How to make your chest dance

How to Do Pec Bounce

Sometimes, your pecs want to dance. Let them dance.

Image Credit: Art-Of-Photo/iStock/Getty Images

Alright, you don't need to bounce your pecs. It serves no muscle-building or fitness-related purpose, and even if you're on a competitive bodybuilding stage, chances are the judges won't ask you to make your chest dance.

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But there is one very worthwhile reason to do a pec bounce: Because it's fun. And if you can't have a little fun with your hard-earned results, what's the point of working out, anyway?

Read more: How to Flex Pecs

Origins of the Bounce

At the peak of bodybuilding as a form of vaudevillian entertainment in the late 1800s, legendary strongman Eugen Sandow showed off his muscle control by isolating specific muscles like the biceps and making them flutter. The father of modern bodybuilding might not have twitched his pecs, but his trick can be viewed as the origin of the basic concept.

Fast forward to the 1970s, and the chest sizes of bodybuilders reached epic proportions, likely due to the use of steroids that were officially banned by the International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness, but still legal to use recreationally. Though it's impossible to pin down the first person to pec bounce, Arnold Schwarzenegger famously — and very publicly — pulled off the move at the 1972 Mr. Olympia competition. And the rest is pectoral history.

The Technique

Though your inclination might be to start with your pecs flexed, they dance best when they're relaxed. The very act of tensing the relaxed pecotral muscles and then letting them go loose again is what makes the chest appear to "dance" (and why heftier pecs seem to move more), so you want to start loose.

Muscular pecs naturally have a little more bounce.

Image Credit: Ibrakovic/iStock/Getty Images

Now give the clavicular head of your pectoralis major a good twitch. This is the thin muscle fiber just under your collarbone that connects your upper pecs to your outer shoulders, and if you haven't been exercising it, you'll need to start if you want those babies to dance.

Focus on pulling this muscle upward; that's what enables the rising movement of the pec. Relax the clav and let the pec fall to complete one "bounce." Again, this should be a quick, strong contraction like a twitch rather than a prolonged engagement of the muscle.

Experiment with different arm positions to see what helps you engage the clavs best. You might find that you can pop the pecs better with your arms relaxed at your sides, held behind your back or clasped at your belly. Try bouncing one pec at a time, then another, then go in turns till you eventually work your way up to bouncing both at once. It'll take plenty of practice before your pecs are ready to dance to a party beat.

Read more: The Best Upper Chest Workout

Sharing the Bounce

Remember that pec popping also relies a bit on luck of the draw; some people, perhaps due to plain old genetic predisposition, just might not be able to pec bounce, no matter how fit they are.

And as you might have guessed, making your pecs dance isn't an exact science. So if you readers have any pec-jiggling tips or tricks to share, enlighten us with your bouncy ways in the comments below.

How Do I Make My Pecs Bounce?

The pectoral muscles commonly referred to as “pecs” are located directly across the front of the chest. The pecs are one of the most sought out muscles that most guys target. If you go to the gym you will see most guys training chest. This is for a couple reasons. First, the pecs are very visible in a t-shirt so most guys want to develop their pecs. Also, you can see your pecs in the mirror, unlike the back muscles which are often neglected. Lastly, most guys who workout get asked “how much can you bench bro?” So, I can’t blame them. Every guy wants to do bench press and develop a big strong chest, so they can respond with “all of it.”

Well developed pecs are a hallmark sign of a great physique. Most men want to achieve this look, and strive for a thick wide chest that looks like a plate of body armor. Guys do not want to have a bird chest or man boobs. You will stand out among other people with a well developed chest, with or without a shirt.

A common question I get asked is how do I make my pecs bounce. It sounds like a weird question, but people truly want to know. Most men want to be able to bounce their pecs up and down. I feel like after working out hard in the gym, most guys want to be able to show off their gains with a pec bounce. Or maybe they want to impress the ladies? Either way, this article is going to explain why some people can’t bounce their pecs, and discuss ways to make your pecs bounce.

Anatomy Of The Pecs

First, let’s look at the anatomy of the pectoral muscles. It is important to understand the anatomy of the muscle you are going to need to target. The pectoralis major is a wide fan shaped muscle that connects from the center of your chest or sternum, and runs across the chest to connect to your arm. Also, there is a pectoralis minor muscle. This muscle is hidden underneath the pectoralis major, and doesn’t contribute much to the “pecs.”

There are two heads to the pectoralis major muscle. The sternocostal head and the clavicular head. The sternocostal head or “lower pec” runs from the sternum to the upper arm bone where it attaches. The clavicular head or “upper pec” runs from the clavicle to the upper arm bone where it attaches. Both of these heads contribute the the overall development of the pecs. It is important to train and target both heads for complete overall development.

