Best Chest Exercises

When someone walks into your gym with a muscular imposing chest, you can only look on in awe. Achieving a muscular chest requires time, dedication, and smart training.  Training the chest is so popular it has a name of the week named after it. 

Most serious lifters love to train their chest and the most popular chest exercises are bench presses and push-up variations.  

When performed consistently, these will build serious size and strength. But the chest muscle is a fan-like muscle running at different angles with multiple attachment points. To get a full-bodied chest, you need to train the chest from varying angles using more tools than the barbell and bodyweight.

Here we’ll present chest anatomy, the best chest exercises, the benefits of training the chest, and chest workout suggestions, so you can build the chest of your dreams. Then other people will be staring at you in awe.

Chest Anatomy

The chest is a large superficial fan-like muscle, and the two major chest muscles are the pectoralis major and pectoralis minor. It has two major attachment points, the clavicular head on the upper chest and the sternal head attachment on the lower chest. The pectoralis major is on the front of your ribcage and the pectoralis minor is a small muscle under the pectoralis major. 

The clavicular head of the pectoralis major originates on the anterior surface of the clavicle. The sternal head of the pec major originates at the anterior surface of the sternum, and both are inserted on the humerus and control the majority of the movements of the upper body.

Chest Movements

The chest is involved in a lot of upper body exercises and movements including   

Shoulder Extension: Chin-ups and Pull-ups 

Shoulder Flexion:  Front raises 

Horizontal Adduction:  Bench and dumbbell press variations

Shoulder Internal rotation: Rotator cuff internal rotation

Here you’re mainly focused on horizontal adduction.  

14 Best Chest Exercises

There are many chest exercises to choose from but here are the 14 best chest exercises for size, strength, and better muscle development.

Barbell Push Press

The barbell push press is not often thought of as an exercise that trains the chest but when trained correctly, it trains the upper pecs along with the deltoids and triceps. The push press uses a lower body dip, think a quarter squat that allows you to press more weight. Lifting more weight allows you to build more muscle and strength.

How to do it

Stand in front of a barbell at around chin height in the squat rack. Grip the barbell slightly wider than shoulder-width apart and make sure your wrists are in neutral. Engage your core, dip into a quarter squat and then explosively push the bar overhead. Return the barbell carefully to your chest and reset and repeat.  

Sets & Reps

For strength, three to five sets of three to six reps, and for muscle two to four sets of six to 12 reps.

Coach’s Tip

It’s not two moves but one continuous move. Start the press on the way up from the quarter squat.

Barbell Flat Bench Press

The flat bench press is probably the most popular best chest exercise there is. This variation trains all the chest muscles equally and is the variation where you are probably going to use the most weight. There is a reason it’s the go-to exercise on international chest day.

How to do it

Lay supine on a bench and get your eyes underneath the bar. Push your feet back and arch your lower back slightly.  Pull your shoulder blades together to engage your upper back. Grip the barbell roughly wider than shoulder-width apart and squeeze hard and unrack the barbell.  

Slowly lower the barbell towards your sternum once you have reached your preferred depth, push your feet back and press up until lockout. Reset and repeat.

Sets & Reps

For strength purposes three to five sets of three to five reps and for muscle two to four sets of six to fifteen reps.  

Coach’s Tip

Take the time and pay attention to your set-up. This is the key to lifting more weight safely.

Barbell Incline Bench Press

The incline bench press is in between an overhead and a flat barbell bench press. Pressing from an inclined surface recruits more upper chest and anterior shoulders for better muscle development. Some lifters find this variation easier on their joints, particularly shoulders than other standard bench press variations.

How to do it

Adjust a weight bench to a 45-degree angle and set up the same as the flat bench press, with your hand’s shoulder-width apart  Unrack the barbell and slowly lower it down in line with the clavicle, stopping a few inches above your chest.   With your elbows angled at about 45 degrees from your torso, press up in a straight line until lockout and reset and repeat.

Sets & Reps

You can use this exercise for strength but it’s better for building muscle. Perform three to five sets of six to 12 reps in your chest workout.

Coach’s Tip

Make sure to get your eyes underneath the bar during set-up for better body position. This can be performed with a dumbbell in each hand too.

Decline Bench Press

The decline bench press focuses more on the lower chest, and this is generally less stressful on your shoulders than the flat and incline bench press because of the declined shoulder angle. Changing the angle of your press is essential when you’re looking to develop a more well-rounded chest.

