When progress stalls, the issue is often deeper: sleep, hormones, insulin resistance, satiety, medications and metabolic adaptation. “Sometimes the answer is not pushing harder. It is correcting the biology that is holding you back,” the doctor concludes.

There’s something that the Japanese are certainly doing right when it comes to building mental resilience. Their philosophical worldview is reflected in concepts that help you slow down, focus on the present, and adopt a more practical approach to life’s problems.

Here are 5 Japanese concepts that can help you stop overthinking and live with more awareness.

1. Ikigai: A reason for being

Ikigai is one of the most popular Japanese concepts that helps you stay focused on what truly matters; it could be the people you love, what you’re good at and what brings meaning and joy to your life. It focuses on the present and stops the mind from straying in different directions.

2. Kaizen: Continuous improvement

Thinking about the future may worry you, but Kaizen is a Japanese concept that implies changing for the better through small actions. It’s an important reminder to not lose sleep over things that are out of your control; instead it focuses on taking small, steady steps everyday to achieve your goals.

3. Wabi-sabi: Embrace imperfection

If you’ve been overthinking about your failures and mistakes, wabi-sabi teaches you to accept yourself as you are, with all your shortcomings. It helps you relax and not make it a mission to make everything look polished. It takes off the pressure and helps you embrace impermanence and imperfection as part of life.

4. Shinrin-yoku: Forest bathing

Nature is known to heal and this Japanese philosophy makes use of it. It simply means being present in nature with intention. The rustle of leaves, the sound of the ocean waves, and the chirping of birds have a calming effect like no other. A quiet walk in the park  can reset your nervous system and help you feel relaxed.

5. Gaman: Enduring the unbearable

This Japanese term gives you the strength to keep going despite obstacles on your path. Times can get tough, but it’s important to exercise patience and focus on the present. This helps you manage stress without losing control over your mind and builds endurance.

For many gymgoers who place a heavy emphasis on weight lifting in their workout routine, a frustrating muscle to grow can be the chest. While it varies by individual, anyone who is having a tough time seeing consistent muscle growth in their chest or feels as though they’ve plateaued, there is some good news. Thanks to certified strength coach and founder of ATHLEAN-X, a leading science-based fitness brand, Jeff Cavaliere, the fix may be easier than anticipated.

Cavaliere offered detailed instructions on how to fill in “gaps” in chest workouts, along with a science-backed breakdown of the best approach to your weight-lifting routine. He explains what the “perfect” chest workout should consist of, but why the baseline concept of hitting all areas (upper, middle and lower) will still leave out a few keys to optimizing your gym session.

Best Chest Workouts: Why Fitness Expert Says Many Approaches Lead to Plateaus

Many gymgoers who focus on a specific muscle group or two during each gym session likely change up the exercises they do. Regardless, the main focus for chest workouts should be (and likely is, for some), to ensure you’re working out your upper chest, mid-chest and lower chest.

Although this will feel like common knowledge to some, the key is to ensure you’re taking advantage of the opportunities to remove the “gaps” Cavaliere mentions during the breakdown below the video.

“Now, the perfect chest workout should consist of exercises for your upper chest muscles, middle chest muscles, and lower chest muscles,” Cavaliere writes. “But, even that doesn’t guarantee chest gains … you need to fill in the gaps of what is lacking on those popular chest exercise.”

So, how do you fill in those gaps? And most importantly, what else can you do to push past the plateau and see true muscle growth? Cavaliere walks through the science aspect that fuels three key areas: frequency of chest workouts and number of sets, along with the specific exercises to integrate.

Science-Backed Approach to Frequency and Sets for Chest Workouts

As Cavaliere highlights, his research into the science of chest workout frequency and set count shows that focusing on that muscle twice in a given week is recommended.

“When it comes to the perfect science-based workout, the first thing you really have to ask yourself is, ‘What’s the frequency with which I’m training?’” Cavaliere says. “One thing we do know with pretty good confidence these days is that two times a week for a muscle group is actually better than may just one time a week. [However,] the third extra workout in the week doesn’t really provide much extra benefit, but the two will.”

To go one step further, he specifically explains the science that highlights the benefits of focusing on a number of sets to do each week.

“If we want to grow our chest, there’s got to be some target point for the number of sets we have to perform,” he explains. “Well, the good news is science actually gives us the answer there too…somewhere between 12 and 24 sets is the target set volume that you want to have for your chest if you want to grow it.”

The primary reason noted is that there’s overlap between some chest exercises. Cavaliere ultimately points to targeting 10, 11 or 12 sets per workout, leaving you in the 20-24 range.

Full Daily Breakdown of Chest Exercises to Fill the ‘Gaps’ and Build Muscle

The video does an excellent job of showing how both days of chest workouts will look, with a focus on hitting all key areas of your chest. Throughout the clip (just above), Cavaliere walks through every workout to show how it should look, and we’ll list out each day’s workouts just below.

