The chest is the primary muscle group targeted in most strength training routines, and building a strong, defined chest is a common goal for many fitness enthusiasts. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced lifter, incorporating a variety of exercises into your routine is essential for balanced development and preventing plateaus. This article will guide you through ten of the best chest exercises that you can incorporate into your workout regimen to increase strength, size, and overall performance.
Here are the top 10 chest exercises to choose from. As a general principle:
Do each exercise three times (3 sets of each exercise) for a total of 12 repetitions.
Rest for 60 seconds between each set for maximum recovery.
The dumbbell bench press primarily works the pectoralis major, which is the largest muscle in the chest. This is the perfect chest exercise to add to your exercise program.
- Lie on a bench with dumbbells in your hands (palms away from you) and feet firmly planted on the floor.
- Begin the movement from the top with your arms straight.
- Slowly bring your elbows down past 90 degrees.
- Exhale and press the weights away from you (meet the dumbbells to almost touch at the top of the movement).
Push-up
Push-ups will not only target your chest muscles, but they will also strengthen your shoulders and triceps. This is a circular functional movement perfect for beginners or more advanced athletes.
- Start in a plank with your hands shoulder-width apart without the plane of your lower back (imagine a straight line connecting your head, lower back and feet).
- Bend your elbows and slowly lower into a push-up.
- Keep your core muscles tight and lower yourself until your elbows pass 90 degrees.
- Exhale and press your body away from the floor.
- If you can’t do the exercise from your feet, keep your knees on the floor.
The chest flies
Banded chest flys put a ton of tension on the chest muscles and you’ll feel the muscles stretching and contracting throughout the entire range of motion.
- Using the band, start with one foot in front of the other and your body centered.
- Grasp the bands or handles with the palms facing each other and bring them to face you.
- Now, bend your elbows to approximately 45 degrees and slowly move them away from you as if you were holding a large round beach ball (stretching your chest muscles as your arms go back).
- Once you’re back far enough to get a good stretch, exhale and move like you’re giving someone a big bear hug.
- Meet your hands in the middle where you started the movement and repeat.
Incline dumbbell bench press
The incline variation of the dumbbell bench press is perfect for isolating the upper chest. It’s a bit more challenging than the flat dumbbell press, so be sure to choose your weight appropriately.
- Set the bench in an inclined position (about 45 degrees).
- Lie flat on a bench with dumbbells in your hands.
- Begin lifting and lowering overhead by extending your arms straight and touching the dumbbells (make a V-shape touching the weight).
- Slowly lower your elbows to just below 90 degrees and lift up.
- Exhale and pull the weights away from you.
Push up with legs up
If you want a really challenging variation of the push-up, you need to do it from a decline position. You’ll experience more muscle activation this way, as your weight shifts to the shoulders and chest in front of the body;
- Place your feet on a chair or bench and start in a straight position with your hands slightly beyond shoulder width.
- Keep your core engaged and slowly lower into a pushup with your elbows bent.
- Lower yourself down without bending your neck forward until your elbows are slightly more than 90 degrees.
- Exhale and press your body away from the floor, making sure your lower back doesn’t collapse into an extended position.
- This exercise is much harder than regular pushups, so be sure to master regular pushups before trying this!
Shoulder Taps
Shoulder taps are a simple yet effective exercise that strengthens your core, shoulders, and stability muscles. Here’s how to do them:
Starting Position: Begin in a high plank position. Place your hands directly under your shoulders, feet hip-width apart, and body in a straight line from head to heels. Engage your core to prevent your hips from sagging.
Perform the Tap: Lift your right hand off the ground and tap your left shoulder. Keep your body as stable as possible, minimizing any rocking or shifting of your hips.
Alternate Sides: Return your right hand to the ground and repeat the motion with your left hand, tapping your right shoulder. Continue to alternate sides in a controlled manner.
Maintain Form: Throughout the exercise, focus on keeping your core tight and your movements smooth. Avoid letting your hips rotate; this keeps the emphasis on your core stability.
Repetition: Perform shoulder taps for 30 seconds to a minute, or aim for a specific number of taps, such as 10-15 per side.
This exercise can be modified by adjusting your foot positioning or performing it from your knees if needed. Regular practice will improve your core strength and shoulder stability.