How to do it

 Secure your feet into a decline bench, lower down underneath the barbell then, and get your eyes underneath the barbell.  Unrack the barbell with a shoulder-width apart grip or wider than shoulder-width apart and lower it towards your sternum while keeping the shoulder blades together.

Then press up until lockout avoiding excessive elbow flare. Then reset and repeat.

Sets & Reps

Like the incline bench press, this is best used for building muscle and not strength. Perform three to five sets of six to 12 reps.

Coach’s Tip

It helps to have a spotter to unrack and reload the barbell. This can be performed with a dumbbell in each hand too.

Chest Flye

The chest flye can be performed in a couple of ways, either with dumbbells, resistance bands, or a cable machine. Any way you perform this exercise, keeping a slight bend in your elbows the whole time takes the triceps out of it and stretches the chest muscles for a bigger range of motion. This gives you better muscle-building potential.

How to do it

Lie on an adjustable weight bench with either flat, decline, or incline and dumbbell in each hand. Keeping your elbows bent slightly, lower your arms out to your sides with control. When you feel a stretch in your chest, reverse the motion and squeeze the chest muscles with your palms facing each other. Then reset and repeat. 

Sets & Reps

This is an isolation move for the chest and is best used for muscle. Two to four sets of between eight to 15 reps work well in your chest workout.

Coach’s Tip

Focus on form over weight to feel your chest muscles working. Plus, you can perform an incline dumbbell flye or decline dumbbell flye with an adjustable weight bench. Never keep your arms straight for this exercise. Puts too much strain on your elbows.

One Arm Assisted Push-Up

Here with the one-arm assisted push-up, you’ll use your non-working arm to assist the working arm to perform a one-arm push-up. Focusing on one side at a time will strengthen imbalances between sides and provide better muscular tension on your chest than regular push-ups 

Your goal here is to rely as little as possible on the non-working arm to perform a push-up.  

How to do it

Place your non-working arm to the side on an elevated surface below shoulder height with your elbows bent. Get into a press-up position and get your feet wide for increased stability.  Slowly lower into a push-up on the working arm using a ROM you can control. Then press up to the starting position and reset and repeat. Switch sides and repeat.  

Sets & Reps

This bodyweight exercise is best used to strengthen imbalances between sides and not strength. Three to five sets of five to 10 reps on each side is a good start in your chest workout.

Coach’s Tip

Let your weaker side dictate the sets and reps your do.

Dumbbell Bench Press

You cannot go as heavy with the dumbbell bench press as the barbell variation but there is still a lot to like about this exercise. First,  you are controlling two dumbbells,  and each one is lifted independently. This strengthens imbalances between sides, leading to better muscle development.

Second dumbbells give you more freedom of movement and let you change your grip and arm angle to find a pressing path that is comfortable for you. 

How to do it

Adjust the weight bench to your preferred angle and lean over and pick up each dumbbell in each hand. Place the dumbbells on your knee and then drive the dumbbells back towards you with your knees bent, while pressing the dumbbells up. Lower the weights, keeping your elbows at 45 degrees.

With your feet flat on the ground, press up to the starting position and reset and repeat.

Sets & Reps

Three to five sets of between five to fifteen reps.

Coach’s Tip

If you use an adjustable weight bench you can perform an incline dumbbell press or a decline dumbbell press with your palms facing in. This neutral grip is easier on the shoulders if you suffer from shoulder pain.

Plyo Push-Up

The plyo push-up is one of the more difficult variations to do; you’ll be training power and not muscular endurance like the regular push-up. This push-up variation trains fast-twitch muscle fibers, which have a better potential for muscle growth and for growing a bigger chest. 

How to do it

Set up in your push-up position with the hands shoulder-width apart, arms straight, and feet shoulder-width apart.  This is your high plank position. Lower yourself rapidly towards the floor and then powerfully press up with your arms extended and hands leaving the ground. Rapidly descend into another push-up and repeat for desired reps.

Sets & Reps

Three to five sets of five to 12 reps.

Coach’s Tip

If you have trouble with these, try the incline plyo push-up.

Dumbbell Floor Press

The dumbbell floor press is similar to the dumbbell press but, on the floor. And this is a great chest builder for two reasons. One, you don’t receive any assistance from the lower body, so it focuses on the chest more. Second, the reduced ROM allows you to go heavier for added size and strength.