Day 1 chest exercises:

• Primer: Banded external rotator (10-15)
• Incline dumbbell bench press (3 sets of 5-8 form failure)
• Crossovers (3 sets of 10-12 reps)
• Dumbbell floor flys (2-3 sets of 8-10 reps)
• Deficit 1.5 rep push ladder (1 set to failure)
• Bodyweight dips (1 set to failure)

Day 2 chest exercises:

• Primer: Band pull-aparts (1-2 sets of 10-15 reps sub max)
• Dumbell bench press (3 sets of 5-8 form failure)
• High-to-low crossovers (3 sets of 10-12)
• Incline cable press (2-3 sets of 8-10 form failure)
• 1.5 rep dip ladder (1 set to failure)
• Prison yard pushups (1 set to failure)

It’s an impressive and well-rounded two-day workout plan that effectively pushes your chest to the max and is poised to set you up for success.

Social media is a great place to get both information and misinformation. You come across many certified nutritionists and also self-proclaimed diet experts. The first kind offers information backed by science, while the others simply post pictures of food items with a big cross on them.

Over the years, you must have seen the internet turning rice – a staple grain in northern, eastern, western, and southern households – into the villain on your plate. Many claim it is loaded with carbs and causes blood sugar spikes in the body. But what if we told you that rice is not the devil, but rather that it is the way you eat it that prevents you from extracting its maximum benefits?

Kavita Devgan is a nutritionist who has interned at Safdarjung Hospital in New Delhi. She recently shared two videos explaining how to eat rice properly so that it can boost gut health.

“Rice is not the problem. You just need to learn how to eat it smartly,” she said.

Add Fat While Cooking Rice

The first step to making rice healthier is to add a little fat while cooking it. Nutritionist Kavita shared that pouring a teaspoon of ghee while cooking the grain is key. It improves satiety, keeps blood sugar levels in check, and helps you stay full for a longer period.

Cook And Cool Your Rice

If you have diabetes or are struggling to manage blood sugar spikes after meals, you should avoid eating hot rice. The best approach is to cook and cool it. The nutritionist recommended storing cooked rice in the freezer overnight and consuming it the next day. Why? According to the expert, this method is better for your gut, helps control sugar levels, and ensures lower glucose spikes after meals.

Change Your Order

Nutritionist Kavita Devgan said that changing the order in which you consume food can make a huge difference. Instead of starting with rice, begin with fibre-rich foods on your plate, such as salad or vegetables. Next, consume protein, including dal, curd, meat, chicken, sambar, or eggs. Only then should you eat the rice along with the remaining protein. This automatically helps control the portion size of rice.

Timing And Portions Are Crucial

The expert advised against consuming two fists of rice in a single meal. She suggested eating a larger portion earlier in the day and a smaller portion at night. While many people believe rice should be avoided in the evening, the nutritionist disagrees. She shared that she has prescribed rice to many of her clients, with the condition that it is eaten correctly.

She added that people who experience trouble sleeping at night should definitely include rice for dinner, as it boosts serotonin and melatonin levels in the brain and can help improve sleep quality.

Have Fermented Rice

“One of the healthiest ways to eat rice is in its fermented form,” the nutritionist said in the video. Traditional options include idli, dosa, pazhaya sadam (rice kanji), and other regional preparations. Many celebrities have spoken about how eating kanji in the morning has helped boost their gut health.

Honestly, your grandmother was practicing gut health long before it became a trend. When eaten the right way, rice can help you build a balanced and gut-friendly plate, nutritionist Kavita Devgan concluded.

Rather than a drastic overhaul that’s bound to be abandoned when it all seems too hard, setting yourself simple goals will not only seem achievable when your 6am wake-up call sounds, but also realistic. The smallest of changes to a routine can do wonders for your frame of mind, so think of these tips as starting points for a transformation that should stay with you long after summer is over.

Fit it in

For personal trainer and yogi Shona Vertue, who counts David Beckham as a client, taking steps towards a better body means avoiding reactive workouts and focusing on tracking your results so you can see that what you have committed to is working.

“What exercise practice would you recommend for someone looking to reset their fitness goals?”

“Yoga is a practice than encourages mindfulness. It asks that you pay more attention to physical sensations and thoughts that may be holding you back from achieving health. And it’s really about increasing awareness – when we have a better awareness of our body, we take better care of it – rather than having to take reactive, rehabilitative measures, by paying attention to early signs of sickness and injury before it occurs. I would recommend more than just yoga, and always suggest combining it with resistance and cardiovascular training, to ‘reset’ and achieve both a strong, flexible and agile body.”

