Exercises for the chest

The best exercises for the chest

There isn't much that looks as good on a fit body as a big, strong chest. I am excited to help you develop your chest muscles, so let's get straight into the best exercises that you can do for the chest.

Chest exercises

1. Wall push-ups

2. Knee push-ups

3. Standard push-ups

4. Diamond push-ups

5. Wide push-ups

6.  Clap push-ups

7. One-handed push-ups

8. Chair dips

9. Chair dips with elevated legs

10. Elevated chair dips with weight

11. Two-bar dips

12. Standard bench press

13. Incline bench press

14. Decline Bench press

15. Wide grip bench press

16. Close grip bench press

17. Reverse grip bench press

18. Dumbbell bench press

19. Dumbbell flyes

20. Upper chest cable crossovers

21. Lower chest cable crossovers

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Exercises for the chest

These chest exercises are split into two sections. The first one hosts the best chest exercises that you can do at home. It is important to keep the chest growing in muscle and strength - even if you don't have time or access to the gym. Keep your chest development on track - whether you get to go to the gym and whether you have equipment or not.

The next section of gym exercises are for regular gym goers who want to know which exercises will have the biggest benefits for the quickest chest development.

Home exercises for the chest (no equipment needed)

These exercises grow your chest muscles.

Push-ups

The standard push-up for chest

The push-up is the most basic exercise for the chest. It is a staple among all good workouts (like our 30 day fitness program, our weight loss program and our belly fat loss program). The push-up chisels out muscle and burns fat. Push-ups are one of the best exercises that you can ever do.

Push-ups strengthen chest muscles and give you a well-defined chest. They stimulate the growth of your pectoral (chest muscles), triceps (muscles at the back of the arm) and shoulder muscles.

Push-ups strengthen the core (abs and lower back), leg (calves and quads), feet, neck and back muscles. This exercise is one of the biggest keys to getting that envied V-shape that everybody wants. Another key to getting the V-shape is the pull-up. 

If you want a bigger and stronger chest, you need to get comfortable doing push-ups. They are hard at first - but that's what makes them so effective.

Variations of the push up (for the chest)

Push-ups are versatile. This list of variations ranks the easiest to the hardest of push-ups. Start at the beginning if you struggle to do a single push up and work your way up through the list to challenge the chest to greater growth.

Move on to the next exercise when the chest movement becomes too easy. This will make sure that you keep working your chest to get better and better every day.

1) Wall push-up

The wall push-up is the easiest to do. I recommend wall push-ups for people who aren't strong enough to do a knee push-up. As you get stronger in your pecs (the chest muscles), you can progress to the other variations.

How to do a wall push-up

• Stand about 1 meter (or 3 feet) away from a wall. 
• Place your hands slightly wider than shoulder width on the wall. Your hands should land in line with your armpits and be in line with your shoulders when you reach the wall.
• Keep your whole body straight, from your knees to your toes. Imagine a straight line that starts at your heels and ends at the top of your head.
• Lean forward so that your weight is placed on your arms.
• Bend your arms so that your chest comes closer to the wall.
• If you keep your body straight, your face will be the first thing to touch the wall.
• Push yourself back to standing position by straightening your arms at the elbows.
• Point your fingers upwards, and flare them out for added balance.
• Keep your elbows tucked in throughout the movement so that they stay in line with your index or middle finger.

You can increase the difficulty of this move by standing further away from the wall. When your chest muscles are strong enough to do more than 20 wall push-ups comfortably, progress to knee push-ups.

2) Knee push-ups

Knee push-ups are one step away from a standard push-up. Apart from your hands, your knees (instead of your toes) are the only parts to touch the ground throughout this chest exercise.

