10 Best Chest Exercises

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10 Best Chest Workout Exercises for Building Muscle

Chest | Back  | Shoulders  |  Biceps  | Triceps  | Legs  | Abs

There are dozens of exercises you could do on chest day (the Bodybuilding.com Exercise Database lists well over 200), but you probably don't want to spend your Monday—aka International Chest Day—doing them all. You just want to know the best exercises to build a muscular chest, so we've done the work to compare them for you.

Our choices are based on results in the lab, but also the weight room. Serious lifters know that measuring activation from electromyography (EMG) to pick the best muscle-building exercises is helpful, but far from perfect. So, we used a number of parameters, including:

  • Ease of learning and performing
  • Total muscle stimulation and intensity
  • Popularity among diehard lifters and bodybuilders (This matters!)
  • Availability of equipment in commercial gyms

Here are the best chest exercises for muscle growth, plus three complete chest workouts to put those movements into action. Along with growth-focused nutrition and supplementation , this can be your action plan for a bigger chest!

Barbell Bench Press

Why it's on the list : It's popular to hate on the bench press these days, but it's one of the most popular lifts in the gym for a reason. For one, the standard barbell bench allows you to move the most weight. It's also an easier lift to control than pressing with heavy dumbbells. The exercise is also relatively easy to spot —so don't be afraid to ask for one!

The bench press also responds well to classic protocols like 5x5 for muscle and strength , or even 10x10, aka German Volume Training , for pure mass. If you want to get serious, there are systematic bench press programs like Bench 300 to help you chase a big number.

Barbell Bench Press Variations for Chest Growth:

  • Barbell bench press ( medium , wide , or close grip )
  • Barbell floor press
  • Barbell bench press with chains
  • Bench press with a neutral grip, "Swiss bar," or multi-grip bar
  • Reverse-grip barbell bench press
  • Barbell "guillotine" bench press
  • Bench press with suspended weights
  • Reverse band bench press

In your workout: Bench toward the start of your chest workout for heavy sets in lower rep ranges, such as 5-8 reps. There are better moves for high-rep chest burnouts . Vary your grip width and style for more complete chest development.

Strategic Training for a Big Bench

Why it's on the list : Whether dumbbell or barbell presses are better for growth is an age-old weight-room debate. Luckily, you can do both! But there's little doubt that the dumbbell variation has more versatility throughout the beginning, middle, and end of a chest workout .

Some other big plusses for dumbbells: Each side's musculature must work independently, creating more balanced strength and size. Dumbbells also allow a longer range of motion, which some studies say can lead to muscle growth. Plus, you can more easily tweak your grip to create variety and a new stimulus on chest day.

Dumbbell Bench Press Variations for Chest Growth:

  • Dumbbell bench press
  • Neutral-grip dumbbell bench press
  • Close-grip dumbbell bench press
  • Single-arm dumbbell bench press
  • Alternating dumbbell bench press

In your workout: At least some of the time, do flat dumbbell presses toward the start of your chest workout for heavy sets in lower rep ranges. They can also work well for high reps later in a chest workout, either flat or on an incline or decline.

Here's what not to do: A few sets of the barbell bench press, then the same sets and reps for dumbbell. The similar nature of these movements was confirmed via EMG analysis , which demonstrated no significant differences between flat-bench dumbbell and barbell presses in regard to muscle activation.

Don't Let Small Joints Hold Back Big Results

Why it's on the list : Not only is the incline bench press a classic way to build the upper chest, many lifters find them to be a more comfortable "main lift" for the shoulders than flat benching. It's great with a barbell or multi-grip bar, but maybe be even better with dumbbells, since you can customize your grip to increase focus on the upper pecs .

Pro tip : Many benches are fixed at a very steep angle, which EMG results have shown works the front delts as much as the chest. If possible, go for a lower incline, such as 30 degrees, to focus squarely on the upper pecs.

Want to dial it in further? The same study suggests that bringing your grip in a bit closer helps to hammer the upper chest fibers significantly more.

Community quote

Incline Bench Press Variations for Chest Growth:

  • Barbell incline bench press ( medium or close grip)
  • Incline dumbbell bench press
  • Smith Machine incline bench press
  • Incline dumbbell bench with palms facing in
  • Dumbbells-together incline bench press

In your workout: As a primary lift, a few heavy sets of 6-8 can be your bread and butter. As a secondary lift, up it to 8-10. Many chest workouts start with flat-bench movements first, but every so often you should start with inclines, particularly if you're trying to bring up your upper chest .

Decline Press

Why it's on the list: The common thinking on decline is that it's for lower chest only. And while it is good for that, all-time greats, like six-time Mr. Olympia Dorian Yates in his 6-Week Blood and Guts program , favor it because it hits the entire chest and allows them to lift heavier and more comfortably than the flat bench.

If your gym has a comfortable decline press machine, like a plate-loaded hammer strength machine, use it. Along with the traditional double-arm press, you can sit sideways and press across your body one arm at a time. This unilateral chest move emphasizes shoulder adduction, one of the primary actions of the pec major.

Decline Bench Press Variations for Chest Growth:

  • Decline barbell bench press
  • Decline dumbbell bench press
  • Decline Smith machine press
  • Decline leverage press

In your workout: Do free-weight presses early in your chest workout because they require more effort and stabilizer muscles than machines. A machine version could be the final heavy exercise in your workout before switching to lighter pump work.

Machine Chest Press

Why it's on the list:  Free-weight pressing moves on a flat bench are great, but machine press and cable press variations have some unique benefits . For one, it's easier to slow down the repetition, both in the concentric and eccentric phases. Stack-loaded machines are also great for quickly doing dropsets.

Feel like a step down from free weights? It shouldn't. EMG research demonstrates that the machine bench press recruits the shoulders far less than free-weight variations. This allows you to really target your pecs.

Machine Chest Press Variations for Chest Growth:

  • Machine chest press
  • Plate-loaded chest press (flat, incline , decline )
  • Cable chest press ( seated , standing , lying )

In your workout: Machine exercises make the most sense at the end of your workout for sets of at least 8-10 reps, plus dropsets or rest-pause sets if you can handle them. This is when you see if that pre-workout you've been taking can live up to its promises! Pump your pecs until they're seriously fatigued and finish your workout strong.

Upgrade Your Favorite Workout of the Week

Why it's on the list: An obvious point in favor of push-ups is that they require no equipment and can be the centerpiece of a home chest workout, like in strength coach Paul Carter's program Jacked at Home: Bodyweight Muscle-Building Workouts . But they're also highly versatile, easy to adjust for range of motion, and can help strategically target different parts of your chest with a few simple tweaks to elevation or hand placement.

"Yeah, but they're just push-ups," you say. "They're definitely not enough to make you strong." Believe it or not, an in-depth analysis found that push-ups and bench presses are similar in both muscle activation and overall muscle gains. This doesn't mean push-ups should be all you do, but it means they definitely should have a place in your repertoire.

Push-Up Variations for Chest Growth:

  • Feet-elevated push-up
  • Hands-elevated push-up
  • Suspended push-up
  • Hand-release push-up
  • Weighted push-up
  • Banded push-up

In your workout: Sets of push-ups to failure are a great way to burn out or add volume in the late stages of a workout, and they're awesome in a compound set with dips, a mechanical dropset after flyes or presses, or an antagonist chest-and-back superset with rows. Weighted push-ups and push-ups with resistance bands can even be a primary push movement, if needed.

Dip

Why it's on the list: Dips were a staple in the training programs of the golden-age greats for good reason: Nothing stretches the chest and makes it work quite like this bodyweight movement. You can add extra weight with a dip belt if you're seriously strong, or use band or machine assistance if you struggle with bodyweight reps. Plus, they are a great spotter-free alternative to the decline press.

All types of dips hit the chest heavily, but on chest day, it's worth making sure you're doing dips that emphasize the pecs. Put your feet up behind you, lean forward as far as possible, and allow your elbows to flare out slightly as you dip.

Dip Variations for Chest Growth:

  • Machine-assisted dip
  • Machine dip

In your workout: If you can do them for high reps, dips make a great finisher to a pro-level chest day . If you can't, you can do them earlier in your session in traditional strength- or muscle-building rep ranges, such as 6-8 or 8-10 reps. Dips also make a great superset pairing with push-ups for a big pump at the end of your workout.

Chest Fly

Why it's on the list : Looking for a way to isolate the pecs after your presses? It's time to fly. And when it comes to fly variations, you can't beat cables. They allow for continuous tension throughout the exercise's full range of motion, which is why they're a no-brainer on the list of 10 Best Muscle-Building Isolation Exercises .

Cable cross-overs are most lifters' go-to, and with good reason, but also consider trying a lying version on an incline bench. They're more stable than a standing press, allowing you to push further into fatigue. And if you're training with a partner, like in the BodyFit program Duel: 6-Week Partner-Based Muscle-Building Program , you can do a few dropsets for some real masochistic, muscle-building fun!

Fly Variations for Chest Growth:

  • Incline cable fly
  • Cable cross-over
  • Low-cable cross-over
  • Single-arm cable cross-over
  • Dumbbell fly ( flat , incline , decline )

In your workout:   Do your flyes after your presses, either as your first isolation move, or as the final exercise in your workout. There's no need to go heavy! Stick to higher-rep sets, like 10-12 reps or slightly higher.

Dumbbell Pull-Over

Why it's on the list: Pull-overs have been a favorite torso builder of bodybuilders for decades. Dating back to the 1940s and earlier, lifters alternated them with 20-rep squats in workouts designed to expand the ribcage. The logic behind this approach may not stand up today, but the move is still worth including on a modern chest day.

Lean toward the incline version, which puts your chest fibers under tension for a longer range of motion. Use a bench that's 30-45 degrees and keep your elbows in a fixed comfortable angle. The more they bend and flex, the more this becomes a triceps movement.

Pull-Over Variations for Chest Growth

  • Incline straight-arm pull-over
  • Pull-over to press

In your workout: Do pull-overs at the very end of your workout for sets of around 12 reps. On every set, hold the peak contraction of the last rep for a full 5 seconds.

Machine Fly

Why it's on the list: For the majority of lifters, the machine chest fly (aka, pec-deck) is a more effective, harder-to-screw-up alternative to dumbbell flyes. If your gym has one, it's a great move to get a great pump without having to balance any weights or put your shoulders at risk.

But does it work? EMG data shows that activation of the pectoralis major is statistically similar between the machine fly and bench press, which means that even though you'll likely be working in different rep ranges for each exercise, both are worthy components to chest day. The big difference? For the machine, you don't need a spotter and can more safely push the intensity and reach true muscle failure.

In your workout : As a pre-exhaust , hit a few sets of 10-15 before your presses.As a burnout, hit the machine fly last in your routine for sets of around 10-12. Experiment with dropsets, partial reps , and other intensity boosters. Don't be afraid to take this movement to failure, and know that you've earned your post-workout protein shake .

You did the work. Here's your reward.

If you're someone who celebrates International Chest Day each Monday like clockwork, this is for you. It's focused on heavy compound presses, but finishes with high-rep dips. Have anything left in the tank? Hit your triceps next.

home workout for chest

Want to build your shelf? This is your workout. It's great on its own, but is also an ideal approach if you like to do two chest days a week. That's the approach taken in the popular program 30-Day Chest with Abel Albonetti .

home workout for chest

No bench press? No problem. This high-rep, short-rest workout will allow you to move solid weights and chase failure. Feel free to mix in some dropsets and leave the gym with that shirt feeling tight!  

Fill out your new shirt on chest day

The best chest-building programs feature workouts you'll be looking forward to all week long. Lift heavy, finish with a pump, and give your chest everything it needs to grow. If there's any time left afterward, do the same for your triceps!

  • 30-Day Chest with Abel Albonetti
  • The Blueprint to Mass: 8-Week Old-School Muscle-Building Program
  • Living Large: Jay Cutler's 8-Week Mass-Building Trainer
  • Modern Physique: Steve Cook's 8-Week Muscle-Building Plan

If you want to follow a similar blueprint to build the rest of your body, check out the companion pieces in this series:

  • The 10 Best Muscle-Building Back Exercises
  • The 10 Best Muscle-Building Shoulder Exercises
  • The 10 Best Muscle-Building Biceps Exercises
  • The 10 Best Muscle-Building Triceps Exercises
  • The 10 Best Muscle-Building Leg Exercises
  • The 10 Best Muscle-Building Abs Exercises

14 Chest Exercises For Your Home Workout

14 Chest Exercises For Your Home Workout

It's everyone's favourite day of the week — Chest Day. But this one feels a little bit different to normal. Rather than fighting to secure that free bench at your gym, you're stuck at home wondering how you're going to build those bigger pecs.