Why Can’t I Bounce My Pecs?

Everyone wants to be able to bounce their pecs like they have seen many movie stars, bodybuilders, and WWE wrestlers do on TV. One of the most popular individuals to perform the pec bounce is Terry Crews. He has been known for his pec bouncing talents, and is commonly seen in the Old Spice commercials displaying his pec bounce. There are a few likely reasons you may not be able to bounce your pecs as of right now, but that doesn’t mean you won’t be able to achieve the pec bounce.

You May Not Have Enough Muscle Mass

One of the first prerequisites to achieving a pec bounce is to have pecs! I don’t know why this is a hard concept for some people to understand. You need to have enough muscle mass to get an appreciable bounce. There are a lot of guys who simply don’t have big enough chest muscles, so they fail to bounce their pecs. You will not achieve a pec bounce with a small bird chest, so get to work.

You May Need To Lose Weight

Another common reason people cannot achieve the pec bounce is because they have too high of a body-fat percentage. It is important to maintain a lean yet muscular physique. This will help showcase your hard-work in the gym, and may even allow for you to accomplish the pec bounce. The problem is, some guys have a lot of fat or adipose tissue overtop of their pectoral muscles. You will need to lose weight first before you can perform the pec bounce.

The issue with a high body-fat percentage is that you won’t be able to see the movement of the pecs. The pectoral muscles are covered with adipose tissue, so the pec bounce will be diminished or hidden. Also, you cannot do a pec bounce with man boobs. Man boobs will not bounce, because it is fat rather than muscle, and you cannot contract fat. You first must lose the fat, and then you can try the pec bounce.

No Mind-Muscle Connection

Another reason most people cannot perform the pec bounce is because they do not have the mind-muscle connection. To contract a muscle with the fast twitch that is required during a pec bounce, you must have a solid mind-muscle contraction. A mind-muscle connection is the pathway between your brain and muscle. This connection is the reason we are able to move our muscles and cause a contraction. The mind-muscle connection is a pathway from our brain down to the spinal cord, which sends signals out to our muscles. So when you want to contract a muscle, the impulse leaves your brain travels down the spinal cord, and then reaches your muscle for a contraction.

To achieve a mind-muscle connection, you must practice, practice, practice! This is hands down the best way to get a good mind-muscle connection. Not only will this help you perform the pec bounce, but it will help you with all your training and weight lifting goals. It is extremely important to have a solid mind-muscle connection when lifting weights. This is the best way to grow a muscle, and achieve a great contraction. Most bodybuilders have amazing mind-muscle connections, and it is due to all the time and practice they have put in.

You Don’t Know How

Lastly, you must know how to contract your pec muscles to achieve the classic pec bounce. Some people simply don’t know how to contract their muscles. The only way to learn how to contract your muscles is by practicing and lifting weights. You need to lift weights to really learn how to target and contract your muscles. Some of the best exercises to learn how to contract the pectoral muscles is the bench press, cable fly, and incline bench press. Do these exercises and feel the contraction of your pecs. This goes hand and hand with the mind-muscle connection that we discussed above. You must learn how to contract your pecs to be able to bounce your pec muscles.

How Do I Bounce My Pecs?

There are a few ways to learn how to bounce your pecs, and some quick tips to achieve the classic pec bounce. First, you need to know the muscle actions of the pectoral muscles. The only way to contract a muscle is to perform the actions of the muscle. The pec’s muscle action is to move your arm across your body and internally rotate your arm. Essentially, it is like performing a pec fly. That is the main muscle action of the pectoralis major muscle.

Practice Fast Twitches Of Your Pecs

You need to learn how to perform fast twitches or contractions of the pectoralis major muscles. Essentially, the pec bounce is a quick flick or contraction of the pec muscle, and then it relaxes. To do this you need to quickly perform the muscle action of the pec, and then relax. So for example, you should perform the chest fly movement in the air very quickly. Almost like a “twitching” movement.

By performing the pec’s muscle action very quickly it can help train the fast twitch muscle fibers, which is what you need to accomplish the pec bounce. I recommend performing the chest fly as quickly and as fast as you can to practice this. You do not need weight. Try to contract the pec muscles as you quickly perform the chest fly in the air. Try this about 15-20 repetitions multiple times a day.

Practice Contracting Your Pecs In The Mirror

I recommend that you practice contracting your pec muscles in the mirror. It is important to be able to see the muscle you want to contract. You should try to contract your pecs by squeezing your palms together as hard as you can. This will achieve a full contraction of the pecs. Hold this position for 3-5 seconds, and squeeze as hard as you can. Remember to breathe!

