6 Great Chest Workouts for a Stronger Upper Body
Your pecs will be feeling
this.
Your chest is one of
the biggest muscle groups in your upper body and it helps you perform tons of important
movements. So if you’re looking for some chest workouts to show this area the
love it deserves, well, we get it.
That’s why we’ve
rounded up the 12 best chest workouts that target these frontside muscles and
seriously strengthen your entire upper
body. From a three-move routine to help you build push-up strength and
a quick bodyweight chest workout at home to a sweaty upper-body and core
routine, we’ve got you covered with a slew of super-effective chest workouts.
As you can see from the routines we’ve chosen, you don’t need to spend a whole
lot of time to work those muscles.
When you hear
chest workout, you may immediately think of push-ups or bench presses. And while
it’s true that push-ups and bench presses are stellar exercises for challenging and
strengthening your chest muscles, they’re not the only option—by any stretch.
The best chest workouts feature a variety of exercises that target this muscle
group from all angles, including push-ups, alternating chest presses, chest
flys, plank up-downs, and much more. Since many also work your triceps (a
muscle that supports your chest in pushing), you can consider the routines a
bit of an arms
workout as well!
Before you jump
into these awesome workouts, there are some things you should know about chest
strength and why it’s an oh-so-important part of your overall fitness. We
tapped personal trainer Evan
Williams, CSCS, founder of E2G
Performance in Chicago, for intel on what muscles
make up the chest, the benefits of strengthening your chest, and how often to
incorporate chest work into your fitness routine.
What muscles make
up the chest?
The chest is
made up of two muscles: the pectoralis major and the pectoralis minor. They’re
often referred to as the pec
muscles.
The pectoralis
major is the bigger chest muscle that attaches to your upper arm, spans across
the chest to your collarbone, and connects to your sternum (the bone in the
middle of your chest), as SELF previously reported. The pectoralis minor is the
smaller chest muscle that sits underneath the pectoralis major and runs from
your shoulder blade to your rib cage.
Why is having a
strong chest so important?
Your chest makes
up a good portion of your overall upper-body strength, Williams says. So if you
want a strong upper body, having a strong chest is key. More specifically
though, a strong chest is needed to perform any kind of pushing movement, both at the gym (think push-ups) and in day-to-day life
(envision pushing a full grocery cart or putting a heavy box back onto a
shelf). By taking the time and effort to strengthen your chest, you can improve
your pushing abilities in all scenarios.
Because your
chest plays an important role in good
posture, strengthening your chest can
help you stand up straighter, Williams says. And lastly, because your pecs
help stabilize the shoulder
joint, strengthening them can help improve your shoulder health and
reduce risk of injury, Williams adds.
How often should
you work your chest muscles?
As a general
rule of thumb, Williams suggests doing chest-strengthening work about twice per
week—though the right amount for you will depend on your current fitness level
and goals. This can look like isolated chest work, but more realistically,
you’ll make sure to hit these muscles doing upper-body workouts or total-body workouts, as long as they sufficiently work the pecs.
Just make sure
to pencil in enough rest
between sessions so your chest muscles have
sufficient time to recover. Williams recommends a two-day break.
Chest workout tips
When doing your
actual chest workout, there are a few important things to keep in mind to have
the safest and most effective session possible.
First, always
make sure to warm up beforehand so that you don’t jump in with tight, cold
muscles. Properly warming up and lengthening your muscles can help improve your
performance and reduce the risk of injury in your workout.
Williams also
suggests rolling or stretching out your pec minor before and after the workout.
The pec minor in particular tends to get tight after chest strength work and as
a result of poor posture, he says. You can help relieve some tightness by
facing a wall (a doorway works particularly well), placing a lacrosse ball (or
other similarly sized hard ball) on the pec minor (which is located underneath
the shoulder on the front of the body, close to the armpit) and then pressing
the ball against the wall to massage and lengthen the tissue.
