2-Arm Standing Band Chest Fly
How to Do the 2-Arm Standing Band Chest Fly - No Cable/Machines | In-Depth Guide [VISUAL LEARNERS] Beginner
Proper Form & Common Mistakes | Home Resistance Training
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SEE?
QUICK DEMO
QUICK DEMO
MUSCLES THIS WORKS
MUSCLES
MAIN MUSCLES WORKED IN the 2-Arm Standing Band Chest Fly
Pectoralis major
OTHER MUSCLES WORKED:
- Coracobrachialis
- Anterior deltoid
WHAT WE'RE DOING TODAY
WHAT & WHY
BENEFITS OF TRAINING THE Pectoralis major
WHAT
WHAT WE'RE DOING TODAY
ALL WE'RE DOING:
This is essentially like doing a push-up in the air.
The standing band chest fly is an easy and convenient exercise that can be performed anywhere. All you need is a resistance band and some space to perform the exercise. This chest exercise is highly effective for building upper body strength and muscle mass.
SKIP THE PUSHUPS & DO THIS INSTEAD.
If it’s one thing women hate, it's pushups. Am I right? They are like the ultimate self-esteem killer. If you are feeling out of shape and want to feel really bad about yourself, try doing a pushup. Seriously, who needs that?
Chest flys work our chest muscles without having to do a single pushup. Not only that, your self-image can actually rise instead of a tank as you see yourself capably do these types of exercises. Pushups have their place, let's be honest, but how about something doing 1 rep of doesn’t just about kill us?
THE AWESOME SAUCE OF DOING BANDED CHEST FLYS (ESCAPING THE HORRIBLE DANGERS OF DUMBBELL CHEST FLYS)
Chest Flys are a popular exercise but if they are done incorrectly they can be tough on the shoulder joints. When you use dumbbells you need to lie down on your back, the arms can get pulled back too far in the beginning position. This can put a lot of strain on the front of the shoulder joint and pull on the chest muscles. This is an exercise that is notorious for ruptures of the chest muscle. The position also allows the head of the upper arm bone (humerus) to glide forward in the socket (on the shoulder blade). This can stretch or tear the front part of the joint capsule - which is a sleeve of connective tissue that runs around the joint and helps to support it. The use of a band helps to eliminate these concerns.
The use of a band for the chest fly is a good option because the resistance of the band lets you challenge the pectoralis muscle in a safer way. In the beginning of the movement, when the shoulders are in a vulnerable position and the pectoralis major is at its weakest, there is the least amount of resistance from the band. As you pull the arms up and the shoulders are in a more stable position, and the pectoralis major gets stronger, the resistance from the band increases. produce force increases. If a dumbbell were used, when the arm is straight out to the side, the lever arm is the longest so the strain on the pectoralis major is the greatest in the position where the pectoralis major is the weakest. As the arm is brought in, the lever arm shortens, and the torque on the shoulder decreases, but the muscle is moving into a position of greater strength.
WHY BOTHER DOING IT?
WHY
WHY DO WE EVEN CARE?
NOT THE MAIN GIG IN OUR WORKOUTS
To be honest, we don’t include a lot of chest-focused work in the Inspireful Women workout program. In general, most women’s chest muscles are strong enough to do their job. More frequently the muscles on the back of the upper body are the ones that need attention. And functionally speaking, we get more benefits from focusing our training a bit more on the backside of our bodies. This seems to help create better balance in our bodies - better posture and healthier shoulder movement, at least this is what I have noticed in my own life. Much of what we do in everyday life tend to use our front side more, so using more of our training time to work our backside can help even things out. On top of that, visually speaking, most of us ladies are not after super-developed pec muscles like the dudes are.
SEEKING BALANCE
Still, strong pectoralis major muscles can help to provide a nice stable base for your arms to work off of. Keeping the muscles that cross the shoulder joint healthy and balanced is important for lifting, pushing, and carrying. Strengthening the biceps and triceps (which we do in the Inspireful Women workouts) without including exercises for the muscles that support and stabilize the shoulder joint can set you up for injury.