How to do a knee push-up

• Your knees should bend at a 90 degree angle to the rest of your body. 
• Keep your entire body straight - except your knees. Imagine a straight line from your knees to the top of your head. To keep your head straight, look down to the floor in front of you.
• Place your hands slightly wider than shoulder width apart in line with your armpits.
• Bend your elbows so that your body begins to reach the floor. If your body is straight, all of it should reach the floor at the same time.
• Keep your fingers pointing forward and keep your elbows in line with your fingers so that your elbows don't flare out (flared elbows place extra pressure on the shoulders and reduce chest activation).
• Start with your arms straightened. When you reach the floor and come back up (by bending and straightening the arms at the elbows) you have done one rep.

When you can do 20 or more knee push-ups in a row, you can advance to the standard push-up.

3) Standard push-up

Most moderately fit people should be comfortable with standard the push up. Follow these tips to make sure that you are doing them right.

How to do a normal push-up

• Start with your body completely flat on the floor.
• Place your hands next to your armpits.
• Flare out your fingers and rotate your hands inwards so that it is easier to keep your elbows tucked in.
• Start to straighten your elbows so that your body lifts off the floor.
• Keep your whole body straight so that all of it rises at the same time.
• Your rep ends when your arms are straight. Avoid locking in your elbows at the top of the movement because that can injure your elbow joints.

Avoid these mistakes when you do push ups

Form is extremely important for all exercises, but even more so for the push up. You want to do them in such a way that they grow chest and arm muscle without hurting your joints. If you do them right, you get a bigger chest. When you do them wrong, your chest won't grow and you will be left with joint or shoulder pain.

Keep your body straight

It can be hard to know whether your body is straight or if you are bending when you can't look in the mirror and if you don't have someone to correct you. The easiest way to make sure that you are doing them right is to try and make your body as long as possible. Try to create as much distance between your feet and your head. 

This will straighten out your spine and your whole body. It will feel harder because you have to tighten your abs, lower back and your glutes (bum muscles). Lengthening the body will help you to use all of the muscles properly and train your chest in the right way without hurting your spine.

Keep a straight motion from the floor to the top of your push up

Every part of your body should reach the floor at the same time. When you reach the floor, your whole body should almost make contact with it. If your legs, chest, head or knees reach the floor first, you are bending your body incorrectly.

Look down and keep your head in alignment with the rest of your body

Don't push your head below of your body line so that it reaches the ground first. Looking up towards you will place pressure on you neck as it bends out of alignment with the rest of the body. Imagine a straight line that starts at your heels and ends at the top of your head. Keep your whole body (and head) in this line.

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Point your fingers forward and rotate them out slightly

Place your hands in line with your armpits and a little wider than shoulder width. When you place your hands on the floor, make sure that your fingers are facing forward. Flare out your fingers (make your hands wide) so that you have more balance. Once your hands are in this position, rotate them slightly outwards. This will help you to keep you elbows tucked in.

Tuck in your elbows

Do not flare out your elbows (like a T-shape). Keep your elbows next to your rib cage. You almost want your upper arms to brush against your body as you do the push up. Keeping your fingers forward and slightly rotated outward will help you to do this.

You don't want to flare your elbows because this will take the pressure away from your chest and put them on your shoulders. Your shoulders will get too much pressure and could get injured, when the chest won't get enough stimulation to grow.

When you tuck your elbows in, you will feel your chest and triceps being used more and you will feel less pressure on your shoulders.

Don't round your back

Many people hunch their backs when they do push-ups. This will take the motion away from your chest and place all of the work on your arms. Hunching decreases the muscle-building effects that push-ups have on the chest. You want your chest to do the movement, not the arms.

To avoid rounding your back when doing push-ups; focus on tensing your back so that your shoulder blades are the right distance apart. When you do this, you will notice that your chest moves along with your push up. Focus on getting the chest to move the arms, instead of using the arms to move the body.

Use a full range of motion to complete a full push up

Lots of people use a smaller range of motion so that they can get more push-ups done. Doing so will cheat you out of a bigger chest. You want to work out your entire chest so that every part of the pectoral muscle will grow. The push up starts when your entire body is a few centimeters off the floor. It ends when your arms are fully extended. 

