Can exercise make your breasts look bigger and perkier?
According to fitness experts praised by Kourtney Kardashian, it’s absolutely possible.
A recent workout tutorial on 44-year-old reality star Poosh’s wellness website featured an LA pilates instructor demonstrating how this works.
The six and a half minutes videocreated by Shannon Nadj, who runs the Los Angeles-based studio Hot Pilates, showcased a workout routine that emphasized strengthening the pectoral muscles in the chest to give the appearance of firmer breasts.
Kardashian has said in the past about her fitness routine, “We keep it simple with short rotations and no equipment required (just your body weight for some moves).”
Kardashian-approved pilates instructor Shannon Nadj has detailed a series of chest and shoulder strengthening exercises that can help breasts look perkier as muscles strengthen
Ms. Nadj, founder of LA-based studio Hot Pilates, said: ‘Unfortunately you can’t force yourself to have bigger, firmer breasts. But just behind and around this area you can strengthen your chest muscles.’
The pectoralis major muscle runs from the sternum up and down the arms and neck, while the pectoralis minor muscle is located beneath the large muscles and helps connect the ribs to the shoulder blades.
Breasts are not muscles and therefore cannot be strengthened in the same way as the glutes and abs. They consist of several types of glandular and fatty tissue, so exercises to improve their appearance target large muscle groups nearby.
Dr. Alyssa Dweck, a New York-based gynecologist, shared Well + Good: ‘There aren’t any exercises for your breasts per se, especially the glandular tissue within them, but your typical pectoral exercises can help.
“By doing these (exercises), you can build enough muscle mass (to) actually firm up your breasts a little bit.”
Fitness experts also agree that maintaining good posture can help strengthen the chest and back muscles, which translates into firmer and perhaps larger-looking breasts.
Unlike surgeries to lift breasts or increase cup size, these exercises are not a quick fix.
Cat Kom, trainer and founder of Studio SWEAT onDemand, said: ‘You can do exercises to brighten up your breasts, but you have to do a lot to actually see results.’
Throughout the routine, Ms. Nadj wore one-pound bracelets on her wrists, although she stated that the use of weights is not necessary to feel the impact of the workouts.
Ms. Nadj’s moves emphasized opening the shoulders and chest, while keeping her abs active and engaged.
Demonstrating a half-plank position, where her knees and shins rest against her yoga mat, Ms. Nadj said, “You’re not slouching, your shoulders are not hunched forward.”
Throughout the routine, Ms. Nadj wore one-pound bracelets on her wrists, although she said the use of weights is not necessary to feel the impact of the workouts.
For another exercise to strengthen the chest and core, she assumed a Superman-like position on her stomach, with her arms and legs spread in opposite directions. The purpose of the exercise was to keep her legs and chest up while performing a swimming and kicking motion.
She also demonstrated standing shoulder presses and a rowing move in which the elbows remained wide, the abdomen elongated as if it were zipped shut, while the shoulders remained down and relaxed.
She performed each movement ten times, with short pauses, before releasing the position.
In addition to highlighting the key chest strengthening exercises for firmer breasts, Ms. Nadj demonstrated the proper way to stretch and lengthen the torso, including the pectoral muscles.
After the exercises, she stood up straight, with her shoulders back and down, her chest up and one of her arms reaching toward the sky.
One by one, she lowered each arm while holding the other up. She lifted both arms as she inhaled. As she exhaled, she let her right arm fall to the side, while the left arm remained raised. She then stretched the left side of her torso, waist and pecs.
She repeated that on the other side.
It is important to work the chest from multiple angles, although the use of weights may not be necessary. For example, Ms. Nadj wore bracelet weights, but also made it clear that no additional equipment was needed to experience the benefits of the exercises.
Still, some personal trainers argue that working with sufficient weight is necessary to increase strength, and that working with sufficiently heavy weights is important.
Jen Comas Keck, a certified personal trainer, shared Women’s health magazine, you should feel like you can do about two more reps at the end of each set, but no more: “It’s important to challenge yourself with heavier weights for muscle growth to occur.”