One of the top goals for many people's training plan is to build a large, strong chest, and for good reason. The chest muscle is located in a prime spot at the top of your torso, and is a prominent feature that can fill out the tops of your t-shirts. The chest is likely one of the first parts of your body that other people will see, and it's directly in front of you when you look at your physique in the mirror. This makes the chest one of the ‘mirror muscles' that guys often focus on training. However, this does not mean that committing time and effort to the chest is a waste of time. Just the opposite – if you want a balanced, strong physique, you can't skip the chest.
Every chest workout doesn't have to look exactly the same. Many guys focus on bench pressing heavy weights on International Chest Day every Monday. While this is a good goal for some, especially powerlifters who need to bench press heavy weights as part of their sport, it's not the only way to work out your chest.
To train a muscle group effectively, you need to use a variety of exercises. This will help the muscles adapt and grow. When planning your workout, include a mix of different exercises to target the muscle group from different angles. This will help you build strength and muscle mass.
What Are Your Chest Muscles
The chest is comprised of two muscles that are commonly referred to as the pectorals or the pecs. These muscles are the pectoralis major and pectoralis minor.
The pectoralis major muscle is the larger of the two pectoral muscles and is located above the pectoralis minor muscle. The pectoralis minor muscle is smaller and located below the pectoralis major muscle. The pectoralis major muscle is responsible for the movement of the arm in toward the body (adduction) and the rotation of the arm forward. The pectoralis major muscle also assists other muscles in pulling the trunk up when your arms are above your head. The pectoralis minor muscle helps to move your ribs and shoulders.
These muscles are used to rotate the scapula and to anchor and depress the clavicle.
How to Train Your Chest Muscles
There are three main ways to train your chest: at home, in a full-body workout, or by dedicating multiple sessions to chest in one week. Pushup variations and other chest-centric movements are good for at-home workouts, and full-body workouts help to spread the workload. If you think you need more chest training, consider dedicating more sessions to chest in one week.
There are many different workouts and exercises that can help to improve the appearance of your chest. If you are aiming to build muscle, remember to use the right protocols and rest periods. Eating a nutritious diet is also important.
There are many chest exercises that will help you achieve your goals. Choose two or three to work into your routine, and for best results, rotate in new movements every 3 or 4 weeks. Just remember, there's nothing wrong with a big bench for your chest—as long as your workout doesn't start and end there.
10 Best Chest Exercises
Bench Press
Although we just discussed expanding your workout routine beyond the bench press, it is still an essential exercise to include if you want to see results. The bench press is a staple in most strength training facilities for a reason – it is effective. Let's break down the proper form for the dumbbell version of the bench press.
Start by lying down on a bench with your feet flat on the floor and your glutes and core engaged. Your shoulder blades should be driven down into the bench. Keep your focus on building muscle rather than pressing max weight.
Pick up your dumbbells and hold them close to your body, with your palms facing inward. Lie down on your back on the bench, and hold the dumbbells at arm's length above you, with your elbows bent at 90 degrees. From here, lift the dumbbells straight up, until your arms are extended overhead. Lower the dumbbells slowly back to the starting position.
Dumbbell Bench Press
Dumbbell presses are included on this list because they are more versatile than barbell presses throughout the beginning, middle, and end of a chest workout.
The main advantages of dumbbells are that they develop balanced strength and size, allow a longer range of motion, and can be varied easily to provide a new stimulus during chest workouts.
Dumbbell Bench Press Variations for Chest Growth:
- Dumbbell bench press
- Neutral-grip dumbbell bench press
- Close-grip dumbbell bench press
- Single-arm dumbbell bench press
- Alternating dumbbell bench press
Do flat dumbbell presses early on in your chest workout for heavy sets in lower rep ranges. They can work well for high reps later in your chest workout on an incline or decline.
Here's what not to do: A few sets of the barbell bench press, then the same sets and reps for dumbbell. The EMG analysis confirmed that the similar nature of these movements had no significant difference in muscle activation between flat-bench dumbbell and barbell presses.
Chest Fly
One of the most effective chest exercises, the chest fly is all about creating tension through the movement. Your goal is not to flap your arms like a bird to take flight, like the name suggests—squeezing is the key here. That means you'll probably use less weight than you might expect.
Lay down on a flat bench and grab a dumbbell in each hand. Hold the weights above your chest, making sure they don't touch. Your pinkies should be turned slightly inward. Be sure to keep your whole body tense while you're on the bench.
Bend your arms at your shoulders and lower the weight. Go as deep as your shoulder mobility allows and squeeze your shoulder blades to raise the weight back up. Emphasize the squeeze in your chest at the top.