Banded chest press
Trying any existing chest exercise with bands makes it much more challenging because the muscle feels constant tension throughout the entire range of motion. You’ll feel your chest constrict as you push forward against the resistance.
- Wrap a resistance band with handles around a stable structure such as a pole.
- Hang your legs so that one of your legs hangs forward (bend your knee about 25 degrees).
- Grab the handles and position your arms as if you were doing a pushup.
- After you move forward, slowly reverse the movement and let the resistance slowly bring your arms back to the starting position (arms at about 90 degrees of elbow bend).
- Repeat for the prescribed number of sets and reps. Adjust resistance as needed by moving forward to increase resistance or backward to decrease resistance.
Wall press
As the name wall press suggests, this exercise is performed isometric ally, or in other words, by creating tension without contracting the muscles. Although the movement is static, it is incredibly effective at activating the chest muscles.
- Face the wall and hang your legs so that one leg hangs forward (bend your knee about 45 degrees).
- Place your hands on the wall and place your hands in front of you with your elbows bent at 45 degrees.
- Now, forcefully, lean forward and push the wall away from you by driving your hands into the wall with all your weight.
- Hold the tension for 30 seconds and complete 3 rounds.
Alternating Incline Dumbbell Press
The alternating incline dumbbell bench press is the perfect choice for some stability variation. The movement requires you to stabilize your shoulder joint as the opposing arm presses.
- Set a workout bench in an inclined position (about 45 degrees).
- Lie on the bench with dumbbells in your hands (palms facing away from you).
- Start the movement from the top with your arms extended and touching the dumbbells (make a V-shape with the weight).
- Moving one arm at a time, slowly bring your elbow down to a little more than 90 degrees.
- Exhale and press the weight away from you (meet the dumbbells to touch the top).
- Keeping the arm you just extended forward, alternate with the other arm, and repeat to complete an equal number of repetitions on each side.
Plate press
Save this one for a nice finisher. The plate press isolates the inner part of your pecs, and after a few sets, you’ll definitely feel your muscles working.
- From a standing position, grab a weight plate and hold it with your palms facing each other.
- Begin the movement with the plates close to your chest.
- With your elbows out to the side, squeeze the plates together and press them away from you until your arms are fully extended.
- Maintain tension on the plates by continuously squeezing them together and return to the starting position.
- Quick tip: think about squeezing your chest together as you press the plates forward.
An overview of your chest muscles
It’s important to understand the basics of chest anatomy so you know how to properly train these muscles. The chest is made up of two main muscles – pectoralis major and pectoralis minor.
- Pectoralis major: This is the largest muscle of the chest wall, originating from the clavicle (your collarbone) and inserting onto the crest of the greater tubercle of the humerus (the upper part of your arm by your shoulder joint).
- Pectoralis minor: The pectoralis minor is the smaller of the two chest muscles. It has a triangular shape and sits below the pectoralis major. It originates from the anterior third to fifth ribs and inserts on the surface of the coracoid process of the scapula (the small bony protrusion in front of your shoulder blade).
The two muscle groups work together, allowing your arms to move up, down, across and away from your body.
Tips for training your chest
Before you start exercising your chest, there are a few important tips to keep in mind:
- Never load your chest muscles with too much weight if you’re just starting out, because you don’t want to injure yourself. Overloading can increase your risk of injury.
- If you do chest exercises on your back, having a spotter can help prevent injury.
- Increase weight only when you feel comfortable and your movement pattern is perfect.
- Practice makes perfect, but practice also makes perfect. If you do the exercise incorrectly, you will hardwire the pattern into your nervous system, making it difficult to learn. Get it right the first time by having a professional (ie, personal trainer) coach you through the movements.
- If you don’t have someone to coach you, take a video of yourself doing the exercise and then compare it to a video of someone else doing the exercise correctly.
A quick review
There are many exercises you can employ to get an effective chest workout with minimal equipment, and these 10 exercises should keep you busy for quite some time.
The most important thing is to start slow, listen to your body and practice perfect form. Increase the weight or resistance when you feel comfortable but never at the expense of excellent form.
Don’t hesitate to get help from a coach, either. When these exercises are fully nailed down they can greatly reduce the learning curve.
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