“Once you’ve decided on your fitness goals, how do you suggest sticking to them?”

“Keeping track of results, not just how your body looks, but also how it’s changing in strength, fitness and flexibility, is a great way to stay motivated, as it shows you evidence that there is a point to all your hard work.”

“What easy lifestyle changes do you recommend to clients looking to change their routines for the better?”

“Drink more water, eat more vegetables (of different colours), move vigorously every day (particularly if your job is quite sedentary), make sure you consume enough protein to match your increased activity and reduce your alcohol intake.”

Mind over matter

New goals, new you? No idea where to start? The first step in your rehabilitation is to create realistic goals and stick to them.
First and foremost, it’s important to identify what you want to achieve, says life coach Cynthia Talone on successful goal setting.

“This can be hard for many of us, as we can be really great at knowing what we don’t want. Evaluating and reflecting where we would like to be in five years, three years, one year, 6 months and 3 months from now is a great way to start the planning process.”

Talone adds it’s best to think of your goals as stepping stones at first, and stresses the importance of remaining flexible. Adapting to change and your surroundings is the key to reaching your goals in the short and long terms.

“If we are not more specific, realistic and flexible when we create our goals, it can prevent us from achieving them,” Talone says. “Aiming high is great, however, we sometimes get tripped up in the day-to-day grind and forget to focus our attention on the small steps that are needed to help us achieve our goals.”

Otherwise, the biggest hurdle Talone encounters with her clients in the goal-setting journey stems from feeling unworthy and not being agile in the long-term. She says this is an easy trap to fall into, but it’s important to regularly take stock of how far you’ve come, even if you haven’t reached the final destination.

Reassess your make-up wardrobe

Mastering your beauty routine in the transeasonal months, in preparation for that rising mercury, should be as simple one, two, three, says Lara Srokowski, national make-up director for Lancôme. She suggests paring things back and recalibrating your approach.

Step one: streamline 

“For an effortless beauty routine this spring, think less is more when it comes to the amount of products used. Keep your skincare to a minimum and use concentrated lightweight products like serums instead of moisturisers. This way you still get the results and benefits, but with layering fewer products,” says Srokowski, who believes stripping back your routine will pay off in the long run.

Step two: focus 

Once you’ve whittled your regimen down to the basics, figure out what gaps there are in your beauty arsenal and investigate your options. Missing a reliable SPF? Need a travel- friendly lipstick? Now’s the time to create your wish list and do some research.

Step three: trial and error 

Before splurging, take the time to play around with the up-coming trends of the season and master the techniques necessary to conquer these looks – there’s no point in investing if you feel uncomfortable. Expect to see “bold bright lips, fresh effortless skin with a pop of colour on the cheeks”, says Srokowski of summer’s biggest trends – so now is the time to finally get around to mastering lip liner.

Hair dos

Whether your aim is to keep colour-treated hair looking fresh or prep locks for those UV rays, these tips will have you covered. INVEST IN …

“Taking care of the condition and colour of your hair is very important,” says Kerry Warn, a hair expert for John Frieda. He recommends that “even if you don’t have coloured or chemically treated hair, adding a treatment or serum to your weekly routine will help hydrate, repair and restore balance, softness and shine.” AVOID…

“The most common mistakes are really over- use of styling tools, which is extreme heat,” says Warn. “It’s important to use a heat protectant: choose a serum based on thickness and texture of your hair.”

Perfect your base

For skin, it is all a matter of knowing your ingredients. Glycerine, ceramides and fatty acids such as linoleic acid and alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs) should form the basis of your skincare routine, says Dr Michelle Hunt, of Inner Sydney Dermatology and a fellow of the Australasian College of Dermatologists. “Moisturisers containing AHAs will not only hydrate the skin but help exfoliate dead skin cells, which is great preparation for fake tans,” says Hunt, who also advises that you avoid long hot showers and overheating to help repair dry winter skin.

The Clinic co-director Kaye Scott notes: “A skincare regimen needs to be seasonally specific to be effective.” She says the biggest mistake she sees clients make during winter is not continuing to use sunscreen as diligently as they would in summer. “Coming out of winter, the skin is often dehydrated and sun-damaged, as we tend to be lazy with sun protection, cleansing and hydration. Ensuring the dead and dehydrated epidermal layer has been removed and your skin hydrated will make it much more receptive to products providing protection going into the summer,” says Scott.

If you’re dealing with pigmentation problems after winter or have been negligent with sun care, Scott suggests trying Fraxel, a non- invasive laser therapy that targets the deep layers of the skin and is effective in treating pigmentation, discolouration, freckles, sun spots, age spots, acne scarring and overall skin rejuvenation.

“In combination with Fraxel, tyrosinase inhibitors, skin brightening serums, retinol and hydration are the most important ingredients for the skin coming out of winter,” says Scott.

