Working your upper body, and particularly your chest muscles, in the gym can become a chore, producing countless push-ups before moving on to the next muscle group. But our chest muscles are designed to work in more than one way, so sticking to the same exercise isn’t the best option.
If you take a step back and focus on how your muscles are designed to work, you can choose a few different, focused chest exercises to get a good quality workout with variety and a challenge to keep it interesting. Not only will you escape the boredom of a monotonous routine, but you’ll get more out of it overall with long-term strength and mobility gains.
The best chest exercises
How can we work our muscles in a varied and challenging way to ensure we maintain our posture, strength, and mobility throughout our lives? David Birtwistle, co-founder and head coach of strive for life (opens in a new tab)has put together his top three exercises for strength, control, and muscle building for you to try the next time you’re in the gym.
Some of these exercises just require a simple set of dumbbells and a bench; you can browse through our summary of the best adjustable dumbbells (opens in a new tab) here. If you don’t have any on hand, head to your local gym to find the best equipment there.
David Birstwistle is a nutrition and movement consultant and founder of Endeavor Life, a coaching company. Since completing his Bachelor of Science in Strength and Conditioning at St Mary’s University London, he has worked with a variety of different clients over the last decade and has been featured in Men’s Health and Men’s Fitness magazines.
bench press bar
“This bilateral movement uses a stable base and a close link between the arms to maximally engage the chest muscles and produce the most force available. This is the move that will allow you to lift as much weight as possible using your chest muscles.
“Because the bar is independent, it can move in multiple directions, requiring the user to stabilize through the shoulder and core, creating a more functional exercise than using an alternate machine. One of the reasons I like this move is that when it’s spotted correctly, there’s little risk of injury. The movement is simple, controlled and repetitive.”
Here is how to do it:
1) Start by bracing your back and core: stiffen your spine, retract and depress your shoulder blades, slightly arch your mid-back, and plant your feet on the floor. Your upper back is the main point of contact during this exercise, which means it’s the foundation of your stability. If you fail to build rigidity in your core before the lift, you will be unstable throughout the lift.
2) Take your weight off the rack and control it to a comfortable position on your chest so your arms are vertical and the bar feels stable, not falling forward or backward.
3) Slowly, under control, lower the bar and touch your chest approximately in line with your nipples. After this, quickly press the bar away from the chest back to the starting position.
TIP: The last thing you want when bench pressing is protraction (rounding) of your shoulder blades, as this prevents your chest muscles from activating maximally and instead activates your anterior shoulder muscles.
Incline Dumbbell Press
This unilateral movement requires increased shoulder stability to control the dumbbell and develops the upper chest. Since the hands are not connected (as with a barbell), the dumbbells can move freely in any direction and independently of each other’s movement. This means that a novice lifter will need to increase their concentration to control the weights. If done correctly, this move is one of the best ways to increase upper chest strength and size, while also improving shoulder stability.
Here is how to do it:
1) Set the bench at a 30°/40° angle as you see fit. As with the bench press, start by retracting and depressing your shoulder blades, engaging your mid-back and arching it slightly to create a stable base. The more you arch your back while performing this movement, the greater the angle at which the bench should be placed. It is important that there is enough angle to target the upper chest, and too much arc will prevent this.
2) Once the weights are secure above your head with your arms straight, begin slowly lowering the weights toward your chest. If you imagine that the dumbbells are connected by a piece of string, that piece of string should touch just below your collarbone.
3) From this position, quickly, with control, move the weights away from your body and focus on trying to bring your elbows together and squeeze your chest.
TIP: One mistake many people make is making the point of contact too low on the chest, which places the shoulder in a less advantageous position and will reduce upper chest activation.
Dumbbell alternating flat bench press
This alternating unilateral movement is wonderful for creating control through the chest and shoulder, while stabilizing the spine while resisting rotation. This is more of a functional movement since we’re using one arm to push, while controlling the body, explains Birtwistle.
Here is how to do it:
1) As with the previous two exercises, start by retracting and depressing your shoulder blades, then raise the weights to a stable position on your chest.
2) From this point, begin to lower one side toward your chest, keeping your wrist above your elbow. Once the weight is roughly in line with your nipple, push it back up to the starting position. Repeat this on the other side.
TIP: It is important that with this movement you resist the rotational force and keep your body still throughout the movement. The only movement should be the arm that is supposed to move. Making sure you have a stable base is essential and that you are listening to how your body feels during the lift, so you can perform the lift correctly repeatedly.
What do the chest muscles do?
Jo Snell is a licensed physical therapist at PureForm Clinic (opens in a new tab) in Beckham, UK. She says: “There are a number of muscles in the chest area that are responsible for moving the arms up, down and across the body, in addition to rotational movements of the shoulder. No muscle performs one of these movements, just like other areas of the body, they work synergistically.
“The dominant muscle in the upper chest is the pectoralis major. This large, fan-shaped muscle runs from the armpit to the collarbone and down along the lower chest on both sides of the chest. Move each shoulder joint in four directions (flexion, extension, abduction and adduction), and also keeps the arms attached to the body.
“The pectoralis minor is below the pectoralis major and goes up and down along the upper ribs. Without the pecs, the shoulder would be unstable and would struggle to achieve full range of motion without pain.”
Joanna Snell is a registered physiotherapist currently working with the Pureform Clinic in the UK. Her clinical interests include postoperative and functional rehabilitation of the knee, along with the recovery of injured skiers.
So the pecs are important, and many gym-goers already know this, but like all the muscles in our body, they don’t do the job alone.
“Muscles throughout the body work interactively to produce movement and power. The chest muscles work very closely with the rotator cuff muscles in the shoulder and the muscles in the upper back,” says Snell. “For example, the deltoid muscle is the muscle that gives the shoulder its rounded shape and works closely with the pecs to rotate the arm inward. The pecs also work the trapezius muscle, which runs through the neck, shoulders, and back and produces movements of the shoulders and shoulder blades.”
Strong pectoral muscles are not only important for movement, but also for posture and future mobility.
“Having strong pectoral muscles contributes to your ability to throw, swing and push. Along with a strong upper back, they’re important for posture and preventing a rounded upper back,” says Snell.
And anyone who has a job sitting in front of a computer all day, be warned: “It’s important that you maintain the length of your pecs with regular stretching and mobility exercises. The longer we sit at a desk or slouch, the more our upper back muscles have to resist a gravitational pull. Over time, these muscles weaken and stiffen. By making sure to keep your chest muscles strong with proper regular loading, they should help support an overworked ribcage from the front,” she says.
This article is not intended to offer medical advice, and readers should consult their physician or health care professional before adopting any diet or exercise regimen.
