10 Best Exercises to Strengthen the Chest Muscles
Whether you’re looking to build muscle mass, hit a new chest-press PR, or both, you need strong pectoral muscles.
These muscles are important for everyday movement patterns such as pushing, pulling and moving your arms across your body, as well as for many athletic movements and sports.
Try these 10 best chest exercises to target the large pectoral muscles from a variety of angles and force vectors.
1. Barbell Bench Press
Whether you're looking to build strength or muscle mass, the barbell bench press is one of the best exercises to include in your routine. This classic exercise focuses on hitting the chest muscles, especially the pectoralis major and minor.
To perform this movement, lie on a bench, step or floor and grasp the bar with an overhand grip a bit wider than your shoulders. Bending the elbows, slowly lower the weight until it touches your chest.
To prevent injury, aim to lower the barbell in a controlled manner instead of slamming it down on your chest. This will also help reduce the amount of stress placed on your shoulders and elbows. Incorporate both the barbell and dumbbell versions into your routine, as well as other accessory movements like incline or decline presses and bodyweight push-ups. The resulting variety of movement will ensure that your chest muscles get strong and healthy.
2. Dumbbell Bench Press
The dumbbell bench press primarily targets the pectoralis major muscle and is a must-have exercise for any chest workout. It also helps prevent imbalances between your dominant and non-dominant sides by forcing you to use each arm independently of the other during the movement.
Start the movement by lying flat on a bench with your feet planted firmly on the floor (or weight plates or firm, cork yoga blocks). Rest one hand on each of the dumbbells and have them touch in a V-shape at the top of the movement.
Perform a set of 8-12 reps per set. For an extra challenge, perform the dumbbell bench press at a slight incline to further engage your chest muscles. Aim for a range of 30-45 degrees. Avoid using too steep of an incline as this shifts more tension to your shoulders.
3. Incline Dumbbell Bench Press
One of the best chest exercises to build upper pecs is an incline bench press. Many lifters use a flat bench barbell press as their main chest exercise, but an incline presses hits the muscles from a different angle and allows you to use a heavier weight for fewer reps.
Using dumbbells instead of a barbell also helps prevent shoulder over-extension. It's important to do this exercise on a bench positioned at a comfortable angle and to avoid pushing the bench so much that it becomes too steep.
You can also perform this movement using resistance bands. Place a band with handles around a stable structure, such as a pole. Stagger your feet so that your one leg is lunged forward (bend your knee). Then, safely bring the handle in front of you up to chest height.
4. Cable Chest Fly
The standing cable fly targets the pectoralis major, a large muscle on the front of your chest. The different angles of arm movement work different parts of the muscle, helping you create a sculpted, balanced upper body.
This is a great exercise to include in your workouts because it allows you to isolate your chest muscles while also working the other supporting stabilizer muscle groups (shoulders, triceps). The single-arm version emphasizes unilateral (single-side) strength and can improve your mind-muscle connection, a favorite technique of four-time Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler.
Perform this exercise as a final isolation movement after your pressing movements or as part of a superset for added muscle-building intensity. Try varying the angle of the movement and the number of reps to train your chest in new ways. For even more intensity, drop the weight and increase your volume.
5. Machine Chest Fly
Unlike the barbell bench press which primarily targets the pectoralis major, the machine chest fly provides extra emphasis on the chest muscles’ serratus anterior muscle. It also allows you to work in a controlled environment where you can target the chest through a larger range of motion.
Grasp the handles of the machine at roughly belly button height with your palms facing each other. Exhale while slowly bringing the handles together in front of your chest. Hold for a second and then return to the starting position.
This exercise may be a good choice for those who are new to weightlifting or who have shoulder issues as it places less stress on the shoulders and requires no balance. The machine chest fly can be followed by a set of push-ups to complete your chest workout. The combination of these exercises will help you build fully defined and powerful chest muscles.
6. Dips
Dips are one of the best chest exercises to help you develop massive pecs. This multi-joint movement trains the chest muscles from different angles and force vectors while also helping to activate the triceps muscles to help you push off the ground.
The dip is a classic bodyweight exercise that can be performed anywhere. Whether it’s the parallel bars at your gym or two sturdy chairs in the home, all you need is something for your hands to grab onto so that your arms are bent at a 90 degree angle from the torso.
For an advanced move, you can perform weighted dips to make the movement more challenging. Just be sure to start out slow and practice proper form before adding a load. Performing weighted dips incorrectly can lead to shoulder injuries. (2).
7. Standing Cable Chest Fly
The standing cable chest fly combines stability and movement to give your pecs a great chest workout. It also works through a wider range of motion than the bench press, which can help you build bigger, more symmetrical chest muscles.
Performing the fly with a resistance band rather than with weights increases the challenge while also improving balance and stability. This makes it a good choice for beginners who aren't ready to do the move with freeweights yet.
Whether you do a standing or lying cable chest fly, it is an excellent addition to any chest day, especially when done after heavy compound presses and high-rep dips. It targets the pectoralis major and minor, as well as the serratus anterior and subclavius muscles (5).
8. Dumbbell Rows
The dumbbell row is an isometric exercise that targets the chest muscles while also strengthening the back and shoulders. This exercise can be made more challenging by adding a resistance band around a stable structure such as a pole. When performing this exercise, be sure to squeeze your shoulder blades together to keep the shoulders from becoming rounded and bugging the labral and rotator cuff tendons.
When the push up feels like a stale exercise, add this variation to your routine by holding a medicine ball at chest level and squeeze it to contract your chest. This movement also works the shoulders and triceps. This exercise also improves balance and core stability.
9. Push-Ups
Push-ups are the ultimate bodyweight exercise that works your chest and shoulders. They're great as a standalone movement or in combination with other exercises such as dumbbell bench presses, decline push-ups and machine chest flyes, to name just a few.
There are many variations of push-ups that can increase the challenge and difficulty. Wall push-ups and "table" or "chair" push-ups are harder, as are clap push-ups, which involve pushing up explosively with your hands off the ground to clap them in midair.
One can also use a resistance band to make push-ups feel harder and change things up when the regular versions get monotonous. This can also help prevent back pain by requiring the core to work harder to keep your spine neutral during the movements. Adding the band can also add more time under tension, which helps with muscle growth.
10. Medicine Ball Push-Ups
Before the days of barbells, dumbbells and weight plates, bodybuilders built strong chests with a mix of standard exercises like push-ups. Although this movement requires a lot of arm and shoulder stabilization, it still packs a punch when it comes to building chest muscles.
Stand in front of a wall and place a medicine ball under one hand (a larger medicine ball can be more challenging). Get into the standard push-up position and lower your body toward the ball until it touches it, then press back up.
This exercise targets the chest, shoulders, triceps and upper back. It is also a great way to add unilateral training and improve shoulder stability. Try 10 reps per side. To increase the challenge, increase the number of repetitions or add a weighted vest or band to the exercise. This makes a great finishing move to any chest workout.