When you only do half push-ups, it takes more push-ups to get the same effect of one. It will lead to a weaker chest because you don't train it in the full range of motion.

This is a lot of information to take in, so bookmark this page to recap on your push-up form as you go along. If you focus on one of these tips every time that you do push-ups, you will get it all right with time.

4) Diamond push ups

I like diamond push-ups because they greatly increase the intensity of your at-home chest workout. Your chest will grow whenever you do push-ups, but the chest's growth will start to slow when it isn't challenged anymore.

You can't add more weight as easily as other exercises, but you can increase the intensity by placing your hands closer together.

How to do a diamond push up

Follow all the steps for the standard push up above. The only difference is that you place your hands close together (so that the thumbs and index fingers are touching). Place the hands in line with chest.

To target the upper chest, place your hands higher. If you want to grow the lower part of your chest more, place your hands lower.

5) Wide grip push up

Wide push-ups, or wide-grip push-ups, are fantastic for activating the bulk of your chest. This variation uses less of your shoulders and your triceps.  A wider hand placement isolates the chest nicely.

It is important to note that although wide grip push ups do wonders for isolating the chest, they can still take a toll on your shoulders - since it is not possible to tuck your elbows in like with the other push up variations.

If you have been doing the other push up variations for long enough, you would have built up enough strength in your shoulders to do this variation with risking injury. If your shoulders aren't strong enough yet, stick to the previous variations until they are.

How to do a wide push up

• You won't be able to tuck your elbows in when you do this variation. It is still important, though, to point your fingers forward and keep your elbows in line with them.
• Place your hands much further apart than with normal push ups. The further apart you go, the greater the stress you place on your chest.
• For the first few exercises sessions, start with a slightly wider grip. Increase your hand width as you progress.

Bookmark this page to ensure that you're always advancing in your chest workout.

6) Clap push-ups

Clap push-ups are my personal favorite. They combine body weight and strength training with explosive power. Only do clap push ups if you have proper push up form down to a T. It is very easy to lose track of your form during this variation.

You can add clapping to your standard, wide-grip and diamond push-ups.

How to do a clap push-up

• Start at the normal starting position - just like with any push up.
• Straighten your elbows with enough force to build up momentum so that your body flies into the air.
• When you are high enough, take your hands off the floor and clap them together.
• Your hands should land in the starting position.
• Bend your elbows and return to the starting position
• This is one rep.

Important note: DO NOT lock your elbows during this exercise. Doing so will lead to injury in the elbows and the shoulders.

You can progress this movement by doing two claps - and even three - at the height of each push up.

7) One handed push ups

If you have made it all the way to this variation, your chest should be looking pretty good! Take a moment to think about how well you've done.

One handed push ups are the hardest chest-building push up that you can do.

How to do a one-handed push up

• Start with legs spread wide apart. This will help you to stay balanced.
• Place your hand near the center of your chest - much like where it would be doing a diamond push up.
• Rotate the elbow towards your torso as you apply enough pressure to lift your body off of the ground.

Do push-ups consistently to build up your chest muscles. The above variations are the best exercises for your chest if you don't have any equipment. Gym members can benefit from these techniques when they can't get to the gym.

Dips

Dips for chest growth at home

Dips are one of my favorite exercises for the chest. You work your chest (along with other muscles like your triceps and shoulders) in a totally new way when your arms are behind you. Doing so stimulates your chest for even more growth.

Dips are great at strengthening the front parts of the shoulders. The front parts of the shoulders are extremely important to grow your chest because they are involved in almost every chest exercise. Stronger shoulders equal more power to grow your chest muscles.

Dips, like push-ups, can be done anywhere at home without equipment. You just need a surface to support yourself. You can use a table, chair, step, bench, floor or wall.

Adding dips to your routine will help you to build your chest muscles while you are still resting from push ups. This combination will give your chest all of the stimulation that it needs to grow when you don't have access to exercise equipment.

