Muscle guide · Upper body

The Best Exercises for Chest

The best chest exercises are horizontal presses (bench press, dumbbell press, push-ups, dips) plus a fly for extra stretch. Use an incline press to bring in the upper chest, and train the chest with 10 to 20 hard sets a week across two sessions.

Includes: Pectoralis Major Lower, Pectoralis Major Middle, Pectoralis Major Upper · also called Clavicular pectoralis, Costal pectoralis, Lower Pecs Left, Lower Pecs Right

Written by the FitStack training team. Last reviewed .

Front view: muscles worked by chest training. Primary: chest.
Back view: muscles worked by chest training. Primary: chest.
Primary

What the chest do

  • Pushes the arms forward and across the body (horizontal adduction), as in a press or a hug.
  • Rotates the upper arm inward.
  • The upper (clavicular) fibres help raise the arm forward; the lower fibres help pull it down from overhead.

The chest is mostly the pectoralis major, which has an upper clavicular head and a larger lower sternal head, with the smaller pectoralis minor underneath. Incline pressing at around 30 degrees biases the clavicular head; flat and decline pressing and dips bias the sternal fibres.

7 best chest exercises

  1. Barbell bench press — Heaviest chest press and the easiest to progress.
  2. Dumbbell bench press — Deeper stretch and independent arms.
  3. Incline bench press — Best for the upper chest.
  4. Chest dip — Bodyweight press that loads the lower chest in a deep stretch.
  5. Push-up — No equipment and easy to scale.
  6. Low-to-high cable fly — Isolates the upper chest with constant tension.
  7. Incline dumbbell press — Upper chest with more range.

Sample chest workouts

Gym chest workout

Gym · Intermediate

Gym chest workout: exercises and sets × reps
Barbell bench press 4 × 5–8
Incline dumbbell press 3 × 8–12
Chest dip 3 × 8–12
Low-to-high cable fly 2 × 12–15

Home chest workout

Home · Beginner

Home chest workout: exercises and sets × reps
Push-up 4 × as many as possible, 1 rep in reserve
Wall or incline push-up 2 × 15–20 to finish

Sets × reps. Finish each set with one or two reps left in reserve, and rest 2 to 3 minutes after compound lifts and 1 to 2 minutes after isolation work.

How many sets for the chest?

Most lifters grow the chest well on 10 to 20 hard sets a week. Presses also train the front delts and triceps, so count them when planning shoulder and arm volume.

Muscle growth rises with weekly volume: in a meta-analysis, 10 or more hard sets per muscle per week produced more growth than fewer than 5 (Schoenfeld et al., 2017), and training a muscle at least twice a week beat once a week when volume was matched (Schoenfeld et al., 2016). Start near the low end and add sets while you are still recovering between sessions.

More chest exercises by equipment

Dumbbell

Cable

Body Weight

Leverage Machine

Barbell

Band

Medicine Ball

Roller

Smith Machine

Assisted

Stability Ball

Upper Body Ergometer

Resistance Band

Filter every chest exercise in the library →

Exercises that also work the chest (50)

Chest training FAQs

How do I build my upper chest?

Add an incline press at about 30 degrees and a low-to-high fly. Incline work biases the clavicular head of the pectoralis major.

Are push-ups enough to build the chest?

Yes for beginners, if sets are taken close to failure. Once you can do 20 or more, add load or switch to harder variations.

How often should I train chest?

Two sessions a week works well for most people, splitting your weekly sets between them.

Does bench grip width matter for the chest?

Somewhat. A wider grip uses slightly more chest and a narrower grip more triceps, but the difference is modest; use the grip that lets you press comfortably.

Sources

  1. Saeterbakken AH, Stien N, Pedersen H, et al. The effect of grip width on muscle strength and electromyographic activity in bench press among novice- and resistance-trained men. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18(12):6444.
  2. Schoenfeld BJ, Ogborn D, Krieger JW. Dose-response relationship between weekly resistance training volume and increases in muscle mass. J Sports Sci. 2017;35(11):1073-1082.
  3. Schoenfeld BJ, Ogborn D, Krieger JW. Effects of resistance training frequency on measures of muscle hypertrophy: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sports Med. 2016;46(11):1689-1697.

General fitness information, not medical advice. Speak to a doctor or physiotherapist about injuries or health conditions before starting a new programme.