Most of us don't have access to facilities or equipment that allow for full utilisation of the chest muscles — so we need to improvise. This article will provide you with super-simple exercises, that can be performed from the comfort of your living room, with little or no equipment.

Give these exercises a try, along with the recommended sets and reps, and building that bigger chest has never been easier. And, you didn't even need to step foot in the gym.

Best Chest Exercises without Equipment:

1. press-ups.

4 sets of 12 reps

  The press-up is probably the most popular bodyweight move in the world. That’s partly because it can be performed anywhere, without the need for much space or any kit. But above all its effective, working your chest, core, triceps and shoulders.

https://youtu.be/Qujnzy_QpHk

  • When in the press-up position, tense the core and ensure the body is straight.
  • Arms shoulder-width apart and elbows tucked in.
  • Get as close to the floor as possible in a slow-motion before pushing back to the start.

2. Tense and Hold Press-Ups

You can take the press-up and make it slightly harder.  At the top of the press-up, hold the position and purposely tense the chest muscles.  This adds an extra workload to the muscles and increases the difficulty.

https://youtu.be/zRMpXX712ZI

  • Pause just before locking the arms and tense the chest muscles for a 1-2 second hold.

3. Wide Grip Press-Up

3 sets of 12 reps

Wide press-ups are a simple yet effective way to build your upper-body, core strength and target your shoulders slightly. If you’ve perfected the regular press-ups and want to target your muscles a little differently, these are for you. Positioning your hands further apart targets your chest and shoulder muscles.

https://youtu.be/_5AeuK_uV-0

  • Arms set wider than the shoulders and hands facing out to maintain comfort.
  • Release towards the floor slowly and controlled before pushing back to the start position.

4. Spiderman Press-Up

3 sets of 10 reps

The advantages of doing a Spiderman press-up are that it helps your chest and arm muscles work harder. When you move your leg forward, it shifts your weight, which means that your muscles must adjust to the new position. This helps to work different muscle groups, including your pectoral muscles, deltoids, and triceps.

https://youtu.be/lwF_7HmKOPM

  • Get into a traditional press-up position.
  • Lower yourself toward the floor and bring your right knee to your right elbow, keeping it off the ground.
  • Press back up and return your leg to the starting position.
  • Repeat with the alternate leg.

5. T Press-Up:

3 sets of 10 reps (each side)

Breathe some life into the standard push-up and build additional strength in the chest, shoulders, arms and core in one fluid movement.

This move will work your core again and again, first by supporting the press-up motion and then by rotating your body. Better still, if you hold the T position then your core needs to work hard to keep you upright.

https://youtu.be/up3jpcoItm8

  • Start with your hands and feet on the ground with your body in a straight line in a regular push-up position. Bending at the elbows lower your chest to the ground and then push yourself back up.
  • Next, you're going to lift your left hand off the ground and rotate all your weight onto your right hand. Rotate until the side of your body is parallel with the floor. Feet should then rotate as well.
  • Both arms should be extended so that your body resembles the form of a "T".
  • Rotate your body back to push-up position.

Best Chest Exercises with Household Items:

6. decline press-up.

With the decline press-up, your feet are elevated so that your body is at an angle to the floor rather than parallel. This works the upper chest and front shoulders more than the regular push-up.

https://youtu.be/XOMLu6riZLM

  • Lie on an exercise mat in the press-up position with your object positioned behind you.
  • Plant your toes on the surface behind you and take up a straight body as you would a normal press-up with a straight body and tensed core.
  • With your hands shoulder-width apart, elbows tucked in, release towards the floor slow and controlled.

7. Incline Press-Up

This simple movement targets the main muscles of the chest, the pectoralis major and minor. In addition to exercising the chest, the incline Press-Up engages the shoulders (deltoid), arms (triceps) as well a long list of muscles throughout the abs, back, hips, and legs that act as stabilizers and prevent any sagging or arching of the spinal column during the movement.

https://youtu.be/4S06fZGalSY

  • Lie on an exercise mat in press-up position with your object positioned in front of you.
  • Plant your palms on the surface in front of you and take up a straight body as you would a normal press-up with a straight body and tensed core.

8. The Alternating Shuffle Press-up

Now, if you want to challenge yourself, add this into your routine. A great conditioning exercise further strengthening your core with added movement.  The same basics apply but for the alternating hands-on and off the object ensuring the feet move in tandem as you go.  If you want to give this a try and need to take it easy, simply complete the motion then shuffle between hands.

This adds an element of balance and stability to the regular push up, forcing you to engage your core more. By using a stability ball or alternative object, you also allow your muscles to move through a wider range of motion.  A great “all-in-one" movement working a wider range of the chest muscles than usual.

https://youtu.be/efzS8fXa_cw

  • Maintain Press-Up position with a straight spine and tensed core throughout the movement.
  • On either side of the object, ensure the arms are the same distance apart and slightly wider than the shoulders.
  • Shuffle feet accordingly to keep the body in line. Walk between the positions for an easier movement.

9. Bottle Slider Flyes

This chest flye alternative helps maximise the recruitment of muscle fibres in the chest and anterior deltoids because of its non-fixated pattern.  This puts a strong demand on the muscles and with the added gravity, is a great exercise to improve your power to weight ratio.

https://youtu.be/0zOK15LYago

  • Take a press-up position while using your knees rather than your feet and hold the bottles. Keep the body straight and core engaged.
  • Slight bend on the elbows and release away in a flye motion towards the floor.
  • Slide the arms back in and tense the chest for a 2-second squeeze.

10. Weighted Chest Flye

The chest fly doesn't only strengthen your chest and shoulders but additionally improves your posture. This works the shoulders as well as the large, fanlike pectoral muscle of your chest. Flyes also engage the rhomboids in the upper back and the biceps as stabilizing muscles.

https://youtu.be/vxwOCfxdJ6g

  • Lie on back with knees bent and feet on the floor and hold the weight straight up over your chest.
  • With a slight bend in the elbow, slowly open arms wide out to the side.
  • Squeeze your chest as you bring the weights back together at the top and tense for a 2-second hold.

11. Kitchen Sieve Close-Grip Press-Up

Picture the Diamond Press-Up.  Now take this and slightly elevate the movement.  This slightly changes the angle of the chest muscles worked and will isolate the Triceps even more so.

https://youtu.be/Nr1dPNJWpSs

  • Take a diamond press-up position on the sieve while keeping your body straight and core engaged.
  • Keep your elbows tucked in.
  • Lower to the Sieve before pushing back to the start.

Dumbbell Chest Exercises

12. dumbbell pullover.

The classic dumbbell pullover is a widely used resistance exercise that primarily strengthens the muscles in the chest (pectoralis major) and the large wing-shaped muscles in the back (latissimus dorsi). By making variations to the movement, you can also engage the core muscles and the back of the upper arm (triceps).

https://youtu.be/kpzUfMkvZD4

  • Take the dumbbell in both hands at one end.
  • Lie flat on your back, slightest of bends in the elbow.
  • Keeping your arms straight bring the dumbbell back behind your head before returning to the start position directly above your chest.

13. Dumbbell Bench Press

Using dumbbells allows a greater range of motion than using a barbell and this, in turn, means you can work more of the pec muscles during the exercise. Your pecs are the main muscles targeted by the exercise, but as a bonus, it also works your triceps.

Opting for dumbbells also trains each side in isolation, so you can’t rely on a stronger side to muscle up the weight like you can when using a barbell. If you do find that one side is struggling when using dumbbells, you can then focus on building your strength on that side to balance your body.

https://youtu.be/iPsN1WEQ-Yo

  • Lie on the bench with a dumbbell in each hand and your feet flat on the floor. You can rest your feet up on the bench if it’s more comfortable.
  • Push the dumbbells up so that your arms are directly over your shoulders and your palms are up. Ensure your forearms and wrist are parallel for comfort and support.
  • Keep your head resting throughout.

Tip: Grab a pair of dumbbells and rest them vertically on your thighs while sitting on the seat of the bench.  Thrust with your knee the dumbbells up into position as you lie back.

14. Incline Dumbbell Bench Press

The incline press works the top of the chest and the front of your shoulders harder than the standard exercise, boosting the strength of your muscles and hopefully increasing the amount you’ll be able to lift when performing the standard flat bench press.

https://youtu.be/8xNKkSpxlh8

  • Set an adjustable bench to an incline of 30-45 degrees. Lie on your back on the bench and hold a pair of dumbbells directly above your shoulders with your arms fully extended.
  • Pull your shoulder blades together, and slightly stick out your chest. Lower both dumbbells to the sides of your chest. Pause, and then press the dumbbells back to the starting position.
  • Lower the dumbbells until they are level with your chest.

How To Progress 

You can alter the difficulty of the exercises by changing the sets, reps and rest period or even the time under tension ensuring the movement is performed at a slower rate.  Other ways to make these easier can include moving to your knees for the movements.

Take Home Message

Whatever the reason or obstacle, you can always alter your training and fulfil your goals from home.  You can still work towards your desired chest while being unable to go to the gym and with the freedom to alter the workouts to change the difficulty, you will have no issues reaching your targets.

Our articles should be used for informational and educational purposes only and are not intended to be taken as medical advice. If you're concerned, consult a health professional before taking dietary supplements or introducing any major changes to your diet.

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The Best At-Home Chest Exercises to Try, With Minimal Equipment (+ 3 Home Chest Workout Routines)

home workout for chest

 Written by 

Julien Raby

 Last updated on 

We may receive a commission from our affiliate links at no additional cost to you. See  disclosures page .

Revamp your home workout routine with our comprehensive guide to home chest workouts. 

Discover my warm-up routines, advanced push-up variations, bench press techniques, dips, and innovative bodyweight chest exercises you can do at home, with minimal equipment.

Home Chest Workout

Enhance your conditioning, recovery, and nutrition strategies to achieve a sculpted chest.

Defining Chest Muscles and Functions

Setting realistic chest workout goals, choosing the right equipment for chest workouts, alternatives to traditional workout gear, importance of warm-up to prevent injury, effective warm-up exercises, classic push-up form and techniques, advanced push-up variations for muscle activation, techniques for bench press without a bench, building strength with bench press variations, proper dip techniques for maximum effectiveness, modification of dips for home workouts, upper chest focused exercises, lower chest exercises for balanced development, technique for performing flys without equipment, utilizing resistance bands for chest flye, exploring bodyweight moves beyond push-ups, combining bodyweight exercises for supersets, post-workout stretching for chest muscles, chest recovery and nutrition tips, sample workout plans for different fitness levels, balancing workouts with rest days, understanding chest anatomy and exercise goals.

To effectively enhance your chest through home workouts, it’s essential to know the structure of the chest muscles and to establish attainable goals that align with muscle development and definition.

Pec major and minor

Your chest is composed of two primary muscles: the pectoralis major and the pectoralis minor . The pectoralis major is the larger muscle, covering most of your chest’s front and is responsible for movements like pressing and lifting. Underneath lies the pectoralis minor , smaller yet crucial for functions such as scapular movement. Together, they form what you commonly refer to as your pecs .

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  • Functions: Horizontal adduction, shoulder flexion, and internal rotation.
  • Functions: Scapular downward rotation, protraction, and depression.

When setting goals for your chest workouts at home, focus on both muscle growth and muscle definition . Balance is key – aim for progressive overload to stimulate chest development and growth, while also incorporating exercises that refine definition.

  • Chest Growth : Implement push-up variations and use resistance bands to challenge your pecs.
  • Muscle Definition : Include higher repetition sets and isometric holds to enhance muscle tone.

By understanding your chest anatomy and setting clear, achievable workout goals, you can effectively work towards a stronger and more defined chest.

Essential Home Workout Equipment

To effectively target your chest muscles at home, selecting the right equipment is crucial. The equipment should not only enhance your workout but also align with your fitness goals and living space.

When deciding on equipment for chest workouts , consider investing in a bench press setup if you have the space. This staple gym piece allows for a variety of chest exercises including flat, incline, and decline bench presses. Additionally, dumbbells are versatile and can be used for dumbbell bench presses and flyes, offering a range of motion that is beneficial for chest development.

  • Weights : Adjustable weights are economical and space-saving.
  • Resistance Bands : Excellent for different levels of tension and are travel-friendly.
  • Stable Bench : Essential for supporting various angles of chest exercises.

For tighter spaces or budgets, there are creative substitutions for traditional gear:

  • Bodyweight Chest Workouts : Exercises like push-ups can effectively build chest strength without any equipment.
  • Household Items : Used as makeshift weights, items like water bottles or backpacks filled with books can add resistance to your workouts.

Remember, the key is consistency and using your equipment with proper form to maximize chest development.