How to do a dip at home

1. Find a suitable surface like a chair, bench, table or step.
2. Sit at the edge and place your hands next to your but on the edge of the surface.
3. Let the fingers bend over the surface for sufficient rip.
4. Place your feet a little further away from the surface, so that the knees are almost straightened.
5. Lift your but off the surface so that your body weight is supported by your hands
6.  Push your but away from the surface so that it can drop down without touching it. Your knees should now be at an approximately 90 degree angle.
7. While supporting your weight with your hands, drop your body weight by bending your arms at the elbows.
8. Similar to push ups, keep your elbows tucked it. They should stay in line with your upper body instead of flaring out to make a T-shape. Keep your fingers pointing forwards (although they are wrapped around the surface) and try to keep your elbows in line with them.
9. Go as low as what feels comfortable in your shoulders. Don't go so low that they experience any discomfort, but as far what they will allow you to go.
10. Lift yourself up again by straightening your arms. You will feel the workload in the back of your upper arms (triceps), front shoulders and your chest.
11. When you have gone as low as you can and returned back up with straight arms, you have done one rep.

Important notes when doing dips

• Make sure that you don't hunch your back forward when you do your dips. This will place extra pressure on the shoulders and limit the amount of activation that your chest muscles get before you tire from your workout.
• Keep your spine in a neutral position by looking forward. Don't look down. Looking forward will train your body to stay in the best posture during this exercise.

Dip variations for chest growth

Much like the push up, you can do dips in different ways to increase their intensity. Your chest will grow bigger as you work your way through to the more intense variations.

The first type of dip, listed above, is the primary and easiest variation. This is how you can gradually make it harder to encourage further chest growth.

Dips with elevated legs

Instead of having your feet rest on the ground, place them on a chair or elevated surface in front of you. This will shift more of your weight to your upper body and increase the stimulation that the chest muscles get.

Elevated dips with weight

You can increase the intensity of this workout by adding a weight to your lap. It is amazing how much an extra pound or two of weight can make to this exercise.

Two bar dips

Two-bar dips

The next progression of the dip has your hands holding two separate surfaces. This will increase the amount of stimulation that your chest has to grow. Your hands are placed next to you, along your torso, instead of behind you. 

How to do the double bar dip without equipment

It would be great if you have access to a public park with two separate bars. If not, you can place two tables or two chairs alongside each other. While balancing on two chairs straighten your legs and hold them in front of you by engaging your core muscles.

• At the height of the movement, your arms should be in alignment with the rest of your torso. Your hands should be firmly planted on (or gripping) the surface below your bum.
• Slowly lower yourself by bending your elbows. Make sure that you tuck your elbows backwards. Avoid flaring them out. Doing so will place too much pressure on your elbow joints and your shoulders.
• Go as low as what feels comfortable. Your hands should be a few centimeters below your armpits at the lowest part of the movement.
• Lift yourself up again by extending your elbows.
• Take caution not to tuck your chin in and keep your head in alignment with the rest of your spine.

Progressing the two-bar grip

You can increase the intensity of this exercise by adding weight. Fill large water bottles and tie them together with string or rope. Carry them over your shoulders to increase the weight. Add more weight as needed.

Dips are fantastic exercises for chest muscle development

You might be thinking that dips stimulate triceps growth more than chest muscle growth. This video beautifully explains how the chest muscles are greatly involved in dip exercises:

Gym exercises for the chest

Here is a list of the best chest exercises. They are listed according to how much the exercises stimulate the chest muscle to grow.

1. Bench press

The bench press is one of the most important gym exercises to build muscle - along with squats, dead lifts and pull ups. Bench presses encourage the production of pro-muscle hormones like testosterone and human growth hormone. They stimulate chest (pectoral), triceps and shoulder muscle growth. The bench press is so important that it is included in both of our muscle building programs for beginners.

Watch the video on how to execute the perfect bench press for maximum chest growth.

Variations of the bench press

Apart from the standard bench press, you can do the following variations to target different muscles. Adding variation to your workout routine confuses the muscles and stops muscle from reducing its rate of growth.