It can even be helpful to practice contracting other muscles to work on your mind-muscle connection. Practice contracting your bicep or thigh in a quick manner. Sometimes it is easier for people to contract their thigh or biceps. Once you get the hang of that, then transition back to the pec muscles. Continue practicing in the mirror multiple times a day. You will start to get a better mind-muscle connection with daily practice.

Work All Heads Of The Pecs Muscles

It is important to have full complete pecs when doing a pec bounce. You need to work all heads of the pec muscles. That means the sternocostal head and the clavicular head. Both of these heads make up the entire pec muscles. So you need to target both of these heads to get a full thick chest. The bigger and thicker your pec muscles are the more bounce you will be able to perform. That is why most big WWE wrestlers and bodybuilders can perform a pec bounce so easily.

To work the sternocostal head or “lower pec” you need to perform movements at a decline angle. The decline angle will help target these lower pec fibers, and will help lift and round your pec muscles. The best decline movements for the lower chest fibers are the decline bench press and the decline fly. These movements are great at developing the lower pec. You need to work the lower portion of the chest for complete development of the pecs, and it will help you achieve the pec bounce.

To work the clavicular head or “upper pec” you need to perform movements at an incline angle. The steeper incline angle puts more direct work on the upper pec fibers. I recommend performing the incline bench press and the incline dumbbell fly. Both of these exercises are fantastic at working the upper pec fibers. The upper pec fibers are really crucial in performing the pec bounce, and are often neglected.

Final Thoughts

Performing the pec bounce is not easy, but it can be achieved with daily practice. I recommend first making sure you have the proper amount of muscle mass in the chest, and that you are low enough body-fat percentage. This is an important part of the pec bounce. You need to have enough pec muscle mass to get the bounce, and you need to be lean enough to see the pec bounce. Make sure to practice, practice, practice if you want to accomplish this movement. It takes a really dialed in mind-muscle connection to get a good pec bounce. Most people simply don’t have this mind-muscle connection, so no matter what they try the pec bounce won’t happen. You need to develop this mind-muscle connection with the practice techniques I explained above.

Also, make sure to target the entire pec muscle in your training. Some people only do standard bench press or push-ups to develop their chest. These exercises are great, but you will not get a complete fully developed chest by doing only these exercises. You need to work the pecs from multiple angles such as decline and incline to target the upper and lower fibers. Follow this guide above, and you will be on your way to a Terry Crews pec bounce in no time.

The art of subtle movement: "But it doesn't feel like I'm dancing!": zoukability — LiveJournal

The art of subtle movement: "But it doesn't feel like I'm dancing!"
Author: Laura Riva, Canada
Original: http://grapevine.

dzouk.com/the-art-of-subtle-movement-but-it-doesnt-feel-like-im-dancing/
Italic - remarks translator

When I started dancing, I really wanted to move a lot and actively. I watched how easily advanced dancers danced and tried to imitate them.

I did a lot of body movements during the lessons. She took giant steps. I tried to brush my hair as hard as possible. My arms were constantly sticking out to the sides. I went out of my way to keep my hips moving with every step. I danced.

Now I remember this, and I cringe. When I try to replicate what I thought was a "good dance", I feel how stupid and ineffective they are. They are clumsy, out of control and unbalanced.

What is the difference between me then and me now?

Amplitude and movement like "Dance"

I used to be convinced that dance requires huge, super expressive movements. If I did not do these excessive movements, it seemed to me that I was not dancing.

I had the idea that dancing should make you sweat. The dance must be difficult. The dance has to push my body to the limit for its full effect. Then I did not understand yet that social dance is rational and manageable; I didn’t understand that the best dancers don’t drive themselves on the dance floor, that all their body movements are built on efficiency and control.

It doesn't just happen to partners. You can often see partners who run around the dance floor with huge steps, even if their leading hand is inactive. You can see this when a partner drags a partner on giant or super complex movements and does not understand this.

For the sake of objectivity, it is worth noting that the problem of huge movements does not happen to all dancers. Some have the opposite: too small movements - this should not be the case either. In this article, we consider only large movements in terms of their inefficiency.

Want an example? Furious Zuk run for 3 minutes. Yes, this crooked marathon runner with an inappropriate headwork is me. My partner also runs a lot, but I surpassed him, he has to catch up with me! At the time of the video, I have been dancing zouk for a little over a year.

Amplitude and movement vs. Efficiency and control

After a while, many dancers have an Epiphany. Sometimes it is associated with only one specific movement. For some, this is a complete rethinking of how they dance.

At some point, the dancer suddenly realizes that the most effective movement does not have to be big. It is suddenly discovered that a weightless hand grip, weight transfer, small body movement can have a drastic positive effect on the quality of the dance.

Sometimes you may hear phrases like: "Really? Is that all?" or "But it's so easy!".

