The Svend Press Exercise Instructions and What It Can Do for You

The svend press is known as a chest exercise, and it is a very effective exercise for building muscles and strength in your Pectoralis Major (Chest). The svend press exercise is a bit different than the typical conventional chest exercise but still this exercise is great which will isolate the target muscles.

However, most of the fitness experts and bodybuilders claim it aids in pumping up their chest muscles and improving their mind muscles connection to their pecs. And also improve hypertrophy and strength gains. 

Many fitness trainers say that the svend press exercise definitely will train your shoulder and if you do it correctly then it will also load your chest. 

To perform this exercise effectively, then all you need is two small weight plates and the action of squeezing the plates together will definitely work your chest muscles. 

So, try to add a svend press exercise in your chest workout routine as a finisher, because this exercise is a small move that brings on big gains and this exercise will take your chest day to the next level. So, read the article till the end to know the benefit of svend press and to perform in a correct form.

Svend Press Exercise Details

Primary Target Muscles: Pectoralis major and Front deltoids

Secondary Target Muscles: Middle deltoids, biceps, triceps and lats.

Exercise Type: Strength

Mechanics: Compound

Force: Push

Equipment: Two Weight plates

How To Perform The Svend Press?

The svend press is like a pressing movement on its surface and if you try this movement, you will quickly find that the movement gives tension to your pecs. This exercise is to squeeze the weight plates between the palms of your hands and feel the inner chest contraction.

So, below is a step-by-step guide on how to perform the svend press exercise.

  • Find the small weight that you can easily hold in front of the body for a protracted period of time. The best and most effective thing to do is to use two smaller-sized weight lifting plates. A dumbbell or kettlebell can also be used for this exercise.
  • Pick up your weight and bring it up to your chest with your palms, and your finger pointed outward. And squeeze them hard to keep them together.
  • Brace your core and flare your chest and elbows a little out and raise them so your arms parallel to the ground.
  •  Stand straight and pull your shoulder back and slightly squeeze your scapulae together, and push your chest a little up and out.
  • Exhale, slowly push the weight outward from your chest until your arms are fully extended. Keep squeezing the plates as hard as you can for the entire time. Hold this movement for a couple of seconds while still squeezing the plate. That will really bring contraction into your chest.
  • Inhale, bring your hands and the weight back to your chest, try to keep your pecs contracted and under tension for a longer period of time. Remember, while bringing your arms and weight back, keep squeezing the weight.
  • Once you reach the chest, you can relax your chest for a second and then repeat the above steps for more repetitions.
  • Repeat this procedure for your desired set and reps, try to keep more reps.

The Svend Press Variation

The svend press is not a popular exercise and not many people even know it. So, there are very few different variations of the exercise.

The main change and differences between the variations are your body positions and the equipment that you use to perform. Below are some variations that many people can use to keep training varied and progressive.

  • Floor Svend Press: Floor svend press is a great and more effective way to target and train your chest. In this exercise, you are going to perform this variation while lying flat on the floor or bench.
  • Cable Svend Press: this variation can be done similarly to the standing svend press. And you will be using cables instead of other equipment. This variation can be done standing up, seated and even lying down. The cables will add more resistance because they will be constantly pulling your hands apart.
  • Dumbbell Svend Press: in this variation, you will be using two dumbbells or even one dumbbell to perform the exercise. You will be performing this exercise while laying on the bench that will allow you to use more weight.
  • Seated Svend Press: this variation is also giving more benefits and also, it will allow you to keep your body more fixed and firmer.
  • Incline Svend Press: this variation will target more on your upper chest and your front deltoids. This exercise can be done laying down on a 30-to-45-degree bench.

Exercise Tips, Tricks and Recommendations

How To Perform The Svend Press

Here are some helpful tips, tricks and recommendations on how to perform the svend press exercise safely and effectively.

  • Make sure to warm-up before starting the exercise.
  • Remember, keep the weight between your palms and do not hold the weight in any way with your fingers.
  • Use weight plates that you can comfortably perform the exercise while keeping plates between your palms.
  • Make sure to squeeze the weight plates together for the entire duration of the movement to engage the chest muscles effectively.
  • Remember, this exercise is all about time under tension, so do no rush and do not move your arms too fast. The slower you perform the better benefits you will get.
  • Don’t go over with weight, because this exercise really doesn’t need too much weight to give tension to your chest muscles. When you use heavier dumbbells or plates your form and technique will suffer.
  • Start with low weight plates, this will allow you to feel the movement and troubleshoot any issues with form before moving on heavier weight.
  • The harder you squeeze the plates together, the more contraction of the chest and more contraction leads to greater gains.
  • Generally, the weight for this exercise is about 10 to 25 pounds, if you feel that is too much or very lighter, then change the weight accordingly.
  • The svend press exercise is isometric movement, so keep your repetitions more, anywhere between 15 to 20 reps.

The Svend Press Benefits

There are some great potential benefits to be gained form adding the svend press exercise in your chest workout routine. These benefits include:

  • Isometric tension: the tension stays on your chest muscles throughout the exercise. This will increase blood flow and greater hypertrophy in the long run.
  • Good option for a home chest workout: this exercise doesn’t need any specific equipment. All you need is a heavy object to squeeze between the palms. This exercise can be done at home.
  • Different way to train your chest muscles: this exercise trains your muscles isometrically, by keeping your muscles under tension constantly for a longer period of time.
  • Improve your mind-muscle connection: performing this exercise slowly will improve your mind-muscle connection, this is key in developing strength and the svend press exercise will improve your pressing ability in the long-term.
  • Gives great pump: the svend press is isometric exercise that can flood the muscle with blood, which will increase energy and contractile strength.
  • It will also improve your mind-body connection and get some extra blood flow going to the chest.

FAQ’s on Svend Press

  • What Muscles Does the Svend Press Work?

    The svend press exercise works your chest muscles, specifically on the pectorals. Most of the exercises from standing position will involve your shoulder, arms and little chest.  This exercise will build up a mind-muscle connection through your chest.

  • Can I Do The Svend Press With Kettlebells?

    The short answer is YES, you can do svend press with kettlebells. We recommend you to do them with weight plates first, because kettlebells won’t allow you for wrist comfort compared to weight plates or dumbbells.

  • Is The Svend Press Better Than The Bench Press?

    When it comes to chest growth and strength, then bench press is a more necessary movement. Because you can add more weight in the bench press so that it can grow and strengthen your chest. Svend presses can improve your mind-muscle connection.

Conclusion

The svend press is a great exercise that targets your chest by performing presses while squeezing two plates together. Most people usually perform this exercise with high reps and using litter weight. That will be good for driving a lot of blood into your muscles.

The biggest benefit of this exercise is the use of an isometric contraction throughout the exercise. Remember, the svend press exercise alone won’t build up your chest muscles, but if you combine it with other chest exercises, a dramatic effect can be seen within the first few weeks.  So, try to add the svend press exercise in your chest workout routine.

Hopefully, you like this article, if you have any questions and suggestions kindly put them in the comment box below. 

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