Warm-Up Routines for Chest Exercises

Before diving into your chest workout, initiating with a warm-up routine is imperative to prime your muscles and enhance performance. A proper warm-up can significantly reduce the risk of injury and prepare you mentally for the workout ahead.

Warm-up activities elevate your heart rate , increasing blood flow to your muscles, including those in your chest, arms, and shoulders. This process makes your muscles more pliable , minimizing the risk of strains or tears. When your body is warmed up, your joints also become more lubricated, which is essential to perform exercises like push-ups with a full range of motion and without undue stress.

  • Jumping Jacks : Start with jumping jacks to get your whole body moving. Aim for 1-2 minutes or until you feel your heart rate increase and your body temperature rise.
  • Push-Up : Transition to a few sets of modified or full push-ups . Begin with 5-10 push-ups to engage your chest, shoulders, and triceps. Pay attention to form to activate the correct muscles without overexertion.

Remember to keep the movements controlled and consistent, focusing on quality over quantity.

Mastering Push-Up Variations

Push-ups are a fundamental bodyweight chest exercise that can be modified in numerous ways to enhance muscle activation and strength. Perfecting your technique in the classic push-up and exploring advanced variations are pivotal for progressive muscle development.

To execute a classic push-up , you must first get into a plank position with your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width. Ensure that your body forms a straight line from your heels to your head. Lower your body until your chest nearly touches the floor, then push back up to the starting position. Remember that proper form is crucial to prevent injuries and to engage the targeted muscles effectively.

  • Maintain a neutral spine by looking slightly ahead rather than straight down.
  • Activate your core and glutes throughout the movement for stability.
  • Ensure your elbows are at a 45-degree angle from your body to reduce shoulder strain.

Once you have mastered the classic push-up form, challenge yourself with advanced push-up variations . These enhancements can target different muscle groups more intensely and add diversity to your home chest workout routine.

  • Incline Push-Up : Place your hands on an elevated surface to decrease difficulty, focusing on the lower pectorals.
  • Decline Push-Up : Elevate your feet to increase the challenge and target the upper pectorals.
  • Diamond Push-Up : Bring your hands close together under your chest to form a diamond shape with your thumbs and index fingers, emphasizing the triceps and the inner chest.
  • Wide Push-Up : Set your hands wider than shoulder-width to engage more of the outer chest muscles.

Incorporating these push-up variations can activate different aspects of your chest muscles and promote balanced muscle growth. Remember to listen to your body and progress at a pace that suits your fitness level.

Executing the Perfect Bench Press

To effectively enhance your chest workouts at home, mastering the bench press is key. With a focus on proper form and technique, even without a traditional bench, you can perform variations that target different areas of your pectoral muscles.

If you don’t have access to a bench, you can still perform a dumbbell bench press on the floor. This variation limits the range of motion but still effectively targets your chest muscles.

  • Floor Press : Lie on your back with knees bent and feet flat. Hold dumbbells above your chest with a grip that is comfortable, then lower them towards your chest with control before pushing them back up.
  • Stability Ball Press : Using a stability ball can simulate the incline and flat bench press. Focus on keeping your body stable to engage the core.

Various bench press exercises can increase your chest strength even at home. Using different angles and equipment can produce significant results.

  • Flat Bench Press : The standard bench press is done on a flat bench and is a compound movement that works the entire pectoral area.
  • Incline Bench Press : By setting the bench to an incline, this variation targets the upper chest. Utilize a slower movement to maximize engagement.
  • Decline Bench Press : Performing the bench press on a decline focuses on the lower part of your chest muscles. Ensure your feet are secured to prevent sliding.

Each variation can be executed with either a barbell or dumbbells, allowing for flexibility depending on your available equipment. It’s essential to maintain a neutral grip and to keep your wrists straight to prevent injury. Remember, the key to maximizing the effectiveness of your bench press is consistency in practice and incremental increases in weight or resistance.

Incorporating Dips for Pectoral Strength

Dips are a powerful exercise to enhance the strength of your pectoral muscles. When executed with proper form, they can significantly improve your chest strength and overall upper-body muscle development.

To reap the full benefits of chest dips , focus on these key form points. First, grip the bars with your hands shoulder-width apart and hoist yourself until your arms are fully extended. As you lower your body, lean slightly forward to emphasize the pectorals. Make sure your elbows point out slightly, but do not flare them excessively. The dip should be deep enough for your shoulders to drop below your elbows, but no further, to prevent shoulder strain. Then, push back up powerfully, engaging the chest muscles to return to the start position.

  • Grip : Shoulder-width
  • Elbows : Slight outward flare
  • Depth : Shoulders below elbows
  • Motion : Push up engaging chest

If you lack access to dip bars at home, you can modify dips using sturdy furniture or equipment. For instance, place your hands on two parallel surfaces such as chair backs or on the edge of a stable table. Your body should still be between the supports. Keep your legs straight out, resting on the balls of your feet to balance your weight. Perform the dip with the same form as traditional chest dips.

  • Parallel Surfaces : Chairs or table edge
  • Leg Position : Straight out on balls of feet
  • Form : Maintain proper dip technique

With these modifications, you can perform effective dips for pectoral strength right in your home setup.

Targeting Upper and Lower Chest

To effectively develop a balanced chest, you need to engage both the upper and lower chest muscles with targeted exercises, such as the incline bench press for the upper chest and the decline press for the lower chest.

For the upper chest , focus on exercises that target the clavicular head of your pectoral muscles. The incline bench press is key for upper chest activation. When setting up:

  • Position the bench at a 15-30 degree incline.
  • Grip the barbell slightly wider than shoulder-width.
  • Lower the bar towards the upper chest, then press up.

Additionally, you can perform push-ups with your feet elevated to further engage the upper chest.

For the lower chest , exercises should focus on the downward angle of muscle fibers. The decline press is effective for lower chest development. While at home, without a decline bench, you can try:

  • Decline push-ups : Place your hands on the floor and your feet on a raised surface.
  • Dips : Lean forward slightly to emphasize the lower chest.

Include these exercises in your routine to achieve a balanced and well-developed chest.

Advancing with Chest Fly Variations

When looking to expand your home chest workout, incorporating variations of the chest flye can significantly enhance muscular development and strength. Mastery of technique and the introduction of resistance bands can take your flys to the next level.

To execute a proper chest flye without equipment, find a spacious area where you can lie flat on your back. Begin by engaging your core and flattening your lower back against the ground. Extend your arms out to your sides with a slight bend in your elbows, palms facing upward. Imagine you are hugging a large tree trunk, bring your hands together above your chest, squeezing your pectoral muscles. Slowly lower your arms back to the starting position, maintaining control and tension throughout the movement.

Resistance bands offer a portable and effective way to increase the intensity of your flys. Secure the band at chest height behind you, either by closing it in a door or wrapping it around a stable object. Stand with your back to the anchor point, grasping the ends of the band with both hands. Step forward to create tension in the band. With palms facing each other, stretch your arms out to your sides and then bring your hands together in front of you, engaging the chest muscles. Return to the starting position with control. Remember to keep your shoulders down and back throughout the exercise.

Innovative Bodyweight Chest Moves

When you’re aiming to strengthen and define your chest without weights, innovative bodyweight chest moves can be your go-to solution. These exercises leverage your body’s resistance and gravity to challenge and build your pectorals.

Push-ups are the cornerstone of any bodyweight chest workout, but there’s an array of moves that can target your chest muscles from different angles and offer varying levels of difficulty. Archer push-ups , for instance, intensify the work on each side of your chest by extending one arm out to the side as you lower your body, emulating the drawing of a bow. Another less conventional move is the chest squeeze push-up , which involves pressing the palms together in front of the chest throughout the movement to deeply engage the pectoral muscles. You can also enhance your core strength while working your chest by including exercises like the bodyweight chest fly on the floor , where you mimic the fly motion against the friction of the floor.

Supersets amplify the intensity of your workout by combining two exercises back-to-back with no rest. An effective chest superset can pair a pushing exercise, like decline push-ups to target the upper chest, immediately followed by dips to exhaust the lower chest and triceps. Not only do supersets increase muscular endurance, but they also save time and maintain high energy expenditure. To integrate core strengthening into your superset, alternate push-ups with plank transitions , where you switch between forearm and straight-arm planks. This combination not only works your chest but engages your entire core, fortifying your body’s central support system.

Conditioning and Recovery

Optimal conditioning and recovery are paramount to improve your chest workouts and facilitate muscle growth. Paying attention to post-workout stretching and proper nutrition can enhance recovery and prevent injury.

After a chest workout, stretching is crucial for maintaining flexibility and reducing muscle tightness. Here are key stretches to incorporate:

  • Doorway Stretch : Stand in a doorway with your arm bent at a 90-degree angle and push gently forward to feel the stretch in your pectoral muscles.
  • Floor Chest Stretch : Lie face-down on the floor with your arms out to the side to form a T-shape and gently press your chest towards the floor.

These stretches should be held for 15-30 seconds to allow your muscles to relax properly. Proper stretching can help improve your posture over time, which in turn can help prevent injuries and imbalances.

Your nutrition significantly impacts your recovery and conditioning progress. Here are some recovery and nutrition tips to guide you:

  • Protein Intake : Aim for a diet rich in proteins such as chicken breast, tofu, and legumes to support muscle repair.
  • Carbohydrates : Include complex carbohydrates like whole grains and vegetables that provide the energy needed for your workouts and recovery.
  • Hydration : Stay hydrated with water or electrolyte-rich fluids to help transport nutrients to your muscles.

Remember, recovery is just as important as the workout itself. Nutritional support and adequate rest is essential for muscle strength and conditioning gains.

Building a Home Chest Workout Routine

Creating an effective home chest workout routine involves planning exercises that target all areas of the chest and scheduling appropriate rest days to maximize muscle growth and recovery. Here’s how you can structure your at-home chest training regimen.

  • Push-Ups: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
  • Incline Push-Ups: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
  • Chest Dips (using chairs): 2 sets of 6-10 reps
  • Diamond Push-Ups: 2 sets of 6-10 reps

Intermediate:

  • Decline Push-Ups: 3 sets of 10-15 reps
  • Plyometric Push-Ups: 3 sets of 8-10 reps
  • Wide-Grip Push-Ups: 3 sets of 10-15 reps
  • Chest Fly (with resistance bands): 3 sets of 12-15 reps
  • One-Arm Push-Up: 3 sets of 5-8 reps (each arm)
  • Archer Push-Ups: 3 sets of 8-10 reps (each side)
  • Chest Press (with heavy resistance bands or dumbbells): 4 sets of 8-12 reps
  • Weighted Chest Dips: 3 sets of 10-12 reps

*Note: Adjust the number of sets and reps based on your comfort and strength levels. If an exercise is too challenging to perform with correct form, reduce the intensity or regress the exercise.

To ensure your muscles have time to recover and strengthen, it’s crucial to balance your chest workouts with rest days. Here’s a suggested schedule you may follow:

  • Monday: Chest Day (Workout)
  • Tuesday: Rest or Light Activity (e.g., walking)
  • Wednesday: Upper Body Workout (focus on other muscle groups)
  • Thursday: Rest or Active Recovery (e.g., yoga, stretching)
  • Friday: Chest Day (Workout)
  • Saturday: Rest or Light Activity
  • Sunday: Active Rest (light cardio or full-body mobility work)

*Remember: Effective rest is as important as the workouts themselves. Adjust your rest days according to your body’s recovery needs and avoid training the same muscle group on consecutive days.

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Julien Raby is the owner of BoxLife. He owns a bachelor in literature and a certificate in marketing from Concordia. He's Crossfit Level 1 certified and has been involved in Crossfit since 2010. In 2023 he finally made it to Crossfit Open Quarterfinals for the first time. LinkedIn Instagram Facebook

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The Online Home for Strength Sports

The Best Chest Exercises for Building Muscle, Plus 4 Full Workouts

Increase your bench press and sculpt a bigger chest with these 17 killer moves..

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  • The Best Exercises
  • Chest Workouts

Chest Muscles

Whether you’re taking your first steps in the weight room or are a seasoned strength athlete, you may well celebrate International Chest Day every Monday like most dutiful gymgoers. But no matter which day you opt to hit your pecs, you need the right exercises to occupy your workout program . 

We’ve compiled a list of the 17 best chest exercises (which, yes, are still useful if you’re already jacked) and a few sections on how to train your chest. Heed our advice and then heave some weights.

Meet the Experts

This article was originally written by Mike Dewar , CSCS , weightlifter and strength & conditioning coach who founded J2FIT. Alex Polish is BarBend ’s Editor, a certified personal trainer (through the American Council on Exercise), and is certified in Kettlebell Athletics.

Jake Dickson , BarBend ‘s Senior Writer, verified this article. Dickson holds a B.S. in Exercise Science, as well as a CPT-NASM certification and USAW-L2 weightlifting certification. 