STRETCH THE CHEST & MOVE THROUGH THE FULL RANGE OF MOTION
There are not that many exercises that focus on the chest muscles. That could be due to the fact that we do use them a lot in everyday activities, they don’t tend to be weak. But, they do tend to get tight - most likely due to how much we do with our arms in front of us and poor posture. Our everyday life activities tend to keep our arms in a small range, which means we don’t use our joints & muscles through what they can really do.
Something like the band chest fly counteracts this a bit as the band pulls our arm out nice and wide and stretches & elongates the pec muscles. It’s like scratching an itch - it can feel good to move into places our bodies are designed for, but that we don’t do very often in our modern way of life.
Keeping the muscles healthy by including exercises for the pectoralis major that involve taking the arms out to the side - where the muscle is in a lengthened position can help to decrease the tightness or restriction in this muscle.
Pectoralis major also plays a role in breathing. The muscle is spread out across your chest like a fan, attaching to collar bone, breast bone, and the ribs.
EVERYDAY LIFE
EVERYDAY LIFE &
MUSCLE FUNCTION
HOW WE USE OUR Pectoralis major IN EVERYDAY LIFE
1. HORIZONTAL ADDUCTION- BRINGING THE ARM TOWARDS THE MIDLINE OF THE BODY
- Enclosing someone in a hug
- Reaching across to fasten a seat belt
- Putting a belt into pants
- Lifting objects in front of the body
- Carrying heavy objects in front: grocery bag, child
- Picking up your pet chicken 😃
2. UPPER FIBERS BRING THE ARM UP AND ACROSS
- Touching the opposite ear - putting on an earring
- Using blow dryer on opposite side of the head as hand
3. LOWER FIBERS BRING THE ARM DOWN AND ACROSS
- Reaching the opposite hip
4. MEDIAL (INTERNAL) ROTATION OF THE ARM (ROTATING THE UPPER ARM INWARDS)
- Rotating arm down to empty a can
5. CAN ASSIST IN DEPRESSION (MOVE DOWN THE SPINE), DOWNWARD ROTATION, AND PROTRACTION (MOVING FORWARD AROUND THE RIBCAGE, AND STABILIZATION OF THE SHOULDER BLADE AND STABILIZATION OF THE SHOULDER JOINT
- Control during all arm and hand activities that require strength and/or precision - writing, knitting, using a screwdriver
STARTING POINTERS
Starting Pointers
The version of the banded chest fly can be done most anywhere. It is a simple movement - holding one end of the band with the arms lifted up to just lower than shoulder level - just bring the hands in front of you, like a straight arm clap.
The band is anchored behind you with one end in each hand. The movement that you want to emphasize is the arms moving around in an arc to end up in front of the body, and the band pulling back - in an arc. But, since the band is anchored right behind you as you bring the arms closer to the front of the body, the pull of the band will be straight back. In order to really get the chest muscles - once the hands are directly in front of the shoulders, think of pushing the hands forward - reaching out in front of you.
This exercise does work the core muscles because it is in a standing position. This position may limit the ability to use stronger resistance (if the core is not strong enough to stabilize).
HOW TO FEEL WHAT MUSCLE IS WORKING
How to Feel What Muscle is Working
Place your right hand over your left chest. Straighten your left arm and pull it across your body. You should feel your pectoralis major muscle under your hand. Try pulling the arm across and up - you should feel the muscle activation close to your collarbone. Pull across and down and you should feel the lower part of the muscle contract.
HOW TO DO THE EXERCISE
LOOKS
HOW the 2-Arm Standing Band Chest Fly SHAPE OUR BODY
Tones and defines the chest muscle.
PROPER FORM
PROPER FORM: 2-Arm Standing Band Chest Fly
EQUIPMENT, SETS & REPS
EQUIPMENT
Main set (3: Light/Med/Heavy)
X-Heavy Band (I recommend getting this too if you plan to use resistance bands frequently).
SUGGESTED STARTING WEIGHT FOR WOMEN:
Moderate resistance band
SETS & REPS:
2 sets of 8-10 reps
PACE:
Bringing the arms together moderately quick, slow return to the starting position.
BODY POSITION
BODY POSITION FOR THE 2-Arm Standing Band Chest Fly
BAND: Band is anchored at mid-chest level. Face away from the anchor. One end in each hand. When the band is pulled around to the front the band feels more comfortable running across your upper back and shoulders as opposed to under your arms.