How to do it

Lie on your back with a dumbbell by your side. Roll over, grip the dumbbell with both hands, and roll back onto your back. Then press up the dumbbell with two hands and take one hand off. Have your feet flat on the floor or your legs extended. Lower the dumbbell down until your entire triceps touches the ground.

Then press up until lockout and reset and repeat for reps.

Sets & Reps

Best used to strengthen imbalances between sides and not for strength. Three to four sets of six to 15 reps work well here.

Coach’s Tip

 If you use a dumbbell in each hand, a spotter is advisable for safety. Reaching the dumbbell up at the end of the movement gives your serratus anterior some love too.

Landmine Side To Side Press

The side-to-side landmine press is another great chest press variation because you can train the chest and triceps with increased load. The act of holding the barbell with two hands with a close grip allows you to focus on the upper chest more for increased size and strength. Plus, the pressing from side to side gives you some core engagement too.

How to do it

Hold the end of the barbell with both hands a few inches from the left shoulder. Keeping your shoulders down and chest up, and feet flat on the floor, press up the barbell to the center of the body until your arms are straight. Then lower to the right shoulder. Then press to the center and lower down to the right shoulder.

Each press is one rep and alternate sides for an even number of reps on each side.

Sets & Reps

Best used for muscle and not strength. Three to four sets of 12 to 16 reps is a great starting point.

Coach’s Tip

Reach up at the end of the press for extra ROM to engage your serratus anterior and for extra tension on the chest

Close-Grip Push-Up

The close-grip push-up is a chest variation where the grip shifts more of the emphasis to your triceps, inner chest, and anterior deltoids. The reduced base of support means you do fewer reps than your regular push-ups, but you’ll be training the chest from a different angle for better chest development.   

How to do it

Get into your front plank position, place your hands closer than shoulder-width, and get your feet wider than hip-width apart. With your body straight from head to toe, slowly lower yourself until your chest is about an inch from the floor and your upper arms are touching your sides. Pause for a beat and press up until your arms are straight and reset and repeat.

Sets & Reps

Three to four sets of eight to 20 reps.

Coach’s Tip

Squeeze your glutes to keep your lower back neutral.

Parallel Bar Dip

The parallel bar dip is a neglected chest press exercise and is often forgotten about when it comes to building a muscular chest. To focus the chest, lean your torso forward and get your elbows wider on the way down.  When you are proficient at body weight,  add load for more chest size and strength.

How to do it

Grip both sides of the bar tight and get yourself in the top of the dip position, with your shoulders down and chest up. Angle your torso slightly forward and allow a slight bend in your elbows. Lower down slowly until your elbows are bent to 90 degrees. Then press through the handles, bring your body upright to the starting position, and reset and repeat.

Set & Reps

Not an ideal exercise for strength but better for building the chest and triceps muscles. Start with three to five sets of between six to 15 reps.

Coach’s Tip

When you can do 12 to 15 reps for multiple sets, it is time to add load.

Cable Crossover Fly

The cable crossover fly is a great isolation exercise for the chest. Like the dumbbell flye, you’re taking the triceps out of the equation to focus on the chest. The high position stretches the chest and takes you through a larger ROM for better muscle-building potential. Like the dip, having a slight forward lean will emphasize the chest muscles further.

How to do it

Set each handle of the cable machine at the highest level and then stand in the center with one foot behind the other and grip both handles. Lean forward while keeping your spine neutral, keeping a slight bend of the elbows. With your core tight, pull both handles down and across your body until you feel a squeeze in your chest muscles.

With your palms facing, slowly reverse to the starting position and reset and repeat.

Sets & Reps

Best used for muscle and not strength. Two to four sets of 12 to 16 reps work well in your chest workout.

Coach’s Tip

Resist the urge to go too heavy and instead feel your chest muscles working throughout the range of motion.  

Svend Chest Press

This may look like nothing, but the Svend chest press will probably have you feeling the burn. The constant tension created by keeping the weight plates together will have you feeling your chest muscles in no time.  The Svend press is a lower-impact exercise and is a great option to give your shoulders a break from heavy pressing involved in a lot of chest workouts.

How to do it

Take two smaller weight plates, five or 10-pound plates, and press them together between your hands. Then extend your arms in front of you at chest height. While pinching the plates together, pull the plates towards your lower chest while bringing your shoulder blades together. Then press the weights back outwards and reset and repeat for reps.

Sets & Reps

Two to three sets of between eight to fifteen reps in your chest workout.

Coach’s Tips

Perform at the end of your chest workout to fully exhaust every chest muscle fiber.