Incline bench press

Incline bench presses focus on the upper chest muscles. You can turn an ordinary bench press into an incline bench press by adjusting the bench so that your torso is supported by a 45 degree angle - as opposed to the typically flat position. Adjust the weight accordingly and use the same lifting principles as a typical bench press.

Decline bench press

In contradiction to the incline bench press, the decline bench press stimulates lower pectoral growth. Adjust the bench so that your upper body is lower than your lower body. Some people do decline bench presses by engaging their lower backs and lifting their lower bodies off the bench (like a bridge) while performing the lift. Don't do this unless your form is on point.

Wide grip bench press

Similar to a wide push-up, wide grip bench presses increase the amount of stimulation that you put on your chest by isolating them in the movement. The triceps and the shoulder muscles aren't as engaged during a wide grip bench press and your chest is forced to lift a greater portion of the weight.

Close grip bench press

Close grip bench presses are standard bench presses with the hands placed closer together on the bar. You can also do them with dumbbells by holding them closer together throughout the exercise. Close grip bench presses are great at working the inner pectoral muscles. Those are the chest muscles along the center of your chest.

Reverse grip bench press

A reverse grip bench press stimulates greater chest growth because it taxes the chest at a totally new angle. A typical bench press exercise requires the hands to support the bar from underneath. This is known as an underhand grip. By holding the bar with an overhand grip, you confuse the muscle fibers because they need to lift the weight in a different way. This is great for confusing the chest muscles into further growth when they have grown accustomed to the typical bench press.

Dumbbell bench press

All of the different types of bench presses can be done with dumbbells instead of using the normal bench press bar or barbell. Separate weights force the muscles into greater activation because they have to balance the individual weights in the air. I personally prefer dumbbell bench presses for this exact reason. They are also a neat alternative when the bench press section of your gym is fully occupied.

Including variation into your typical bench press routine is the best way to encourage faster chest growth. This is because the muscles are forced to adapt to a new kind of stimulus. Doing the same exercise in a different way is one of the fastest ways to improve your maximum bench press power.

Dumbbell flyes

The dumbbell fly

The dumbbell fly is harder to do than the bench press. You limit the range of motion in your elbows so that the chest muscles are the ones that expand and contract during the movement. Keep your elbows slightly bent and try not to expand or contract them at all.

Dumbbell flyes are one of the few chest exercises that work with the biceps instead of the triceps as the main supporting muscles.

These exercises can be done on a flat bench for overall chest growth, an incline bench for upper chest growth or a decline bench for lower chest development. Make sure that your palms are facing the same direction throughout the movement.

This is what a dumbbell fly looks like:

Cable crossovers

Cable crossover chest exercise

Cable cross overs are one of my favorite chest exercises of all time. They work the chest in a similar way to the dumbbell fly. Biceps, once again, are the main supporting muscle groups to the pectoral muscles during this movement. Your arms start fully extended before the exercise and the elbows bend slightly as you pull the cables towards each other.

Although there is a small range of motion in your elbows and they bend slightly, focus on moving your chest muscles instead of your arms.

Upper chest cable crossover

Move the cable upwards towards your upper body, as depicted above. This exercise focuses on the upper chest and the front shoulders.

Lower chest cable crossover

The video below shows you how to do a cable crossover with the attachments coming from the top. This exercise focuses more on the lower pectoral muscles.

If you ever wonder whether a chest exercise is working your upper chest or your lower chest, look at the direction that your arms are moving. When they are moving downwards (towards your core), they are stimulating a greater part of your lower chest muscles. If your arms are moving upward (away from, or higher than, the chest), they are activating the upper chest to a greater degree.

Variation is important to maintain chest growth without staggering results. Progression (increasing the weight, difficulty or intensity of an exercise) is just as important. Your chest muscles will grow in response to these exercises. They can only grow so much during a particular exercise over a period of time. Keep changing it up to maintain positive results. Stay Strong!

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