17 Best Chest Exercises

  • Flat Bench Press
  • Incline Bench Press
  • Decline Bench Press
  • Dumbbell Bench Press
  • Dumbbell Floor Press
  • Incline Dumbbell Hex Press
  • Cable Press-Around
  • Cable Iron Cross
  • Side-to-Side Landmine Press
  • Svend Press
  • Chaos Push-Up
  • Plyo Push-Up
  • Pause Push-Up
  • Close-Grip Push-Up

1. Flat Bench Press

[Read More: How to Do the Cable Crossover for a Bigger, Buffer Chest]

The bench press is a classic exercise. Powerlifters do it to see who has the most pressing strength, gym rats use it to build up their pecs, and athletes utilize the bench for explosive pushing power.

The bench press should be a staple in your routine for more chest size and strength, since compared to most other chest exercises, you can load the bench press up with a relatively heavy amount of weight. Beyond that, benching is necessary for powerlifters, since it’s one of the three lifts judged in a powerlifting meet.

How to Do It

  • Lay back down on a bench, arch your lower back slightly, and plant your feet on the floor.
  • Pull your shoulder blades together to enhance stability and upper back strength.
  • Grab the bar and squeeze the hand hard to flex the arm and grip muscles maximally. 
  • With the load unracked, think about pulling the barbell to the body to touch the sternum/base of the chest.
  • Press the weight upwards, making sure to keep your back tight, and shoulder blades pulled together.

Coach’s Tip : A strong spinal arch will reduce your range of motion and improve your leverage.

Sets and Reps : Go hard and heavy with 4 sets of 5 to 8 reps. 

Equipment Needed : Bench press station OR squat/ power rack with safety spotter arms, barbell, weight plates.

Modification : Perform the move with a Swiss or multi-grip barbell so your hands can remain facing each other. This may reduce a lot of pressure on your shoulders.

2. Incline Bench Press

The incline press is somewhat of a hybrid of an overhead press and flat bench press, and so pressing a barbell (or a pair of kettlebells or dumbbells) from an incline recruits more of the muscle fibers in the upper chest and taxes the shoulders a bit more. For that reason, strongmen like to use this pressing variation since it has more carryover to log presses and axle bar clean and presses.

The incline bench press benefits you by providing more shoulder and upper chest activation than a standard flat press. Also, the increased emphasis on the front delts should provide carryover to overhead pressing movements.

  • Adjust a weight bench so it is at a 45-degree angle and set up similarly to that of the flat bench press.
  • Unrack the loaded barbell and begin to pull the load downwards to line with the upper chest (a few inches below the clavicle).
  • With the shoulder blades pulled together and elbows angled at about 45 degrees.
  • Push the barbell upward.

Coach’s Tip : Adjust the seat such that the barbell is slightly behind your eye line before you unrack it.

Sets and Reps : Try 3 or 4 sets of 6 to 8 reps. 

Equipment Needed : Bench press station OR squat/power rack with safety spotter arms, adjustable weight bench, barbell, weight plates

Modification : If needed, swap in a Swiss or multi-grip bar to spare your shoulders here.

3. Decline Bench Press

[Read More: 5 Bench Press Programs to Build a Bigger, Stronger Chest]

The third major barbell bench press variation focuses on the lower pectoral fibers. This pressing variation is typically less strenuous on your shoulders than the standard bench press because of the shifted shoulder angle. 

You’ll also be able to target your chest from a different angle, which is important when you’re looking to develop a well-rounded musculature. This is certainly a full-chested move, but it can also be thought of as a lower chest exercise since it’ll bias those muscle fibers in a way that many athletes would love to see.

  • Start by securing your feet into a decline bench set up and secure your upper back and hips to the bench (similar to the flat bench press). 
  • Unrack the weight and pull the load downwards toward the sternum while keeping the shoulder blades pulled together.
  • Press through the barbell to lock out your elbows. Be sure not to allow the elbows to flare excessively out.

Coach’s Tip : The barbell should hit lower on your chest than during a flat or incline press .

Sets and Reps : 3 to 4 sets of 6 to 8 reps should work well here. 

Modifications : Consider using a Swiss or multi-grip bar if your shoulders have difficulty with bench pressing.

The dip is another bodyweight gem. It comes out toward the top of this list and is also one of the best arm exercises out there — the dip really is a powerhouse. You’ll be suspended from the dip bar here, so your entire body weight is in play. (For some help, grab a pull-up assist band to support you.)

You’ll also seriously recruit your triceps, which are essentially involved in all pressing movements, so working them in tandem with the chest will help strengthen the synergistic muscles in unison. 

  • Grab the dip bar firmly and get yourself in the top of the dip position, with your upper back tight and shoulder blades squeezed together.
  • Angle your torso slightly forward and allow your elbows to bend as they slightly tuck inwards towards the sides of the torso. 
  • Lower yourself down until your elbows bend at about 90 degrees.
  • When ready, press through the handles and bring your body upright into the top of the dip position.

Coach’s Tip : Keep your shoulders packed down and away from your ears the entire time.

Sets and Reps : Once you can perform 20 clean reps on the dip bars, you can start doing additional sets with a light weight between your ankles. 

Equipment Needed : Dip bar, pull-up assist band (optional)

Modification : Use an assistance machine made for helping with dips and pull-ups to support your body weight. If you don’t have access to one, use a very thick resistance band to help support this lift. You can also build strength by performing dips between two benches or plyo boxes, with your legs straight or bent in front of you and your feet on the ground.

5. Dumbbell Bench Press

The dumbbell bench press doesn’t allow you to go as heavy as its barbell counterpart, but there’s a lot to like about this move. For one, you’re controlling two dumbbells, which works your chest (and the smaller stabilizer muscles around your shoulder joint) differently than the bench press. 

Like all chest exercises with dumbbells, this move has a secret weapon — if you have a weaker side, this move’s unilateral nature allows one side to catch up to the other. If you’re a person who suffers from shoulder or elbow pain, using dumbbells lets you manipulate your grip and arm angle to find a pressing position that’s more comfortable for you. 

  • Sit up on a flat bench and then hinge forward to pick up each dumbbell.
  • Place each weight on a knee and get set.
  • Lean back and then drive the dumbbells back towards you (carefully) with your knees, simultaneously pressing the weights over your chest.
  • Lower the weights, keeping your elbows tucked in at 45 degrees until your elbows break 90 degrees. 
  • Then, drive the dumbbells back up. 

Coach’s Tip : Push the weights both upward and in toward your midline.

Sets and Reps : Try 3 or 4 sets of 8 to 10 reps to start. 

Equipment Needed : Adjustable bench, dumbbells

Modification : Perform this move with a neutral grip (with your palms facing each other) to try and take some tension off your shoulders. This may increase the toll on your triceps.

6. Dumbbell Floor Press

The dumbbell floor press overloads your triceps and chest while limiting your range of motion (ROM). This makes it a viable option if you want to avoid too much shoulder strain or wish to emphasize the second half of the bench-press pattern specifically. 

The neutral grip and the reduced ROM on the floor make this move easier on your shoulders. Also, reducing lower-body involvement with the floor press puts more focus on your chest and triceps.

  • Lie on your back with a dumbbell by your side.
  • Roll over and grip the dumbbell with both hands, press it up, and take one hand off.
  • Have your feet planted on the ground or extend your legs. This is a matter of personal preference.
  • Lower the dumbbell down until your upper arm touches the ground.
  • Press up to lockout. Reset and repeat for reps. Repeat on the other side.

Coach’s Tip : Think about gently “kissing” the floor with your elbows rather than banging them against the ground.

Sets and Reps : Start out with 2 or 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps. 

Equipment Needed : Dumbbells, yoga mat (optional)

Modification : To increase the challenge, press your hips into a glute bridge and maintain that strong bridge throughout your set.

7. Incline Dumbbell Hex Press

[Read More: Build Strong and Full Pecs With the Best Lower Chest Exercises ]

To build the best pair of pecs you can, you need to do more than slam presses on a flat bench (though that’s certainly a good starting point). Upper chest exercises to bias the top fibers in your chest can help a lot.

The incline hex press accomplishes several things at once. You can train your triceps and front delts simultaneously, you can contract your chest isometrically and dynamically, and you can also engage your upper chest throughout. 

  • Lie on a low-to-medium incline bench with a pair of dumbbells above your head.
  • Tuck your inner arms against your torso and clasp the sides of the dumbbells together.
  • Squeeze them tightly and lower your arms down until the bells touch your chest.
  • Reverse the motion, ensuring the dumbbells don’t come apart at any point.

Coach’s Tip : Actively push the dumbbells against one another the entire time. 

Sets and Reps : Try 2 sets of 15 reps at the end of your workout.

Equipment Needed : Adjustable weight bench, dumbbells

Modification : To make this move feel a little more stable, try using a dumbbell and holding each end in one hand (so your palms are facing each other). Squeeze your hands toward each other, aiming to feel that squeeze in your chest as you press and lower the weight.

8. Chest Flye

The chest flye — commonly called dumbbell flyes or cable flyes, depending on which implement you’re using — is a popular bodybuilding exercise to stretch the muscle fibers and pump up the muscle. That pump will help to drive nutrient-rich blood to the target area to help speed up muscle recovery .

Using dumbbells will also help improve your body’s ability to coordinate as you’re forced to stabilize each weight independently. Cables, on the other hand, provided consistent mechanical tension. Regardless, the chest flye is useful for training your chest without having to resort to ultra-heavy weights.

  • Lie back on a bench (either flat, decline, or incline ), with a dumbbell in each hand.
  • With a slight bend in your elbows, lower your arms out to your sides slowly and with control.
  • Now, reverse the motion to engage the chest. You should look like you’re hugging a tree. 
  • If performing with a cable machine, you can use a bench as noted or be standing. The movement will largely be the same, simply holding the D-handles

Coach’s Tip : You can pause at the bottom of each rep for some productive loaded stretching.

Sets and Reps : Start with 2 sets of 12 to 15 reps.

Equipment Needed : Adjustable weight bench, dumbbells OR cable machine, D-handles

Modification : Perform this exercise with no weight or with extremely light weight until you get the hang of your most effective range of motion. Practice really squeezing your pecs together at the top and feeling them stretch at the bottom — but not so much that you lose tension on your muscle.

9. Cable Press-Around

[Read More: The 7 Best Upper Chest Exercises for Strength and Size]

To make the most of your chest training, you should include exercises that take your pecs through their full contractile range of motion. Neither flyes nor presses satisfy this requirement perfectly, but the cable press-around does.

The cable press-around is a mixture of a flye and a chest press. It includes a rotational component and can stimulate your pecs in a whole new way if you can get the technique right. This exercise applies constant tension to the muscle from the cable station and also lets you work your chest unilaterally without a high balance component.

  • Stand facing at a 45-degree angle away from a cable handle set at around waist height.
  • Grab the handle and allow it to pull tension across your chest.
  • With a slightly bent elbow, sweep your arm around your torso.
  • Squeeze your pecs hard. Pause for a beat at the end, and then reverse the motion.

Coach’s Tip : Your arm should cross your midline to fully contract your pectorals. 

Sets and Reps : Try out 2 or 3 sets of 12 to 15 reps.

Equipment Needed : Cable machine , D-handle

Modification : You can easily perform this exercise seated. Simply adjust the cable pulley to the level of your chest while sitting instead of standing.

10. Cable Iron Cross

[Read More: The 5 Best Inner Chest Exercises ]

The iron cross is a gymnastics classic, but when performed in a cable tree can be great for physique development too. This exercise stretches your chest muscles from the start and takes you through a large range of motion for better chest-building potential.

The constant tension from the cable machine also means that your muscles are under tension longer for improved chest hypertrophy . The iron cross also trains the hard-to-reach lower chest area for more complete and comprehensive muscle growth.

How to Do the Cable Iron Cross

  • Set the handles at both ends of the cable machine at the highest level.
  • Stand in the center with a staggered stance and take hold of both handles.
  • Lean your torso forward keeping your spine in neutral and bend your elbows slightly too.
  • Keeping your core tight pull both handles down and across your body and squeeze the chest muscles at the end of the movement. 

Coach’s Tip : Think about actively jamming your upper arm against your torso at the end of each rep.

Sets and Reps : Pump your chest up with 2 or 3 sets of 12 to 15 reps. 

Equipment Needed : Cable machine, D-handles

Modification : If you have trouble bringing your arms out and up to parallel under load, you can attach the cables slightly lower. You’ll reduce the range of motion, but you might be able to increase it again over time.

11. Side-to-Side Landmine Press

The side-to-side landmine press is another great landmine press option when you want to train the chest and triceps with increased load. Holding the barbell with two hands in a close grip allows you to go heavier than other landmine press alternatives for increased chest size and strength.