During your
chest workouts, no matter what chest exercise you’re doing, make sure that your
shoulder blades are pulled down and back. This positioning will help activate
your chest muscles and protect your shoulders, Williams says. Also, if you do
chest exercises and feel too much tension in your shoulders, take a moment to
either readjust your form or change the weight you’re using so that the tension
redirects to your chest. Need some extra help activating your chest muscles?
Try squeezing your pec muscles and abducting your arms (move them out to the
sides away from your body), Williams says.
6 Best Chest
Workouts
Ready to fire up
your pecs and gain serious upper-body strength? Here are the 12 best chest
workouts you can do at home with minimal to no equipment.
Let’s face it:
Push-ups are hard.
If you don’t yet have the chest strength to pull off this classic bodyweight
move, this simple-yet-effective workout can help.
Created by
ACE-certified personal trainer Sivan
Fagan, owner of Strong With Sivan in Baltimore, this no-equipment
routine targets the pec muscles and your triceps (the muscles in the back of
your upper arms, which aid in pushing movements) with just three exercises:
dead-stop push-up, chest fly, and alternating chest press. Add these into your
routine and you’ll gradually build up the strength you need to safely and
effectively do a full push-up.
This five-move
bodyweight chest and shoulders
workout, created by LIT Method cofounders Justin and Taylor Norris, centers on the push-up.
You’ll complete
three different push-up variations during the main set of the workout, starting
with the dive bomber push-up, a variation that trains flexibility in your lower
half while helping you build pushing strength. Then you’ll take on the decline
push-up, a progression from the regular push-up that works the front of your
shoulders and is harder than the traditional one. You’ll finish with a
wide-grip push-up, which really hits your serratus anterior, a muscle deep
around the top of the ribcage that plays an important role in stabilizing your
scapula. Trust us: This routine will smoke your pecs.
Okay, so this one is actually a warm-up, but a proper warm-up
can be crucial to getting the most out of your chest workout—and getting
through it injury-free. This warm-up, which really hones in on your pectoral
muscles and surrounding muscles in your arms, shoulders, and back, is geared
specifically for chest and upper-body routines.
Created by Tasheon Chillous, CPT, a coach and personal
trainer at Ascent Fitness in Tacoma, this upper-body warm-up uses moves like
the incline push-up, banded pull-apart, and bear hold to get your blood flowing
in your muscles to increase mobility and get them ready to lift some heavy
loads.
Don’t feel like following it up with a separate routine? This
warm-up is also great for a workout on the days where you just want to get in
some movement.
New to strength
training? Right this way. We have a straightforward upper-body workout that
will introduce you to foundational exercises (and challenge your chest muscles
in the process) without overwhelming you. Created by Fagan, this four-move
workout features beginner-friendly exercises including a single-arm row,
alternating chest press, I-Y-T raise, and front-to-lateral raise.
Pro tip: When
you’re just getting started, emphasize proper form—and really feel which
muscles you’re supposed to be working with each movement—rather than getting
caught up in how much weight you’re lifting, Fagan advises. In fact, consider
practicing the movement first without any weight at all. Your goal is to be
able to complete all the reps with proper form.
If you want to
challenge your chest and get a dose of core and other upper-body strength work,
too, this workout is for you. Created as part of SELF’s 2021 Better Together Challenge, this eight-move routine combines chest-centric moves, like the
push-up, with back moves and core moves for an intense, sweaty strength
workout.
Bonus: You don’t
need any equipment to do this workout, making it an easy addition to your
at-home exercise routine.
This dumbbell chest workout delivers a one-two punch: serious chest strengthening plus
stellar work on the abs. Created by Fagan, this five-move push-pull workout relies heavily on single-arm dumbbell moves, which helps
make sure you’re working each side of your body equally. That’s important, as
it can alleviate the muscle imbalances most of us have, Fagan explains.
Single-arm work also really challenges your core stability, which turns these
upper-body exercises into abs
exercises too. Now that’s what we call a win-win.
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