This is the epiphany when the dancer begins to understand that the dance does not have to be difficult if the movements are performed in an efficient way. Sometimes it causes mixed feelings.

Mixed feelings: "I don't feel like dancing"

When dancers realize that there is a more efficient and easier way to achieve the same result, they are not always happy with this discovery. Sometimes it seems to them that a new way of performing a movement does not feel like a dance. As if they are standing still and doing nothing.

I can assure you that this sensation will pass. As you begin to understand efficiency better, you will soon get a deeper feel for the essence of this subtlety of movement. You will learn to feel every millimeter of movement from start to finish. You will begin to pass small movements through your entire body instead of rushing from point A to point B.

That's when you feel like you're dancing, even if the movements are small. When you learn to control every moment of the dance, you won't need much movement to feel the dance. Even shifting weight from one foot to the other is part of the dance. All this will improve your Connection, musicianship, stamina and ability to dance to fast music.

Dancing with a partner who skillfully uses small movements is bliss... This is the maximum attention to lead and relaxation at the same time.

On the physical side, compact movements help you keep your balance, help you focus on working the right muscles in your body. You will be able to feel how the movement originates in the tips of the fingers and ends in the toes. Or how it starts at the hip, rises up the lateral muscles to the chest, passes into the shoulders and fades away in the neck.

Compare dancing to writing at university: many students write long, 20-page essays that they think will best demonstrate what they know. They evaluate their knowledge by the number of words. But an experienced writer will state the same thing on 2 pages: this volume is enough for him to accurately express his thoughts. This is the level of proficiency in speech.

Dance is not about the number of movements, but their quality. Dance is the ability to control each small muscle in your body in isolation. The ability to be effective in its expression. The dance should be natural and effective.

When you understand this state of efficiency and feel comfortable in it, it will become unimaginably easier for you to express yourself in dance.

You can follow the announcements of new articles through the VK group: https://vk.com/zoukability

How to teach a child to dance

Every mother thinks about the physical education of her baby. But, in addition to the usual gymnastics, it will be useful for him to be able to beautifully, and, most importantly, move rhythmically to the music.

ContentsExpand

Benefits of dance for children
How to choose the right music for dancing
Stages of preparation for dancing
Dancing to the music

Any child, even the smallest one, loves to listen to music, but he needs to learn how to dance. Older children, of course, can be sent to a dance school, but it would be good for small children to dance at home, together with mom and dad. As soon as the parents decide to teach the baby to dance, the question arises before them, how to do it, how to teach the child to dance? And do it in a way that makes it fun and interesting.

Benefits of dancing for children

Dancing is very important for a child's development. With the help of dance, he will splash out emotions, as well as strengthen his health. During dance movements, the body gets an excellent workout. Regular dance classes help develop hearing and a sense of rhythm.

The most important thing is that the child wants to dance. “You have to follow his desires. Because if children are pressed and forced, they lose their desire to do anything.

It is necessary to instill a love for music from birth. - Very young children can be picked up and whirled to a pleasant, cheerful melody. “It will help them train their vestibular apparatus. It is also important that beautiful musical compositions periodically sound in the house - this will set your baby in a dance mood.

How to choose the right music for dancing

If you are thinking about how to teach your child to dance at home, then you should have a wide variety of musical compositions in your “armament”. Because before starting classes, you must understand what kind of melody is right for your baby at the moment. - It's easy to do, just pay attention to the character of your crumbs:

If your child is mobile, active, constantly thinking up something and does not sit still. That, and dances should be appropriate. - You should opt for a fun, rhythmic composition that the child can easily move to.
If, on the contrary, the kid prefers calm games, spends more time in sedentary activities, then the melody should be appropriate. - Smooth, calm, for example, a waltz.
The choice of classical music is the ideal solution for any occasion. - You can move under it in any rhythm, and plus, you will introduce your child to high art.
For very young children, children's songs are suitable. They are funny and uncomplicated, with such melodies you can have fun and learn simple dance moves.

Dance preparation steps

Once you have decided on the music, you will need to teach your baby a few dance moves. Movements for dancing at the first stage should be simple and understandable for children. No need to immediately take on complex and difficult movements.

The easiest dance moves that any kid will love:

Ask him to put his hands on his sides and move left and right. At the same time, at each turn, he should stomp his foot slightly. Such a fun and simple dance will amuse your little one and help him warm up before starting classes.
Another simple dance that is easy for children is the bullseye. Ask your child to take turns jumping on the left foot, then on the right. At the same time, he needs to spread his arms from his chest in different directions.

As soon as your child finishes dancing, be sure to praise him. - Children love to hear praise, after affectionate words they try even more. Therefore, do not skimp on kind words.

Dancing to music

Once you have learned a few simple dances, you should start dancing to music.