THERE IS MORE THAN Acquiring an aesthetically complete physique than simply lifting heavy weights and bombarding your chest with bench press reps. This is especially true when it comes to building muscle definition and hypertrophyalong with force.
You may think the key to chest training is having a great bench, but you’re spending too much time and energy in the wrong place if you neglect accessory movements that focus on how your pectoral muscles actually work. Your aesthetic goals will be best served by spending time improving your mind-muscle connectionaccording to men’s health fitness manager Ebenezer Samuel, CSCSand celebrity trainer and mh advisory board member Don Saladin. In this case, toe-in: moving the weight toward or beyond the center line of your body (adduction), is key to getting that well-defined chest.
“The bench press is important for strength development,” Saladino says, “but I also think that after a period of time, you don’t really get that mind-muscle connection just by keeping the same movement over and over again. time. You don’t really get to experience what it feels like to make a move with convergence.”
You don’t have to ditch the bench press. But if your goal is that ripped inside chest look, you’ll need to add a few more moves to your workout. Here are five of the best chest exercises to add to your routine that can help complete that aesthetic upper body look.
The 5 Best Exercises for the Inner Chest
Compression Plate Press
2 series of 10 repetitions
The compression plate press is a solid simulation of a bodybuilder’s posing routine, pressing hard on a light plate as if trying to squash it between the palms of your hands. Because a light load is all it takes to create great tension, the compression plate press is often an underrated and underused exercise. And that is far from true. By extending your arms while squeezing the inside of your chest, you’ll create enough tension to fatigue in as little as two repetitions.
“It’s less about the load here, it’s more about the isometric tension that you’re creating with just your body,” Samuel says. “It works really well for beginners because it’s not about charging… the moment you drag your hands together, you learn how I dragged them together for this. I’m learning to create that contraction.”
Single Arm Cable Fly
3 to 4 series of 8 to 10 repetitions per arm
Here’s a unique mind-muscle masterpiece move that creates tons of midline tension—a huge difference from traditional pressing moves. However, by making this a unilateral move instead of the standard fly, you can actually extend beyond the midline, thus expanding your range of motion.
However, a common mistake with the cable fly is the tendency to bend too far at the elbow. Instead, focus on keeping your long arm throughout the movement, which will keep tension on your chest.
Close Grip Hex Vise
3 to 4 series of 10 to 12 repetitions
Increase the intensity with a more advanced movement (which could present a challenge for anyone with limited shoulder mobility). This close grip press is a great exercise to get a good chest squeeze with each repetition. It’s essentially a compression press but with a heavier load, but not too much weight that you have to sacrifice your compression at the top.
The approach with the hex press now is to have the load pressed in front, but with the dumbbells together in a neutral position (palms facing each other). You still want to focus on creating and maintaining tension. Slow and controlled is the way to go to build a fuller chest, while also working your shoulders and triceps at the same time.
machine chest press
3 series of 12 to 15 repetitions
The machine press is another exercise that gets a bad rap among the functional fitness crowd, but certain variations provide a great deal of muscle building and shape for your money. We previously mentioned the importance of toe pressing, or focusing on moving the weight closer to the midline to add tension. Machines like the Hammer Strength press or similar models allow you to press while creating more tension toward the midline. Another benefit of the machine is that, unlike dumbbells, you don’t have to focus on stability towards the end of a grueling training session, but can still work on much-needed muscle contraction.
Dumbbell Band Press
3 to 4 series of 8 to 10 repetitions
By adding a resistance band, we add a twist—and even more tension—to this traditional chest-building staple. It is best to go lighter with the band; a light to moderate tension band is more than enough to add more stress to your grip after each rep. The goal is not to move a heavy weight per se, but to move in a slow and controlled manner to hit that inner chest.
“When it comes to training to train your inner chest and attack your chest, [it’s okay to] lose some weight,” says Samuel. “Let’s own the crunch and the five exercises we’ve given you, you have no choice but to back up the weight to master the crunch, and that will give you the inner chest you want.”
Want more essential exercises for your most important muscle groups? Verify all our Muscle Musts.
Jeff Tomko is a freelance fitness writer who has written for Muscle and Fitness, Men’s Fitness, and Men’s Health.