FEET: Staggered stance, or feet parallel with toes pointed forwards. If you are using a heavy resistance band you may find that you need to stagger your feet to hold your position.
BODY STANCE: Neutral spine (includes neck), sternum lifted. Knees bent slightly. Shoulder blades in and down your back and your chest is wide. Hips and shoulders squared to the front.
ARMS: Arms out to your side, just lower than shoulder level (approximately 70 degrees). Your arms should be in line with your torso, or slightly in front, but not behind. Elbows slightly (10 degrees) bent.
HAND/GRIP: Neutral grip on band. The band is behind you, hold one end of the band in each hand.
HOW TO DO
HOW TO DO the 2-Arm Standing Band Chest Fly
CUE: As your arms move in front of your shoulders, the pull of the band is back as opposed to out to the sides. This is not ideal - focus on pulling in and then pressing forward (as in the chest press when the weights are pressed up).
Pull your upper arms in towards the midline of the body. Once your hands are in front of your shoulders push them forward just a bit - ¼-½ an inch.
Pause at the end of the movement.
Slowly move your arms back out to the side.
If using a staggered stance - Change the staggering position of your feet halfway through the reps.
HOW TO SAFELY GET OUT OF THE EXERCISE
From the starting position, release the band.
COMMON MISTAKES
COMMON MISTAKES
WHAT TO AVOID WITH THE 2-Arm Standing Band Chest Fly
KEY TIP:
Guess what? Good news! Many avoids are the same for most movements. Once you learn the basics, there's really only a few extra avoids for each individual movement.
1. Avoid Straight Elbows
AVOID: Straightening the elbows.
WHY NOT?
- This puts too much force through the joint and may result in long term damage over time.
WHAT TO DO:
- Keep the elbows just slightly bent throughout the movement.
2. Avoid Shoulders to Ears
AVOID: Hunching the shoulders up towards the ears.
WHAT TO DO:
- Keep the space between the ear and the shoulder during the entire rep - this opens up the shoulder to avoid tendon irritation and decreases the activity of the upper traps.
3. Avoid Leaning Forward
AVOID: Leaning the torso forward.
WHY NOT?
- This is a common compensation - the body leans forward to use body weight to help.
WHAT TO DO:
- Keep good alignment with the shoulder over the hips.
- You may need to make some adjustments:
- Step back closer to the band anchor
- Use a lighter resistance band
- Try a staggered stance (as opposed to parallel
4. Avoid Arms Pulled Behind Body
AVOID: Letting your arm drift back behind the torso.
WHY NOT?
- This will put too much force on the shoulder joint and too much strain on the pectoralis major muscle.
- This may lead to tears of the joint capsule or the muscle.
WHAT TO DO:
- Keep your hand in line with the shoulder.
5. Avoid Locking Knees
AVOID: Straightening or locking the knees.
WHY NOT?
- This tends to decrease the lumbar curve, pull on the hamstrings and decrease the muscle activity of the legs.
- Locking the knees puts stress on the knee joint and can make it more difficult to maintain a neutral spine.
WHAT TO DO:
- The knees should be soft.
SCIENCY STUFF
SCIENCY STUFF
SPIFFILICIOUS FACTS ABOUT MUSCLES & MOVES
The pectoralis major muscle is a large fan-shaped muscle on the chest. It attaches to the collarbone, sternum (breast bone), the cartilage of the first 6 ribs, and the upper arm.
ALLLL MUSCLES & WHEN
ALL MUSCLES WORKING & WHEN DURING THE 2-Arm Standing Band Chest Fly
The muscles of the torso and legs work to hold the body stable. The muscles of the arms stabilize the wrist, elbow, and shoulder joints.
The pectoralis major is the prime mover, acting concentrically to pull the upper arm inward towards the midline. The coracobrachialis contributes, and possibly the anterior deltoid, depending on how much resistance is being used.
The biceps works to hold the elbow in a slight amount of flexion as the force of the band acts to pull the forearm back (into extension). This will be true for moving the arm in and controlling the out - the biceps is just holding the elbow still.
The pectoralis major and coracobrachialis work eccentrically to control the return to the starting position.
PIN IT FOR LATER!