The act of pressing and lowering from shoulder to shoulder also trains anti-rotational core strength. That’s crucial for other unstable moves like Olympic lifts and even squats — which demand a lot of lateral stability for the most efficient lifts.

  • Hold the end of the barbell with both hands a few inches from your right shoulder.
  • Keep your shoulders down and your chest up.
  • Press the barbell up and to the center of your body. Lock out your arms.
  • Lower to your left shoulder. Press to the center again.
  • Lower down to your right shoulder. Keep alternating sides for an even number of reps on each side. 

Coach’s Tip : Actively resist the weight as it attempts to twist your torso while you perform your reps.

Sets and Reps : If you go heavy, 2 sets of 5 to 8 reps should be plenty here. 

Equipment Needed : Squat stand OR power rack OR another stable spot to base the landmine; landmine base, barbell, weight plates

Modification : You can perform this move from a seated position if needed, or you can perform it half-kneeling for an extra balance and core challenge. Just be sure to keep the reps even on both sides.

12. Svend Press

[Read More: How to Do the Dumbbell Pullover for a Bigger Back and Chest]

Of all the free-weight chest exercises, this one might look the silliest. But it’s certainly effective. To avoid dropping two plates on your toes, you need to squeeze the weights together continuously. That alone will get those pecs activated.

Then, you’ll extend your arms to squeeze the chest together even more. The Svend press is low-impact and thus easier to handle than doing even more heavy pressing. It also requires little equipment (so you won’t need to wait for a bench to open up in a busy gym.)

  • Start by taking two smaller weight plates (five or 10-pound plates) and pressing them together between your hands. 
  • Your arms should be extended outwards in front of you.
  • While actively pinching the plate together and not letting them slip apart (constant tension), pull the plates towards your sternum as you keep your chest up and shoulder blades pulled together.
  • Flex your chest and press the weights back outwards. Keep the plates pressed together and the inner chest muscles engaged.

Coach’s Tip : Use the Svend press to prime your pecs between sets of other chest exercises.

Sets and Reps : Five slow and controlled reps should do the trick. 

Equipment Needed : Weight plates

Modification : This is about the squeeze, not the weight being used. Start with a yoga block to build up that squeezing sensation and work your way down to something as thin as two weight plates.

13. Push-Up

Alongside the dip, the push-up is the ruler of bodyweight chest exercises. You probably performed push-ups in gym class as a kid, though not explicitly for the purpose of growing your pecs. However, that doesn’t mean you should leave them behind on the gymnasium floor.

Push-ups are severely underrated, even for intermediate or advanced lifters. Because you’re working out with just your body weight, your joints won’t be under as much stress as weighted movements. You can also really do a lot of pushups in a short amount of time, so you’ll accumulate more muscle-building stimulus overall. 

  • Get into a plank position, with your hands underneath your shoulders, back flat, and feet together.
  • Screw your palms into the ground. You should feel your chest tighten.
  • Hold this position, and then slowly lower yourself until your chest is about an inch from the floor.
  • Now, drive back up through the palms of your hands. 

Coach’s Tip : Contract your abs hard. There should be no dip in your lower back.

Sets and Reps : Work up to 20 unbroken push-ups in a single set, and then start doing a few sets of 6 to 10 reps with a small weight plate on your back. 

Equipment Needed : Yoga mat (optional)

Modification : Perform these on an incline — perhaps a bench or even a wall — with your core tight and your quads and glutes squeezed as you develop the upper body and core strength to do the full version. You can also perform them on your knees. In addition, try scapular push-ups — under control, let your shoulders sink toward the floor without bending your elbows or letting your hips drop.

14. Chaos Push-Up

Resistance bands are a great tool to build the chest too. By looping a heavy band around a squat rack, you can perform a variety of exercises — including the chaos push-up. The unstable resistance band fires up all your stabilizing muscles while performing a push-up. 

If you’ve got anything less than perfect form, the band will give you instant feedback. Plus, the increased time under tension does wonders for building your chest. Band training also activates the smaller stabilizers (shoulder, core, and hips) while improving proprioception.

  • Loop a heavy-duty band around the squat rack .
  • The higher up the band, the easier the exercise. Lowering the band makes it harder.
  • Place your hands on the band in a shoulder-width grip and grip tight.
  • Bring your legs behind you. Engage your glutes and core.
  • Slowly lower yourself down into a push-up. Press up against the band.

Coach’s Tip : Think about pulling the band apart as you lower yourself down to activate your rear delts.

Sets and Reps : 2 sets of 10 reps should fire you up at the start of your workout. 

Equipment Needed : Heavy-duty resistance band, squat rack

Modification : If you don’t have the kind of resistance band you need, perform the movement using a TRX suspension system.

15. Plyo Push-Up

When you get into the higher push-up rep ranges, you’re training muscular endurance and not just muscle-building. Enter the plyo push-up , one of the more difficult push-up variations to perform.

You’ll primarily be training power rather than run-of-the-mill endurance. Performing the plyo push-up will activate your fast-twitch muscle fibers, which have tremendous potential for growth. This isn’t just important for aesthetics. More powerful muscles can directly carry over to your bench-pressing prowess.

  • Get into a push-up position with your hands underneath your shoulders.
  • Lower yourself to the floor.
  • Explosively push yourself up, with your hands leaving the ground.
  • Slightly bend your elbows on the way down to better absorb the force.
  • Rapidly descend into another push-up. Repeat.

Coach’s Tip : You don’t need to push yourself off the floor as high as possible, you just need to explosively contract your pecs and arms.

Sets and Reps : Try 3 to 4 sets of 5 reps to develop muscular power. 

Modification : If you’re not ready to explode upward, simply descend into your push-up very slowly and under control. Pause for a moment at the bottom, then press up very quickly. Your hands don’t have to leave the floor for an explosive movement. Alternatively, be explosive but keep your knees down for support.

16. Pause Push-Up

There’s nothing wrong with pumping out as many push-ups as possible — but you’ll be crossing into muscular endurance territory and not as much hypertrophy. When you want to feel your chest muscles working (and growing), the pause push-up is what you want.

The pause gives your chest muscles more time under tension for better muscle-building potential. It also takes the stretch reflex out of the muscle, making you work harder to overcome gravity. You’ll build more core strength because you’re pausing in a difficult position and your lower back and anterior core work harder to maintain a neutral spine.

  • Set up as you would for a regular push-up.
  • Lower down with your arms about 45 degrees out from your torso.
  • Stop with your chest just above the ground for three to five seconds.
  • Push back up until lockout. Reset and repeat. 

Coach’s Tip : The longer you pause, the harder your core will have to work.

Sets and Reps : 2 sets of 12 to 15 reps should have you burning from head to toe. 

Modification : Perform this movement on an incline or from your knees (make sure to keep your core engaged) if needed to build a base of strength.

17. Close-Grip Push-Up

[Read More: Build a Titanic Torso with These Bodybuilding Chest & Back Workouts ]

The close-grip push-up is where you set up with your hands closer than shoulder-width apart. You’ll keep your upper arms tucked even more closely to your rib cage. This shifts the load more to your triceps, inner chest, and anterior delts.

Because of the reduced base of support, you’ll perform fewer reps than the regular push-up. But you’ll be training the pectorals from a different angle for better muscle development. Since your shoulders are more internally rotated and less externally rotated, you’ll take some of the pressure off your shoulder joints. 

  • Get into a plank position. Keep your hands close together, back flat, and feet wider than hip-width.
  • Screw your palms into the ground. Try to feel your chest tighten.
  • Slowly lower yourself until your chest is about an inch from the floor and your upper arms are touching your sides.
  • Drive back up until lockout. Reset and repeat.

Coach’s Tip : Wearing wrist wraps may alleviate some discomfort during this exercise.

Sets and Reps : Work up to 20 clean reps and then consider adding weight for additional sets with fewer reps. 

Modification : Perform this with a weight plate on your back or banded for an added challenge. If needed, you can also perform this from your knees. Just make sure to keep your core engaged.

4 Chest Workouts to Try

There’s no all-in-one “best” chest workout; it all depends on your goals and what you want out of your pec training. Want to build a pair of pecs you can balance a beer can on? We’ve got you covered. Need to bring up your bench press max ahead of your next powerlifting meet? You should probably get comfortable with the barbell. Try out 

Chest Workout for Strength

A good strength-focused chest workout begins on the bench press. The barbell bench press allows you to lift tremendous amounts of weight for progressive overload , and is also the standard by which most people measure true chest strength. 

Afterward, follow your benching up with a few smartly selected accessory movements, and you’re off to the races:

Chest Workout for Mass

You might be able to lift heavy, but if you’re not training for chest hypertrophy , it might not look that way. If you really want to target your chest for size, you’ll want to choose moderately heavy weights and focus on time under tension, and achieving an adequate range of motion. Your chest has a lot of dimensions, so you’ll want to emphasize each chest angle with your training.

Chest Workout for Beginners

If you’re a gym newbie, you’re in the unique position to benefit a lot from a low amount of stimulus. What this means in practical terms is that you won’t need the kind of high-volume, comprehensive training that a lifter with several years of training under their belt requires to progress. Hitting this workout once, maybe twice per week is more than enough to start building up your chest.

Bodyweight Chest Workout

Endless, regular push-ups aren’t the only way to work your chest without equipment. Yes, a lot of push-ups will be involved. But you’ll also vary the types of push-ups, speed, range of motion, and angle. Just make sure your form is spotless throughout. You can perform this workout two or three times a week, depending on your experience level and comfort with bodyweight movements.

Perform these exercises back-to-back as a circuit, with little to no rest in between. Repeat the circuit three times in total, resting up to four minutes between rounds. 

Benefits of Training Your Chest

Chest training isn’t just for the vain-of-heart beach bro or a competitive powerlifter. A well-developed pair of pecs is a statement and are surprisingly functional in real-world scenarios — for athletes of all genders.

Functional Pressing Power

A big bench press is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to chest training. Sure, throwing up two or three wheels on the bench is impressive. But strong pectoral muscles also assist in real-world or sport-related scenarios, such as performing push-ups for time, shoving an object or opponent away from you, and much more. 

Upper Body Aesthetics

Many athletes come into the game searching for muscles that aren’t just functionally strong — they also want said muscles to look like they’re strong. For a lot of athletes, the chest can be a tricky area to develop quality muscle mass. But by deploying smart training strategies for chest hypertrophy and selecting from the exercises we’ve listed here, you’ll be well on your way to accomplishing your pectoral dreams.

Your chest (or rather, the anterior compartment of your torso) houses your pecs … duh. But there’s more going on under the skin than you think, and more muscles at play as well. Here are the major players you’ll work during any well-rounded chest workout:

  • Pectoralis Major : This two-headed muscle connects from your clavicle and sternum onto your upper arm bone and is primarily responsible for arm flexion and shoulder adduction.
  • Pectoralis Minor : This smaller pec muscle connects from your ribcage to your shoulder blade and assists the pec major in performing its duties.
  • Serratus Anterior : The serratus anterior isn’t directly attached to the chest, but it sits on the lateral sides of your ribcage and performs many of the same functions. Namely, protracting your shoulder and flexing your arm forward.

Whether you’re chasing a sweet pump, looking to build a bigger chest, or want to bust out a new bench press personal record, you’ve got a lot of chest exercises to try out. Whether you’re performing a single-joint isolation move or are going after a big compound lift (think: the classic bench press), make sure you’re paying close attention to your form. 

Being strict with your form and being smart about how you program your chest exercises is the best way to chase that Fabio-worthy chest.

Featured Image: Jasminko Ibrakovic / Shutterstock

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About Mike Dewar

Mike holds a Master's in Exercise Physiology and a Bachelor's in Exercise Science. He's a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) and is the Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach at New York University. Mike is also the Founder of J2FIT , a strength and conditioning brand in New York City that offers personal training, online programs, and has an established USAW Olympic Weightlifting club.

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12 Great Chest Workouts for a Stronger Upper Body

By Jenny McCoy, C.P.T.

Reviewed by Amy Eisinger, M.A., C.P.T.

12 Great Chest Workouts for a Stronger Upper Body

Your chest is one of the biggest muscle groups in your upper body and it helps you perform tons of important movements. So if you’re looking for some chest workouts to show this area the love it deserves, well, we get it.

That’s why we’ve rounded up the 12 best chest workouts that target these frontside muscles and seriously strengthen your entire upper body . From a three-move routine to help you build push-up strength and a quick bodyweight chest workout at home to a sweaty upper-body and core routine, we’ve got you covered with a slew of super-effective chest workouts. As you can see from the routines we’ve chosen, you don’t need to spend a whole lot of time to work those muscles.