Chest Workout Benefits

Besides a big and muscular chest, there are a couple of significant benefits of training the chest. And they are:

Improved Posture & Shoulder Health

Because it’s one of the largest muscles, chest length and strength plays role in assisting good posture because it dictates your shoulder position. If the chest is tight, it will roll the shoulders forward into an ape-like posture. Plus, the chest, upper back, and deltoid strength help to stabilize the entire shoulder joint.

As the shoulder is a shallow ball and socket joint with a ton of mobility, the muscles like the chest provide the stability. More muscle mass = better shoulder stability.

Better Breathing

The chest muscles are attached to your rib cage and the rib cage expands and contracts with every breath. If the chest is tight, or weak this will affect your ability to breathe deeply.  This becomes more of an issue during conditioning or anaerobic exercise.

Improved Performance

Your chest is a hugging muscle it’s size and strength help tackle and fends off opponents in the sporting arena. If you play football, baseball, or tennis, the chest will help you throw and hit a ball harder and faster.  Plus, it will help give your loved one better hugs too.

Chest Training Frequency

How often you should you should chest press depends on your lifting experience. If you are a beginner with less than a year of training under your belt, then aiming for 12 weekly sets is a great starting point.

If you’re an intermediate trainer with two to four years of lifting experience, you can bump up your chest volume to 14 to 16 sets per week. For a veteran gym-goer with more than four years of training experience, then 16 to 20 weekly sets are more in order. Because the chest is a larger muscle, you can train it more frequently than your shoulders and arms. 

But keep in mind your muscles usually need between 48  to 72 hours to recover. If health and vanity are your goals, then you can train your chest around twice per week. This is the sweet spot for the majority of lifers. 

Progressing Your Chest Training

To get a stronger and bigger chest you need to add more weight or reps whenever you train your chest. This sounds great in theory but if you are an experienced lifter this is easier said than done.  If you try to add a pound to your bench press each training session, you’ll eventually plateau.

Instead, use a progression that involves sets and reps and not just load.

Let’s say your bench press max is 200 pounds and then you’ll play around with the percentage of your one-rep max. Use between 75 to 85 % of your one-rep max (150-170 pounds) and lift this for 4 sets of 6 reps.  

Then add one rep each week until you’re doing four sets of eight to 10 reps. Once you’ve mastered this particular weight increase your weight by five pounds and start this progression again at four sets and six reps. 

But be wary of overuse injuries and training boredom. Make sure to rotate between chest exercises to avoid this.

Chest Warm-Up

Let’s start by saying that slapping a few plates on the barbell is not a warm-up. The purpose of a warm-up is to get your muscles and joints ready for the work ahead. Plus, the warm-up gets the blood moving through the area you’re about to train. This only requires a few minutes and will reduce your chances of injury.

Here’s a warm-up example before you hit your chest.

1A. Wall slides 8 reps

1B. Spiderman with Rotation 5 reps on each side

1C. Band pull parts 15 reps

1D. Inchworm with push up 5 reps

1E. Front plank with shoulder tap 8 reps on each side

If you’re not a fan of this warm-up, using ramp-up sets with your first chest exercise is another way to warm up. This helps groove better form, move important blood flow to the chest, and lubricate the shoulder joint. Plus, this enables you to decide your working weight for the day.

Here’s an example of a ramp-up set for the flat bench press:

•   10 reps with an empty barbell
•   Eight reps with 95 pounds
•   Six reps with 135 pounds
•   Five reps with 155 pounds
•   Four reps with 175 pounds

Chest Workouts

Using the exercises above with a couple of other vital back exercises, here is a chest workout that will strengthen the chest and entire upper body.  Use this for your upper body training when getting a bigger chest is a goal.

1A.  Barbell bench press variation 6 to 12 reps (moderate to heavyweight)

1B. Cable crossover fly 12 to15 reps

Rest for 2-3 minutes and repeat for 2 to 3 rounds

2A. Dumbbell floor press 8 to 15 reps

2B. Inverted row 12 to15 reps

Rest for 2-3 minutes and repeat for 2 to 3 rounds

3A. Push-up variation  Max reps

3B. TRX rows 15 to 20 reps

Rest for 2-3 minutes and repeat for 2 to 3 rounds

Wrapping Up

Now, aren’t you pumped up to get the chest of your dreams? Using simple progressions, changing the angle at which you train the chest, and rotating your chest press exercises, you too can get a chest worthy of awe.