Decline Press
The decline bench press is on the list because it hits the entire chest, as opposed to just the lower chest. This allows for a more complete workout and heavier lifting.
If your gym has a decline press machine that you find comfortable to use, like a plate-loaded hammer strength machine, you can use it to do a unilateral chest press across your body one arm at a time. This move emphasizes shoulder adduction, which is one of the primary actions of the pec major muscle.
Decline Bench Press Variations for Chest Growth:
- Decline barbell bench press
- Decline dumbbell bench press
- Decline Smith machine press
- Decline leverage press
Doing free-weight presses early on in your chest workout is beneficial because they require more effort and work more stabilizer muscles than machines. A machine version could be the final heavy exercise in your workout before switching to lighter pump work.
Pushup
You will never achieve a well-rounded workout if you give up pushups after doing them a million times. Pushups are a basic exercise to train your chest, so make sure you're doing them properly.
Get into a high plank position with your weight on your hands directly beneath your shoulders and your feet close together. Squeeze your core and glutes to keep a straight spine. Keep your gaze down to keep your neck in a neutral position.
To complete a push-up, lower your chest down to the ground, keeping your elbows close to your torso and not flaring them out. Once your chest touches the ground, push straight off the ground all the way up to the top position with your elbows straight.
Dumbbell Floor Press
If you don't have access to a bench, don't worry. You can do a dumbbell press while lying on the floor, which is a great way to build up your chest muscles without putting strain on your shoulders. All you need for this exercise are some weights and enough space to lie down.
Get in position: Lie on the floor holding a pair of dumbbells securely. Keep your feet flat on the ground and press down through your heels to engage your glutes. Maintain a 45 degree angle between your elbows and your body to protect your shoulders.
Lift the dumbbells up so that your elbows are level with your shoulders and squeeze your chest. then lower the dumbbells under control back to the starting position, allowing your elbows to briefly touch the ground.
Machine Chest Press
The reason why machine press and cable press variations are on the list is because they offer some unique benefits. It is easier to slow down the repetition with these variations, which is beneficial for both the concentric and eccentric phases. Additionally, stack-loaded machines are great for quickly doing dropsets.
Reduced recruitment of the shoulder muscles during a machine bench press allows for greater focus on the pecs.
Machine Chest Press Variations for Chest Growth:
- Machine chest press
- Plate-loaded chest press (flat, incline, decline)
- Cable chest press (seated, standing, lying)
Sets of machine exercises at the end of your workout, for 8-10 reps or more, plus dropsets or rest-pause sets if possible, are the most effective. This is when you can see if the pre-workout supplement you've been taking is effective. Pump your pecs until they're seriously fatigued, and finish your workout with a high level of intensity.
T-Bench Glute Bridge Fly
The bench fly is a safe way to hit your chest muscles without putting strain on your shoulders. You will also challenge your glutes and abs by holding a difficult position.
Sit on a weight bench horizontally with a set of dumbbells on your lap. Kick the weights back, press themup, and set your shoulder blades on the bench. Squeeze your glutes and abs to form a bridge shape with your feet planted on the ground.
To do this exercise, start by opening your arms out to the sides so that your elbows are in line with the bench. Lower your elbows down to the bench, taking 3 to 4 seconds to lower them. Squeeze your chest muscles to bring the weights back up.
Batwing Fly
You will see more benefits from this exercise if you spend more time at the bottom of the movement. Try using light weights at first to get used to the move. You can also alternate between overhand and neutral grips to change things up.
Sit on an incline bench with dumbbells in your hands, holding them at your pecs as if you were preparing for a press. Keep your chest strong and your lower back naturally arched.
With your arms outstretched, pause for a count and feel the stretch in your muscles.
Dip
Dips are on the list because they are a great bodyweight movement that stretches the chest and makes it work. You can add extra weight with a dip belt if you're seriously strong, or use band or machine assistance if you struggle with bodyweight reps. Plus, they are a great spotter-free alternative to the decline press.
On chest day, you should do dips that emphasize your pecs. To do this, put your feet up behind you, lean forward, and allow your elbows to flare out slightly as you dip.
Dip Variations for Chest Growth:
- Chest dip
- Ring dip
- Machine-assisted dip
- Banded dip
- Machine dip
If you can complete dips with a high number of repetitions, they serve as an excellent way to conclude a chest workout routine at a professional level. If you cannot perform as many repetitions, you can still do them earlier on during your session within more traditional repetition ranges for either building strength or muscle mass, such as 6-8 or 8-10 repetitions. Dips also make for an excellent super set when combined with push-ups, providing you with a sizeable pump by the end of your workout.