When you hear chest workout, you may immediately think of push-ups or bench presses. And while it’s true that push-ups and bench presses are stellar exercises for challenging and strengthening your chest muscles, they’re not the only option—by any stretch. The best chest workouts feature a variety of exercises that target this muscle group from all angles, including push-ups, alternating chest presses, chest flys, plank up-downs, and much more. Since many also work your triceps (a muscle that supports your chest in pushing), you can consider the routines a bit of an arms workout as well!

Before you jump into these awesome workouts, there are some things you should know about chest strength and why it’s an oh-so-important part of your overall fitness. We tapped personal trainer Evan Williams , CSCS, founder of E2G Performance in Chicago, for intel on what muscles make up the chest, the benefits of strengthening your chest, and how often to incorporate chest work into your fitness routine.

What muscles make up the chest?

The chest is made up of two muscles: the pectoralis major and the pectoralis minor. They’re often referred to as the pec muscles .

The pectoralis major is the bigger chest muscle that attaches to your upper arm, spans across the chest to your collarbone, and connects to your sternum (the bone in the middle of your chest), as SELF previously reported. The pectoralis minor is the smaller chest muscle that sits underneath the pectoralis major and runs from your shoulder blade to your rib cage.

Why is having a strong chest so important?

Your chest makes up a good portion of your overall upper-body strength, Williams says. So if you want a strong upper body, having a strong chest is key. More specifically though, a strong chest is needed to perform any kind of pushing movement , both at the gym (think push-ups) and in day-to-day life (envision pushing a full grocery cart or putting a heavy box back onto a shelf). By taking the time and effort to strengthen your chest, you can improve your pushing abilities in all scenarios.

Because your chest plays an important role in good posture , strengthening your chest can help you stand up straighter, Williams says. And lastly, because your pecs help stabilize the shoulder joint , strengthening them can help improve your shoulder health and reduce risk of injury, Williams adds.

How often should you work your chest muscles?

As a general rule of thumb, Williams suggests doing chest-strengthening work about twice per week—though the right amount for you will depend on your current fitness level and goals. This can look like isolated chest work, but more realistically, you’ll make sure to hit these muscles doing upper-body workouts or total-body workouts , as long as they sufficiently work the pecs.

Just make sure to pencil in enough rest between sessions so your chest muscles have sufficient time to recover. Williams recommends a two-day break.

Chest workout tips

When doing your actual chest workout, there are a few important things to keep in mind to have the safest and most effective session possible.

First, always make sure to warm up beforehand so that you don’t jump in with tight, cold muscles. Properly warming up and lengthening your muscles can help improve your performance and reduce the risk of injury in your workout. (Here’s an easy upper-body warm-up you can try.)

Williams also suggests rolling or stretching out your pec minor before and after the workout. The pec minor in particular tends to get tight after chest strength work and as a result of poor posture, he says. You can help relieve some tightness by facing a wall (a doorway works particularly well), placing a lacrosse ball (or other similarly sized hard ball) on the pec minor (which is located underneath the shoulder on the front of the body, close to the armpit) and then pressing the ball against the wall to massage and lengthen the tissue.

During your chest workouts, no matter what chest exercise you’re doing, make sure that your shoulder blades are pulled down and back. This positioning will help activate your chest muscles and protect your shoulders, Williams says. Also, if you do chest exercises and feel too much tension in your shoulders, take a moment to either readjust your form or change the weight you’re using so that the tension redirects to your chest. Need some extra help activating your chest muscles? Try squeezing your pec muscles and abducting your arms (move them out to the sides away from your body), Williams says.

12 Best Chest Workouts

Ready to fire up your pecs and gain serious upper-body strength? Here are the 12 best chest workouts you can do at home with minimal to no equipment.

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A 3-Move Routine to Help Build Push-Up Strength

Let’s face it: Push-ups are hard . If you don’t yet have the chest strength to pull off this classic bodyweight move, this simple-yet-effective workout can help.

Created by ACE-certified personal trainer Sivan Fagan , owner of Strong With Sivan in Baltimore, this no-equipment routine targets the pec muscles and your triceps (the muscles in the back of your upper arms, which aid in pushing movements) with just three exercises: dead-stop push-up, chest fly, and alternating chest press. Add these into your routine and you’ll gradually build up the strength you need to safely and effectively do a full push-up.

Try the workout .

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A 5-Move Bodyweight Chest and Shoulder Workout

This five-move bodyweight chest and shoulders workout , created by LIT Method cofounders Justin and Taylor Norris , centers on the push-up.

You’ll complete three different push-up variations during the main set of the workout, starting with the dive bomber push-up, a variation that trains flexibility in your lower half while helping you build pushing strength. Then you’ll take on the decline push-up, a progression from the regular push-up that works the front of your shoulders and is harder than the traditional one. You’ll finish with a wide-grip push-up, which really hits your serratus anterior, a muscle deep around the top of the ribcage that plays an important role in stabilizing your scapula. Trust us: This routine will smoke your pecs.

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A Warm-Up to Prep Your Upper Body

Okay, so this one is actually a warm-up, but a proper warm-up can be crucial to getting the most out of your chest workout—and getting through it injury-free. This warm-up, which really hones in on your pectoral muscles and surrounding muscles in your arms, shoulders, and back, is geared specifically for chest and upper-body routines.

Created by Tasheon Chillous, CPT, a coach and personal trainer at Ascent Fitness in Tacoma, this upper-body warm-up uses moves like the incline push-up, banded pull-apart, and bear hold to get your blood flowing in your muscles to increase mobility and get them ready to lift some heavy loads. 

Don’t feel like following it up with a separate routine? This warm-up is also great for a workout on the days where you just want to get in some movement.

Try the workout here .

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A 4-Move Upper-Body Workout for Someone Just Getting Started

New to strength training? Right this way. We have a straightforward upper-body workout that will introduce you to foundational exercises (and challenge your chest muscles in the process) without overwhelming you. Created by Fagan, this four-move workout features beginner-friendly exercises including a single-arm row, alternating chest press, I-Y-T raise, and front-to-lateral raise.

Pro tip: When you’re just getting started, emphasize proper form—and really feel which muscles you’re supposed to be working with each movement—rather than getting caught up in how much weight you’re lifting, Fagan advises. In fact, consider practicing the movement first without any weight at all. Your goal is to be able to complete all the reps with proper form.

Try the workout.

Mountain climber

A Sweaty Upper-Body and Core Strength Routine

If you want to challenge your chest and get a dose of core and other upper-body strength work, too, this workout is for you. Created as part of SELF’s 2021 Better Together Challenge , this eight-move routine combines chest-centric moves, like the push-up, with back moves and core moves for an intense, sweaty strength workout.

Bonus: You don’t need any equipment to do this workout, making it an easy addition to your at-home exercise routine.

dumbbell pec workout chest press exercise

A Dumbbell Chest Workout That Will Also Smoke Your Abs

This dumbbell chest workout delivers a one-two punch: serious chest strengthening plus stellar work on the abs. Created by Fagan, this five-move push-pull workout relies heavily on single-arm dumbbell moves, which helps make sure you’re working each side of your body equally. That’s important, as it can alleviate the muscle imbalances most of us have, Fagan explains. Single-arm work also really challenges your core stability , which turns these upper-body exercises into abs exercises too. Now that’s what we call a win-win.

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A Modified Push-Up and Plank Workout to Build Upper-Body Strength

If you’re just getting started with exercise, it’s more important that you really become comfortable with the moves so you can complete them with proper form. And we get it: Push-ups—one of the greatest chest exercises out there—can be particularly challenging for beginner exercisers to master. And that’s one reason that an upper-body workout like this one is so great.

This workout, which is part of Sweat With SELF’s Upper-Body Strength series, uses modifications to really help you get the moves down. In the routine, instructor Roz “The Diva” Mays will take you through push-up modifications, progressing from least to most difficult. You’ll also work on the plank too, which is important because a strong core is necessary for upper-body strength!

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A No-Equipment Upper-Body Strength Routine

Don’t have access to weights or bands? Don’t sweat it. This five-move no-equipment chest and triceps workout is proof you can get in a great upper-body strength workout with just your bodyweight. Created by Fagan, this routine works your chest, shoulders, triceps , and upper back—no equipment needed. 

You’ll use pushing movements like push-ups and triceps dips to work your chest and triceps; standing I- and Y-raises to hit your upper back, lower traps, and shoulders; and a dynamic plank variation to fire up your core and build shoulder stability.

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An At-Home Workout to Build Upper Body and Core Strength

This workout, created as part of SELF’s 4-Week At-Home Challenge , kicks things off with a classic chest exercise: the push-up. Fair warning, you’re going to quickly tire out your pecs as the goal is to do as many push-ups as you can in 30 seconds.

If you haven’t quite mastered the push-up yet or can’t bang out rep after rep after rep, that’s totally okay! Form is really important, so take it slow if you need to. You can also always modify by dropping to your knees, trying an incline push-up (in which your hands are elevated on a bench or a box), or taking active rests by holding a high plank.

After tackling the push-ups, you’ll seriously challenge your core and shoulders with moves like Russian twists, plank up-downs, and plank to downward dog taps.

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A Bodyweight Strength Workout That Will Fire Up Your Pecs

You don’t need any equipment for this three-move upper-body workout, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. Created by certified trainer Alyssa Expósito , this workout targets your chest, shoulders, back, and core with moves including an inchworm to push-up, body saw, and up-down plank.

If the inchworm to push-up feels too difficult, perform the walk-out to a high plank, then gently lower your knees to the floor and do a modified push-up. Even with this modification, you’ll still be challenging—and strengthening—your pec muscles.

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A Push-Pull Workout to Build Strength All Over

Okay, so this workout includes more than just pushing (the movement pattern which really fires up your chest muscles). It also hits your pulling muscles, which make it a really balanced way to approach a chest workout.

While you may think of a push-pull routine as just a chest and back workout, it can actually be a whole lot more. Take this this routine, where you’ll be alternating between moves that work your pushing and pulling muscles, for both your upper body and your lower body. So while this workout will really smoke your pectoral muscles and triceps with horizontal pushing motions, it’ll also work your lats, rhomboids, and biceps, along with your lower-body muscles like quads, hamstrings, and glutes. Created by Melissa Garcia , P.T., DPT, CSCS, a strength coach and physical therapist at Bespoke Treatments in Seattle, this workout is an awesome way to work your entire body.

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A 5-Move Circuit Workout to Build Serious Upper-Body Strength

Circuit training—in which you typically move through a series of exercises with little to no rest—is one of the most efficient ways to work all of your upper-body muscles. Plus when you don’t take any rest, you get a cardio boost along with the strength-building benefits of weight training.

This circuit-style workout, created by NASM-certified personal trainer Alicia Jamison , a trainer at Bodyspace Fitness in New York City, uses pulling and pushing exercises to fire up your entire upper body—including, of course, your chest muscles. The two pushing exercises in this workout (elevated push-up and overhead shoulder press) will seriously fire up your pecs as well as your deltoids ( shoulder muscles ).

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home workout for chest

SELF does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Any information published on this website or by this brand is not intended as a substitute for medical advice, and you should not take any action before consulting with a healthcare professional.

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home workout for chest

Best Home Chest Workout

best home chest workout

effective CHEST WORKOUT at home

More on: chest.

  • How To Incline Bench Press Correctly
  • Chest and Back Workout
  • Best Upper Chest Workout
  • The Best Dumbbell Exercises for Chest

No gym membership, or maybe you are just starting out and you want bodyweight chest workouts that you can do from home?

Just because you don’t have the option to run to a bench press like you would in a gym doesn’t mean you can’t get an effective workout with just your body weight. Especially if you use a couple of scientific training principles.

It’s time to get rid of the gym equipment – that’s right, you don’t even need light weight.

However, you will need one piece of basic equipment: a resistance band.

Guys, I promise that you won’t have to worry about boring chest moves like the standard pushup or the diamond press-up – the fallback option for most chest workouts .

Let’s take a look at the best home chest workout. I’ll also be including sets, reps, and modifications for these chest exercises at home.

chest muscle anatomy

ANATOMY OF THE CHEST

Let’s start by understanding the anatomy of one of the major muscles in the upper body: the chest.

Focusing on these muscles in the upper body will help you build a stronger mind-to-muscle connection.

You can see there are a few different areas we have to hit if you want to build a strong chest.

UPPER CHEST

The upper section of the chest is called the clavicular portion, which has fibers that run off the clavicle and down.

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MIDDLE CHEST

Next, we have the sternal portion. The middle portion of the chest – the sternal fibers – run straight across from the sternum over to your arm.

middle sternal chest muscle

LOWER CHEST

There’s also a third portion people don’t talk about all that much: the abdominal head.

