Are you aiming for developed pectoral muscles one of your goals? Then your training plan should include effective chest exercises. Undoubtedly, one of the most popular exercises is the bench press, which most people incorporate into their workout at the gym. But it’s not the only exercise that can help you develop your chest muscles. Some other exercises can target this area from different angles and thus improve the shape and symmetry of the pectoral muscles.
The 7 Best Exercises for Developing the Pectoral Muscles
To perform these exercises, you will only need standard gym equipment, such as an adjustable bench, barbell, dumbbells, rope machine, and training bars. You can also use long resistance bands or kettlebells. It’s up to you how you combine the basic exercises with their slightly different variants. Also remember that it is necessary to engage the upper, middle and lower parts of the pectoralis major muscle (Musculus pectoralis major), which plays a key role in shaping the size of the chest.
1. Bench press
Starting position: Lie on your back on a horizontal bench. Pull your shoulder blades together and grab the barbell (wrist grip). Keep your wrists and elbows directly under the bar. Your hands should be slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. During the entire exercise, the feet rest on the floor, the knees are bent at an angle of about 90 degrees. You can arch your back slightly. Activate your core muscles and buttocks.
Execution: Grab the barbell above your chest. On an inhale, slowly lower it towards your chest. In the lower position, the barbell should lightly touch the chest (approximately at the level of the middle of the sternum). In this position, the arms form an angle of 45-60 degrees with the body. Then push the bar upwards, activating the chest muscles on the exhale until the arms are almost straight. The upward movement of the barbell should form a slight arc. Once you are back in position, do another repetition.
The most common mistakes: Elbows pointing outwards, uncontrolled movement, inadequate load, excessive bending of the back, insufficient activation of the core muscles and buttocks, small range of motion.
If you don’t have a barbell, you can do this exercise with dumbbells. The advantage is that dumbbells allow you to exercise each side of the body separately and strain the muscles in a greater range of motion. When moving upwards, press the dumbbells together. In this way, we will put more strain on the inner part of the pectoral muscles.
- Bench press with a narrow or wide grip
By adjusting the width of the grip, you can easily change the activation of the muscles. In a narrow grip, you will feel the triceps, and in the case of a wider one, with more spaced arms, you will engage your pectoral muscles more intensively.
- Extrusion on the machine
For some people, this exercise may be easier to do on a bench press machine. You don’t have to focus so much on stability and watch the movements of the barbell.
Dumbbell flyes while lying on a horizontal bench
Starting position: Lie on your back on a horizontal bench. Rest your feet with the entire surface on the floor. Grab the dumbbells, stretch your arms out in front of you, and point your palms towards you. Bend your arms slightly at the elbows. Activate the core muscles.
Method: Slowly spread your straight arms to the sides, in a controlled movement on the inhale. Keep your elbows slightly bent. Return to the starting position by activating your pectoral muscles on an exhale. Then move on to the next repetition.
The most common mistakes: too bent elbows, uncontrolled movement, inappropriate load, bent back, small range of motion.
- Dumbbell flyes on an incline bench
To add variety to your workout, you can do dumbbell bench presses. If you raise it to a positive incline (head up), you will work more on the upper part of the pectoral muscles. Otherwise, if you place the bench in a negative incline (head down), you will engage your lower chest more.
- Flyes in a seat on the machine
You can replace dumbbells with an exercise performed on a machine called Pec Deck. Sit with your back to the machine, spread your arms and grab the handles. Adjust the position of the machine and the height of the seat so that the arms are in line with the arms extended. Keep your elbows slightly bent. Pull your arms towards you, activating your pectoral muscles as you exhale. On an inhale, return to the starting position and repeat.
Upper pectoral exercise
Lie down on a positive incline bench at an angle of 20-45 degrees placed under the barbell on a stand. Grab a barbell (wrist grip) and proceed in the same way as you would for the classic bench press. In this variant, the barbell should touch the chest slightly higher in the lower position.
You can also replace dumbbells with two kettlebells in this exercise. Hold them by the handles and try to get closer to each other in the same way as dumbbells. If you only have one kettlebell or one dumbbell, do the exercise first on one side and then on the other.
H2: Involvement of the lower parts of the pectoral muscles
Lie down on a negative incline bench at an angle of 30-40 degrees. Grab a dumbbell and do the same motion as you would for the dumbbell bench press, head up.
Lie down on an inclined bench with a negative incline of 30-40 degrees. Grab a bar placed on a stand (wrist grip) and perform the same movement as for the classic bench press.
Flyes on the lower pulley cables
Starting position: Grasp the lower pulley handles (with the overhand). Stand in the middle, placing your feet next to each other. Keep your back straight. Keep your shoulders alongside your body, elbows slightly bent, palms facing each other and slightly raised.
Performance: Stretch your arms forward, activating your pectoral muscles on the exhale. Try to keep your hands in front of your chest or even in front of your head. You can stay in this position for 1-2 seconds. Then we return to the starting position on the inhalation and move on to the next repetition.
The most common mistakes: Uncontrolled movement, elbows too bent, bent back, small range of motion, inadequate load.
Many people who go to the gym strive to build their pectoral muscles. Effective chest exercises include bench presses, dumbbell presses, push-ups, and more. They will help you in comprehensive muscle development in this area, but also in gaining strength and better condition. However, for better results, you should pay attention to the correct technique and gradually increase the load. This is the only way to achieve a comprehensive development of the pectoral muscles. Chest exercises should be performed 2-3 times a week. Plan them to give your body enough time to recover.