Float on

If you find it hard to switch off, consider a dip into float therapy, suggests Shaun Button, founder of Koa Recovery, who says that apart form giving you a chance to unplug from your life, “Float therapy and the use of sensory deprivation in warm magnesium-dencse water provides a range of benefits, including a decrease in stress and cortisol levels, a boost to the immune system and a lowering of blood pressure.”

To build long, lean muscles, you need to maneuver several different strategies into place. These include reducing body fat, striking the right balance of sets and reps for strength training, and introducing exercises to improve your posture.

Here’s a look at how to go about it.

Fitness for Life

Before getting too deep into the ‌lean muscle versus bulky muscle‌ dilemma, consider this: Weight lifting isn’t only for improving your appearance — it may also prolong your life.

In a study published in November 2022 in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, researchers surveyed more than 99,713 men and women ages 55 to 74, asking participants about the frequency, duration, type, and intensity of their physical activity. The study authors found the participants who routinely pumped iron were 9 to 22 percent less likely to die within the follow-up period (7.6 to 10.6 years) compared with those who didn’t exercise at all. Moreover, those who regularly combined weight lifting and cardio were 41 to 47 percent less likely to die during the follow-up period.

Having a strong body can help support quality of life by making everyday tasks easier, from hefting groceries to swinging your kids overhead. According to Mayo Clinic, strength training may also help support strong bones and alleviate some symptoms of certain chronic diseases including arthritis, depression, and type 2 diabetes. Lifting weights may even help keep your brain sharp and healthy as you age, according to the Pacific Neuroscience Institute.
All of that goes to say that even if you don’t want big muscles, including ‌some‌ strength training in your lifestyle is an important part of staying healthy. The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans provides an ideal baseline to maintain: Aim to strength-train all your major muscle groups at least twice a week.

Building Long, Lean Muscle

Now that it’s clear that strength training should be part of any fitness plan, no matter what look you’re going for, here’s what the road map to your lifting plan should include, according to Mayo Clinic:

• Training all major muscle groups at least twice a week.
• Planning your workouts so there’s at least one full rest day between strength training sessions.
• At least 1 set of 12 to 15 repetitions for each muscle group.

Additionally, you can save time and improve functional strength by doing compound exercises. While it’s true that many bodybuilding experts recommend compound exercises — including squats, dead lifts, and pull-ups, according to Ace Fitness — for building larger muscles, there’s a lot to make them appealing in a lean body workout, too.

They mimic real-world movements more closely than isolation exercises such as bicep curls and hamstring curls, and because they work more muscle groups at once, they get you in and out of the gym more quickly. Compound exercises also work your core muscles, which are particularly important for avoiding injury, according to Harvard Health Publishing.

More Tips for Lean Muscles

One of the key principles for staying lean is minimizing the number of sets you lift. According to the Better Health Channel, doing fewer sets with a higher number of repetitions and lighter weights is better for building sleek muscles, while lifting heavier weights for fewer repetitions is best for increasing muscle size. That said, it takes quite a while for muscles to grow, so don’t be afraid to experiment a little and find a method that helps you look ‌and‌ feel the way you like.

Additionally, there’s a reason that workouts such as Pilates, yoga, and barre are so popular among people hoping to achieve toned, sleek physiques. First, they place a lot of emphasis on working relatively small muscle groups, according to Cleveland Clinic, and developing those muscles can help create a lean, defined look for the rest of your body. Second, these workouts also develop muscles — and habits — that help you maintain correct posture, which may help you look longer and leaner.

Here’s another tip for getting lean muscles: Work through the entire range of motion, as opposed to the reduced range of motion that bodybuilders sometimes use to target (and build) a specific part of the muscle.

Tips for Losing Excess Body Fat

There’s one more important variable to consider in your quest for lean muscles: your body composition, meaning, how much body fat you’re carrying versus how much muscle you have. You could have the longest, leanest muscles in the world and never see them if you’re carrying too much body fat.

You may be able to lose excess weight by establishing a calorie deficit, that is, by adjusting your habits so that you burn more calories than you take in, according to Cleveland Clinic. There are two components to this.

The first is tweaking your diet, according to Better Health. Focus on eating more nutrient-rich foods like vegetables, fruits, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats, while limiting added sugars, sodium, and saturated fat. It’s also important to watch your portion size, stay hydrated, and keep an eye on calories.

The second is increasing your activity level, according to Harvard Health Publishing. Weight lifting is a good start, but you can and should add cardiovascular activity to your workouts, too. Spoiler alert: There is no single best activity for burning calories and thus fat. Instead, focus on activities you enjoy, because you’re more likely to keep them up over the long term — and when it comes to losing fat and supporting good health, consistency is crucial.