This low section of the chest has fibers that run from the bottom part of the chest upward.

lower chest abdominal head

The most significant fact about the three different areas is that the fiber orientation changes, depending upon where in the chest it resides.

So, in order to get the best home chest workout that you can, you’re going to follow the fibers.

BEST HOME CHEST WORKOUT

You’re going to have to move your arms in different orientations in order to get a complete chest workout.

And the best way to make this happen is with a superset for all of the chest moves. Just like the name suggests, a superset is when you perform two exercises back-to-back with no or minimal rest in between.

So, let’s kick off this home chest workout with our first superset.

SUPERSET ONE

For this superset, you’ll be using a mechanical drop set technique combined with overlapping of some strength curves.

The best way to demonstrate this is to look at a traditional bench press. There are two portions of this lift, and it’s the bottom portion that tends to be the hardest.

We want to make sure we’re training that zone, and pause reps are the way we’re going to do that.

This is an Archer Pushup and if you want a stronger chest, these need to be a part of your home workout.

ARCHER PUSHUP

Best Home Chest Workout

You will have to generate the most amount of force in this bottomed-out position, which can be pretty difficult, especially as you are focusing on keeping a tight core.

So, with that said, if you’re just a beginner, you don’t have to do these from your feet shoulder width apart – you can do them from your knees. Don’t forget about core control here though.

ARCHER PUSHUP FROM KNEES

archer pushups from knees

Just like with standard push-ups, you’ll want to go to failure with the Archer Push-up.

Since these are bodyweight exercises, I can’t prescribe 12 reps for somebody that can do 30.

So, make sure you go to failure and then go right into this next exercise: the Banded Crossover.

BANDED CROSSOVER

Best Home Chest Workout

Attach a resistance band to something that is both convenient and stable. It needs to be securely anchored in order to stretch.

Bring your arm across to get that adduction in the chest. Make sure to bring your arm fully across the chest.

That’s a component that’s missing from the Archer Push-up because of how wide your arms are placed. But if you want to get a complete chest contraction, you’ll need to include it.

Once again, take each exercise to failure. Rest for about 60 to 90 seconds, then get right back into this superset for about three sets.

SUPERSET TWO

Now we move onto the next exercise, which focuses on overloading a different part of the range of motion of a flat bench press, complementing the part of the strength curve that has some weaknesses.

You had an overload in the bottom position of the Archer Push-up, but that’s not where you’ll feel the overload in the next exercise, the Banded Pushup.

BANDED PUSHUP

Best Home Chest Workout

What you do have here is an overload at the end position, complementing those weaknesses and helping to build upper body strength.

Get into a plank position and wrap a band around the back of your shoulder blades. Put your hands shoulder width apart and press up. Try to press up explosively and get through that with that end range. Make sure to keep a slight bend in the elbows at the top.

This is something you probably would have done with chains, if you’re doing a traditional bench press, to add some extra weight and tension toward the end of the rep. But here, you’re just trying to accelerate through that portion.

The hardest part of this exercise is when the bands are reaching their highest amount of tension.

Keep pushing as much as you can until you reach failure. Just be sure to keep that core tight.

Once you tap out on these, you’ll move on to the exercise that complements Banded Push-ups and provides adduction: Banded Crossovers.

BANDED CROSSOVERS

The Banded Crossovers have a very unique movement pattern, one that requires you to move past the centerline of your body to fully activate the pecs.

Just like in your last superset, go to failure, and rest 60 to 90 seconds between sets.

SUPERSET THREE

Let’s move on to the next exercise in the workout program, which is going to target more of the upper chest.

The only piece of equipment you’ll need for this is a wall, coffee table, or anything that you can put your feet onto. You don’t need a lot of space. Just somewhere you can fit two feet up on that wall.

The idea is to create an angle with your body. Since you don’t have access to an incline bench to do an incline bench press, you’ll need to figure out a way to do it with our own body and space.

And Decline Wall Push-ups are the way to do it.

DECLINE WALL PUSH-UPS

decline wall pushups to failure

With your feet up on the wall, you’ll start doing these wall-supported decline pushups, going from that low to high position.

You have two options if these are too difficult for you:

  • You can lower your feet down the wall a little bit. But understand that while it’s going to make it a little bit easier, it’s also going to sacrifice a bit of the targeting of the upper chest.
  • You can simply put your knees on a surface that’s elevated so you can drop your body down. The shortening of the body is taking away some of the distance of the legs, and this is going to make the exercise easier for you.

Naturally, you want to go to failure, but I’d recommend selecting the option that allows you to get AT LEAST six repetitions with good form.

As soon as you’re done with Decline Push-ups, you’ll move to a Low-to-High Banded Crossover.

LOW-TO-HIGH BANDED CROSSOVER

low to high crossovers to failure

Every time you bring that band up and across your body, focus on the clavicular fibers coming down and out toward that arm.

Again, push to failure then rest 60 to 90 seconds in between. Repeat for three or four sets.

SUPERSET FOUR

Next, you’ll move onto the lower portion of your chest.

You’ll have two options for where you perform this exercise, but I highly recommend a kitchen countertop because you can do perfect chest dips.

COUNTERTOP DIPS

counter top dips to failure

If you have that angle with your kitchen counter, you can put your hands right up on the counter next to it, and you’re in a perfect position to do dips.

It’s one of the best ways to target the lower chest muscles because it’s following the direction of the fibers.

Let’s say you don’t have access to a kitchen counter that looks like that. You’re not out of luck. Instead, you can utilize a bed or couch.

INCLINE PLYO PUSHUPS

incline plyo pushups to failure

All you have to do is position your body in an incline. The incline position, when your arms are down, you can see they’re oriented at a lower angle than horizontal. But this is perfect for recruiting that lower chest.

If you want to make this difficult, spend more time in the air. Make sure you get high enough that you get your arms behind your back, and then back down in time to catch the bottom of that pushup. It’s a little more difficult and more challenging.

If you can’t put your hands behind your back, you can still push with enough force to clear your body from the bed and rep out from there.

Remember, all the way to failure and then one last time we’re going to take that crossover to include adduction.

But this time, we’re taking it from an anchored position high across your body, down low.

HIGH TO LOW CROSSOVERS

high to low crossovers to failure

Again, go to failure, rest for 60 to 90 seconds between sets, and perform three sets of each.

FINAL EXERCISE

Before we wrap it all up, I like to make sure with bodyweight workouts that we’ve fired up the chest. We can do that with one final burnout.

It’s one single exercise that we’re going to do three times. This is the Alternating Twisting Pushup.

ALTERNATING TWISTING PUSHUP

twisting pushups to failure

Something interesting that’s happening here is you’re getting that adduction that I talked about throughout the article. The difference is that you’re not having to bring your arm across the chest.

Instead, through relative motion – another scientific training principle – you’re rotating the chest into the arm, creating adduction without having to do any movement of the arm itself.

You’ll find when you do these alternating reps in burnout fashion, taken all the way to failure – this is the perfect ending to the best home chest workout.

CHEST WORKOUT ROUTINE SUMMARY

This chest routine is a lot to digest so I want to give you guys the complete workout summary.

Here’s a wrap up that provides you with the exercises, sets, and reps.

home chest workout

If you want a muscular chest, you don’t need a fully stocked gym to get in a complete workout

But you do need to make sure that you bring the effort every time you’re going to train in the home.

Push yourself using the principles I’ve outlined above for this bodyweight chest workout and I promise you’ll see incredible results.

If you’re looking for a complete program you can do at home to build strength and size in every muscle of the body, I’ve got you covered. Check out our ATHLEAN-X programs to see which is the best fit for your goals.

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  • It’s definitely possible to build chest muscle mass with a home chest workout. No heavy weights needed! But you need to follow the right chest training principles. In this case, you want to use supersets.
  • Also, with most effective chest exercises done at home, the key is to make sure that you are training them with enough intensity to cause muscle growth. The best way to ensure muscle gain is to take the exercises to muscular failure.
  • Perform three to four sets of each of the following supersetted exercises.
  • The first superset involves an Archer Pushup with a Banded Crossover horizontal to midline. Again, go to failure with both exercises and then take a break for 60 to 90 seconds.
  • The second superset is the Banded Pushup with another Banded Crossover done horizontally.
  • The third superset is Decline Wall Pushups coupled with a crossover but this time take the band in a low to high path to really target the upper chest the most.
  • For your final superset, you’ll perform dips on a countertop or explosive push-ups from a bed or couch. Pair this exercise with a Banded Crossover – this time high to low.
  • Finally, you’ll end the workout with an Alternating Twisting Pushup. This is a killer finisher and helps to create relative adduction of the arms across the chest by twisting the torso into the arm rather than bringing the arm across the chest.

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Jeff Cavaliere M.S.P.T, CSCS

Jeff Cavaliere is a Physical Therapist, Strength Coach and creator of the ATHLEAN-X Training Programs and ATHLEAN-Rx Supplements. He has a Masters in Physical Therapy (MSPT) and has worked as Head Physical Therapist for the New York Mets, as well as training many elite professional athletes in Major League Baseball, NFL, MMA and professional wrestling. His programs produce “next level” achievements in muscle size, strength and performance for professional athletes and anyone looking to build a muscular athletic physique.

Read more about Jeff Cavaliere by clicking here

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Chest Workout: At Home With and Without Equipment

home workout for chest

We’re pretty sure a few of you out there have flipped through a fitness magazine or scrolled through some bodybuilding or workout sites, inevitably stumbling across images of buff men with protruding, sculpted chests. Though this is an extreme display of built-up pecs (pectoral muscles), that many men aspire to, having a strong, toned chest is equally essential for both men and women—and goes way beyond fitness aesthetics.

Your chest muscles are some of the most powerful muscles in your upper body and they play a key role when it comes to pushing movements—from pushing the door open to lathering up your hair in the shower. We know how important it is to include exercises that target the chest in  your workouts, so you can rest-assured that you’ll work those muscles by following our 8fit program. If you want more, try these at-home bodyweight chest workouts and exercises.

CTA Chest 1500x1500

Why are your chest muscles important?

The chest area is made up of two primary muscles—the pectoralis major and the pectoralis minor—often referred to as ‘pecs.’ The pectoralis major is the larger of the two muscles, and extends across the upper chest, attaching to the shoulder and the breastbone and has a fan-like appearance. The pectoralis minor on the other hand is a small, thin and triangular muscle that sits just below the pectoralis major. 

Chest Muscles infographic

So what do these muscles do precisely? Well, they’re pretty significant when it comes to controlling your arm movements. From pulling and rotating your arm towards the center of your body to lifting your arms up. Think of lifting a child into your arms, swinging a tennis racket or pushing a heavy object away from you.

Additionally, as these muscles take up the majority of the chest wall, working them out will burn a considerable amount of energy. If you’re looking to shed some pounds and tone up, then this is an especially good muscle to train. It will rev up your  metabolism  quite nicely.

Considering the importance of this powerful muscle, we’ve crafted two tailored workouts—with and without equipment—that you can do from the convenience of your own four walls, for a toned and muscular chest.

Chest exercises at home without equipment

It’s an oldie, but a goodie—the  classic push-ups  and all its variations is one of the best exercises you can do to improve the strength of your chest. Varying the position of your body and the amount of time executing the exercise will hit different areas of your chest, for balanced upper body strength.

Before we get into the workout, here’s how to do different push-up variations.

1. Regular push-ups

This classic bodyweight exercise is excellent to start with as well as for keeping as a training staple in any full-body or upper-body workout. Make sure to use a wide grip, as this will work your chest muscles more than a narrow grip technique.

Want to kick your workout up a notch? Try this HIIT chest workout .

2. Incline push-ups

If you find a standard push-up too challenging at first, then you can start with an incline push-up. The steeper the incline, the less body weight you will need to work push. This is also a good exercise to target your lower chest.

Fitness Male Antonio Arms Push-Up Fit-For-You Project 002 push up

3. Decline push-ups

What goes up, must come down. These push-ups will help you target your upper chest and deltoid muscles specifically. It will also add more of your body weight to the exercise than a standard push-up, thus making it harder.

4. Plyometric push-ups

Are you ready to explode into action? These push-ups, can be executed in a variety of fun and fantastical way, think clap push-ups. These bursts of powerful  plyometric movement  will have your muscles firing on all cylinders.

5. Time under tension push-ups

Believe it or not, slowing down a movement considerably and paying attention to correct form, will deliver great conditioning results. Lowering yourself very slowly down into a push-up and pushing back equally as slow into your start position will increase your muscle mass.

push up ame home workout chest

Home chest workout (no equipment needed)

For this workout, do three rounds of the following eight exercises. Make sure to execute each exercise in good form even when your body starts to fatigue — remember, form over speed!

