Top 7 Chest Exercises You Should Try For Best Gains

If you are going to ask men in a gym about their workout for the day, don’t be surprised if they’ll tell you that they are doing chest day. 

People line up on the bench because it’s easy to show off your massive chest in public. In case you are doing multiple days a week doing chest days, the idea is to mix things up. You might want to combine different chest workouts that can continuously make every workout challenging for you. 

We’ve come up with some of the best options that even serious lifters may find interesting. 

1. Barbell Bench Press 

It’s easy to tell that those who visit the gym love doing barbell bench presses. And who could blame them? Bench press responds well to different programs depending on your goal. It responds well if you are doing a 5×5 program to gain strength or if you are looking to bulk up by doing more reps in your sets. 

The bench press also activates the chest and other muscles quite well. In a study comparing with dumbbell flyes nad barbell bench press, the latter shows a significantly higher muscle activation in triceps brachii, deltoids, and pectoralis major. 

What does this study mean? If you don’t have a lot of time in the gym and you are looking to make the most out of your workout, then this is the way to go if you are doing chest day. If the goal is to train with maximum mechanical stress and activity on your primary pushing muscles, then you should be doing bench press.  

2. Dumbbell Bench Press

In case you want a better range of motion than doing a barbell press, that’s when the dumbbell bench press comes in handy. If you are also trying to eliminate your weak side, doing a dumbbell bench press is a good way to do this. Why would you want to minimize, if not eliminate your weak side? Asymmetric strength between limbs can be detrimental and could even pose a risk to get injured.

Just like your legs, it’s normal to suffer from muscle imbalance in your upper body. If you’ve fixed your position on the bench but still find yourself tilting the barbell, perhaps, it’s time to reconsider shifting to a lighter weight and supplementing more dumbbell bench press sets. 

3. Inclined Bench Press (Dumbbell and Barbell)

So let’s say that you only have time to visit the gym a few days a week and you want to work on both chest and shoulder in one session. A good way to hit two birds with one stone is by doing inclined bench press. 

It hits not only on your upper chest but also on your shoulders giving you a more balanced upper body. It’s a good workout that can transition towards shoulder presses. 

4. Decline Bench Press

A common misconception is that declined bench press is only for your lower chest. In reality, it works the entire chest. Also, if you are going to look at the EMG, there’s no significant difference in muscle activation of the chest muscles in flat, inclined, and declined bench press. This is a good way to also build strength to be more comfortable doing flat and inclined bench presses. 

5. Push-Ups

You have to love the push-ups simply because there are several varieties to choose from and you don’t have to go to the gym to work on your chest muscles. You can adjust the range of motion or even get your core to work even more such as in doing Spiderman pushup variations. 

There are also ways how you can make your pushups challenging especially if you don’t have access to a gym. You can work with resistance bands or simply just concentrate on slowing down every rep. You’ll be surprised how difficult challenging the exercise becomes by doing this. 

6. Pull Over

Looking for a bigger chest and back to make you look wider? That’s what makes pullovers great. Whether it’s Dorian Yates, Ronnie Coleman, or Arnold Schwarzenegger, these legendary bodybuilders are proof that pullovers can be a great way to work on both back and chest at the same time. 

You just need to get the dumbbell just as far down when you feel the chest and the lats start to contract. You also don’t have to get the dumbbell lower to the point that it becomes too uncomfortable. Try to do things slowly and see gains on both your back and chest. Plus, it can even help decompress your spine as you expand your chest. 

7. Cable/dumbbell Flyes

Cable flyes are ideal since it gets your chest muscles in consistent tension from start to finish. If you are also feeling some discomfort in your joints, doing cable flyes can be a good alternative. If you are going to use the cable machine, just tweak according to your range of motion. 

If you don’t have access to a machine, you can always just use dumbbells to get the extra pump that you need especially after doing pushups or bench. 

Final Thoughts

If you ever considered building massive pectoral muscles, be sure to follow these exercises that we’ve mentioned. You will be able to see great progress in the weeks to come. Plus, you can always feel free to mix things up according to your goals. 

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