Table of Content

• Chest muscles and their roles

• 8 Exercises for the Chest Muscles

• Take-Home Points

• FAQ on Best Exercises for Chest Muscles

Introduction

Regular exercise and a healthy diet are key to getting those killer-looking chest muscles. Chest exercises carve and define your chest, give you confidence by improving your physique, and lift your mood. Working on the chest means working on the pectoral muscles of the body, commonly known as the pecs. Strong pectoral muscles can help improve posture, help to breathe, and support the surrounding joints and muscles. Developing a strong chest is relatively easy if you know which exercises to prioritize. 

Chest muscles and their roles

From throwing a ball to pulling yourself off the floor, all daily activities or actions engage the chest muscles. Moreover, chest muscles help maintain good posture and support shoulder and spine function, which, in turn, helps keep the body upright. A strong chest also increases lung function, as developed chest muscles improve breathing. 

The chest muscles consist of 

• Pectoralis major and minor

• Serratus anterior

• Subclavius

• Intercostals

Pectoralis major

It is a unique muscle with two antagonistic heads — the sternocostal head and the clavicular head. The clavicular head flexes, adducts, and assists in the internal rotation of the humerus or upper arm bone.

The sternocostal head brings the arm down from a flexed position. It’s also involved in horizontal adduction and internal rotation of the humerus.

Pectoralis minor

It stabilizes the shoulder blade by pulling it forward and down against the rib cage ( the shoulder blade protraction). It also helps with shoulder stability and respiration.

Serratus anterior 

It prevents scapular winging by pulling the shoulder blades around the ribs, delivering stability to the shoulder during pushing movements.

Subclavius

It is a small accessory muscle mainly involved in respiration.

Intercostals

These muscles make up various groups of muscles between the ribs and form the chest wall.

8 Exercises for the Chest Muscles

1. Pushup

Equipment: none

Sets: 3 sets of 8 to 12 repetitions. 

Steps:

1. Begin with your hands and knees, and step back into a high plank position. 

2. Equipment should be wider than your shoulders and your legs straight with your quads. Engage your hamstrings with your spine neutral.

3.  Keep your core tight. Bend elbows at a 45-degree angle to lower the chest toward the floor, maintaining a straight line from head to heel.

4. Go as low as possible without losing your core support.

5. Press your chest away from the floor until the elbows are straight.

Remember to keep your hips in line with your shoulders and ankles. You can do this exercise on your knees if it is too challenging.

2. Incline push-up

Equipment: none

Repetitions: 20

Steps:

1. Start with hands on the wall or a countertop height surface. Walk your feet back, so your body makes roughly a 45-degree angle with the floor.

2. Keep the body straight and spine neutral.

3. Lower your chest gradually to the surface you’re leaning against.

4. Hold the position for a moment, then return to the starting position.

5. Make sure that the resistance feels light enough to complete up to 20 repetitions.

3. Scapular Pushups

Equipment: none

Sets: 3 sets of 8 to 12 repetitions. 

Steps:

1. Start with your hands shoulder-width apart and your feet a few inches apart. 

2. Keep your back and arms straight, squeeze your shoulder blades slowly toward one another and then release them. 

3. The body should only move up and down slightly—less than during a traditional pushup. 

4. Flat bench press

Equipment: barbell or dumbbells and flat bench

Sets: 3 sets of 8 to 12 repetitions.

Steps:

1. Lie on the bench with knees bent and feet flat on the floor.

2. Grasp the barbell with thumb wrapped around the barbell and palms facing toward the feet.

3.  Press arms straight toward the ceiling to lift the weight.

4. Move the weight over the chest level.

5. Bending the elbows down at a 45-degree angle, lower the weight to your chest. Keep the bar in line with your nipples.

6. Hold a moment, then press the weight back to the start position.

Maintain good control of the weight and keep your back flat. To avoid excessive strain, keep your neck neutral.

5. Incline bench press

Equipment: barbell or dumbbells and incline bench

Sets: 3 sets of 8 to 12 repetitions.

Steps:

1. Lie on the incline bench with knees bent and feet flat on the floor. 

2. Grasp the barbell with thumb wrapped around the barbell and palms facing toward feet. 

3. Press arms straight toward the ceiling to lift the weight.

4. Position the weight above your collarbone.

5. Slowly lower the weight to your chest, in line with the mid-chest to just above the nipples.

6. Hold for a moment, then press the weight back to the start position.

6. Decline bench press

Equipment: barbell or dumbbells and decline bench

Sets: 3 sets of 8 to 12 repetitions.

Steps:

1. Lie on the decline bench with the knees bent and ankles secured behind the ankle rest. 

2. Grasp the barbell with thumb wrapped around the barbell and palms facing toward the feet. 

3. Press arms straight to lift the weight.

4. Position the weight above the lower chest to the upper abdomen region.

5. Bend your elbows slowly to lower the weight to your chest, in line with your nipples.

6. Hold for a moment, then press the weight back to the start position.

7. Cable crossover

Equipment: a resistance band or cable machine 

Sets: 3 sets of 8 to 12 repetitions.

Steps:

1. Start by standing away from a set of a high pulley cable machine or a resistance band anchored overhead. 

2. Select light to moderate weight.

3. Grasp the ends of the band or hands as you step forward with 1 foot. 

4. Keep sufficient tension and control on the handles to keep them in front of the chest.

5. Contract chest muscles and bring the handles down and forward across the body at roughly belly button level. The hands can cross to add power to the serratus anterior muscles.

6. Pause for a moment and slowly return to the start. Then repeat.

8. Chest dip

Equipment: dip station.

Sets: 3 sets of 8 to 12 repetitions.

Steps:

1. Stand facing the two parallel bars and grasp them with palms facing in.

2. Straighten the elbows and press into your hands, lifting your body to align with your hands.

3. Slowly lower your chest toward the hands by bending the elbows.

4. Hold for a moment, then press back to the start position. Then repeat.

Take-Home Points

• Strong chest muscles help maintain good posture and support shoulder and spine function, which, in turn, helps keep the body upright. A strong chest also increases lung function, as developed chest muscles improve breathing. 

• The chest muscles consist of the Pectoralis major and minor, Serratus anterior, Subclavius, and Intercostals.

• Exercises like pushups, bench presses, and crossovers, along with  a high-protein diet, can help increase the size and strength of the chest muscles.

References

• Best Chest Exercises

• Lower chest exercises

• Exercises for Men’s Chest