10 regular push-ups  

60-second star jumps

10 incline push-ups

10 decline push-ups

60-seconds star jumps

5 regular push-up with time under tension

30 mountain climbers

Chest workout at home with dumbbells

While bodyweight exercises are a handy, easy way to work your muscles with minimal fuss, adding a bit of extra weight in the form of dumbbells can take your chest workout to the next level. Read more about the difference between bodyweight training and weight training .

This next chest workout can be done at home or in the gym, and all you need is a pair of dumbbells. Adding weight will also open the door to a wide range of other effective chest workouts such as the chest press and chest flies.

If you are new at this, start with very light weights to master the technique first. When you feel confident, slowly increase the weight so the last 3-4 reps are tough to execute.

As with push-ups, varying the position of the body when doing a chest press or chest fly will target different muscles. Below are some key, weighted movements.

1. Regular chest press

Lie on a flat bench, holding the dumbbells in your hands. Stretch your arms over your shoulder, shoulder-width apart. From this starting position, inhale and descend slowly until your elbows are parallel to the floor at a 90°angle. Then push the weights back up while exhaling to return to the starting position.

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 2. Incline chest press

Lie on a bench with an incline with a dumbbell in each hand. Then lift the dumbbells shoulder-width apart, arms extended and rotate your wrists so that the palms of your hands are facing each other. Stay in control of the dumbbells at all times and slowly lower the weights while inhaling. Then exhale pushing the dumbbells upwards with the help of your chest. 

3. Decline chest press

Secure your legs at the end of the declined bench first and then lie down with a dumbbell in each hand. Once lie down, move the dumbbells above your shoulders (shoulder width apart), palms facing each other. Lower the weights slowly until your elbows are parallel to the floor. Then bring the dumbbells back up while exhaling and contracting your chest. 

4. Chest fly

Lie on a flat bench with a dumbbell in each hand, palms facing each other. Extend the arms above your chest, shoulder-width apart but keep your elbows flexible at all times (do not lock your elbows). Then lower your arms on both sides in a wide arc until you feel a stretch in your chest and then bring the dumbbells back up. Keep in mind to do the movement to the level of the shoulder joint, and not at the arms and elbows.

Want to go after your whole body? Try this 18-minute full-body dumbbell workout .

5. Incline chest fly

Lie on a bench with an incline with a dumbbell in each hand, palms facing each other. Extend the arms above your chest, to the width of your shoulders but keep your elbows flexible at all times (do not lock your elbows). Then lower your arms on both sides in a wide arc until you feel a stretch in your chest and then bring the dumbbells back up. Keep in mind to do the movement to the level of the shoulder joint, and not at the arms and elbows.

 6. Decline chest fly

Secure your legs at the end of a bench at a decline first and then lie down with a dumbbell in each hand, palms facing each other. Extend the arms above your chest, to the width of your shoulders but keep your elbows flexible at all times (do not lock your elbows). Then lower your arms on both sides in a wide arc until you feel a stretch in your chest and then bring the dumbbells back up. Keep in mind to do the movement to the level of the shoulder joint, and not at the arms and elbows.

7. Chest dips

Chest dips are a fantastic exercise to build a strong chest and some even argue that it is the overall best chest exercise. This exercise not only adds depth to the chest but it adds width as well. Moreover, as your body isn’t supported by the bench like in a chest press, it means that other muscles are worked as you have to work harder to stabilize your body weight.

For this exercise, you won’t need dumbbells but instead another piece of equipment — either parallel bars or two flat parallel surfaces you can dip between (stable bar stools also work). Grab the bars or place hands on the flat surface and hold your body at arm’s length (arms locked), knees bent so you don’t touch the floor. With control, slowly lower your body keeping your elbows pointed out slightly until you feel a slight stretch in your chest. Be careful not to go down too low; you don’t want to hurt your shoulder joint. While exhaling, contract your chest to bring your body back to the start position.

Want to get your whole body moving? Try these total-body tabata exercises and workouts .

At-home chest workout with weights

Just like the push-up workout, this one is also three rounds, and form over speed is important! You’ll need a set of dumbbells and equipment referenced above for those chest dips.

10 regular push-ups

30 seconds chest dips 30 seconds rest

10 chest press

30 seconds chest fly 30 seconds rest

10 incline chest press

10 regular push-ups with time under tension 60 seconds rest

Post-workout: Try this full-body stretching routine to cool down after your chest workout.

Though we’ve shown the chest area some love in this article, like anything in life, it’s all about balance, so make sure to dedicate just as much time exercising all kinds of muscle groups, to avoid muscular imbalances, injury, and postural issues down the line.

Now you’ve got these two workouts in your proverbial pocket, start incorporating it into your regular 8fit workout routine to improve your all-around strength, performance, and everyday functional movements. Want to really get moving and challenge yourself? Have a look at our HIIT Training .

Want to keep training from the comfort of home? Try some of our favorite at-home workouts .

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Grab a Great Chest Workout at Home with Our Eight-Week Training Plan

If you think you need to spend hours on a bench at the gym to build a bigger chest, you're wrong

muscular man doing push ups during home workout

Our at-home, bodyweight chest workout has been split into three sections, with each phase designed to build a new layer of upper-body muscle in just eight weeks. The first phase builds endurance, the second boosts strength and the final phase adds explosiveness and speed so you can pack on more size.

The entire programme is based on variations of the standard press-up. It's that simple. But for anyone new to the movement, we suggest you check out these press-up variations first. For everyone else, get ready to drop down and build a bigger, wider, more muscular chest at home using nothing more than your bodyweight.

How to Do the Workout

You're going to build the basis for a bigger chest by performing the first three of our chest exercises three days a week for a fortnight. Take at least one day's rest between workouts. Complete three sets of each exercise, resting for one to two minutes between sets. Aim to push out 10 to 15 reps, but if that's beyond your chest efforts, just do the best you can.

Once you've done two weeks of those first three exercises, move on to exercises four, five, six and seven. Perform these variations two days a week for the next four weeks. Complete four sets of each exercise, and rest for one to two minutes between sets. Again, aim for 10 to 15 reps per set or as many as you can.

After four weeks of hard work, you'll have built base muscle endurance (weeks 1 and 2), and added strength. The final phase develops the explosiveness and speed, which will give you a performance edge in any sport that uses your upper body, plus the size and definition that means people will know you've been seriously working on your chest . It doesn't come easy, though. You'll now complete the same exercises as in phase two (weeks three to six), but as a circuit, performing one exercise after the other with no rest in between. Try to perform 10 reps of each exercise. That's a set. Rest for one-to-two minutes, then repeat for a total of four sets. Collapsing is optional. Do this twice a week, allowing three days of rest between sessions. You'll need it.

Oh and before you begin, exercises eight to 10 are optional (you'll be pleased to hear), but feel free to add them in after the first three weeks if your workouts begin to become monotonous.

Wide Press-up

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Either by accident or design you'll have done these before. To do the now, simply perform a standard press-up, but with your hands placed wider than shoulder-width apart.

Alternating Shuffle Press-up

Cartoon, Arm, Press up, Illustration, Gesture, Drawing,

Start in the classic press-up position . Move your right hand to the left until your two hands are next to each other. Slide your left hand further left until your hands are shoulder-width apart again. Perform a press-up and repeat, moving to the right. That's two press-ups, but only one rep.

Diamond Press-up

Arm, Press up, Muscle, Standing, Leg, Shoulder, Joint, Human body, Physical fitness, Elbow,

Perform a press-up with your hands close enough for the tips of your thumbs and index fingers to touch. As you lower keep your elbows tucked in to the side of your body.

One-arm Press-up

Press up, Arm, Leg, Standing, Muscle, Physical fitness, Joint, Chest, Human body, Balance,

Perform a press-up with your right hand on the floor and your left hand on the box. Switch arms and repeat. That's one rep.

Cross-over Elevated Press-up

Press up, Arm, Cartoon, Leg, Illustration, Muscle, Physical fitness, Balance, Exercise, Weights,

Do a one-arm press-up with your left hand on the box. From the starting position, lift your right hand to beside your left. Move your left hand down to the floor, with hands shoulder-width apart. Do a press-up. That's one rep!

Elevated Diamond Press-up

Press up, Arm, Standing, Weights, Leg, Muscle, Dumbbell, Exercise equipment, Physical fitness, Joint,

There's a clue in the title: perform a diamond press-up, but with both hands on the box. Job done!

Dynamic Press-up

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Place your hands on a box in the diamond press-up position. Lower your body and press explosively off the box, so your hands land on the floor with the box between them. Watch that chin. Immediately lower your body and press explosively up so your hands land back on the box in the starting position. That's one rep. You've earned the right to a Balboa-esque grunt on this one. Bring it on, champ.

Spiderman Press-up

chest workout at home

Get into a traditional press-up position . Lower yourself toward the floor and bring your right knee to your right elbow, keeping it off the ground. Press back up and return your leg to the starting position. Repeat with the alternate leg.

Incline Press-up

arm, leg, muscle, sitting, physical fitness, furniture, elbow, table,

Place your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart on a bench, a chair or a box. With your feet planted on the floor, bend your arms and lower your body until your chest touches the bench. Push your body back up to the starting position.

Decline Press-up

chest and arms exercises

Place your feet on a bench with your hands planted on the floor in front of you. Lower your body down until your chest almost reaches the floor. Press your body back up to the starting position while squeezing your chest. Pause briefly at the top before repeating.

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Best Chest Workouts: 11 Chest Exercises for Building Strong Muscles

Being physically defined in the chest area isn’t the only advantage of having strong pectoral muscles. It can also help improve your posture, facilitate breathing, and provide support for other muscles and joints.

Developing a powerful chest might take time, but muscle gain isn’t always one of them. Learning to prioritize your chest exercises is the key.

In this article, we’ve discussed some easy chest workouts to help you get started.

>> Spend less time in the gym with Million Dollar Body

Best Chest Workouts: What Are Chest Muscles?

Knowing what (and where) the chest muscles are might help you identify them while doing chest workouts to strengthen them. The chest muscles include:

  • Pectoralis major and minor,
  • Serratus anterior
  • Intercostal muscles

These muscles are spread out throughout the chest and each has its own unique size and location.

Best Chest Workouts: Chest Muscles

We highlight the major chest muscles below.

  • Pectoralis major : The pectoralis major is the biggest of the front chest wall muscles, and it lines the front of the chest cavity below the shoulders.
  • Pectoralis minor: The smaller, triangular pectoralis minor is under the larger pectoralis major muscle.
  • Serratus anterior: The scapula and the area between the first and eighth or ninth ribs on the lateral wall of the thorax (between the neck and the belly) are both controlled by this muscle (a bone in the upper back that is triangular).
  • Subclavius: Located across the tops of the shoulders, this little triangle muscle is responsible for protruding the first rib.
  • Intercostals: In between the ribs, they comprise the various muscle groups that make up the chest wall.

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Best Chest Workout: Why Are Chest Muscles Important?

The chest muscles perform many critical functions. You may extend your arms outward or pull your upper body away from your upper arms using the chest muscles.

The chest muscles are used when you throw a ball, lift a kid into a crib, get up off the floor, or reach for something on a high shelf.

The shoulders and spine rely on strong, well-balanced chest muscles to perform their functions; these muscles are also essential to maintaining proper posture.

Having well-developed chest muscles makes it easier to breathe , which in turn boosts lung capacity. The best fitness class can help you set up a healthy workout routine to see quick results.

That said, you can also add the best shoulder workout to your routine to build strong shoulder muscles.

Best Chest Workout: How To Develop Strong Chest Muscles via Chest Workouts

Consistency is the key to building robust pectoral muscles. To properly support the chest, you should consider joining the best bodybuilding program to strengthen and stabilize the surrounding muscles, such as the shoulders, back, and core. The muscles surrounding the chest should also be worked out.

As you strengthen your diaphragm with diaphragm breathing techniques and other breathing exercises, it becomes simpler to do the chest exercises themselves, making them an integral part of building strong chest muscles.

11 Best Chest Exercises

Here are the best chest exercises you can try.

  • Barbell Bench Press
  • Dumbbell Bench Press
  • Incline Bench Press
  • Decline Bench Press
  • Svend Press
  • Cable Iron Cross
  • Side-to-Side Landmine Press
  • Dumbbell Floor Press

1. Best Chest Workouts: Barbell Bench Press

The bench press ranks high for a chest day routine among gym staples and allows for a good pecs workout. There’s a good reason why this is one of the most performed chest exercises in the gym.

As one of the best pecs workouts, athletes use the bench press for explosive pressing power, powerlifters use it as a competition tool, and gym rats use it to bulk up their pecs.

If you want to move more weight, the traditional barbell bench is the way to go for any chest day. Also, you’ll have more control over the movement than you would while pressing heavy weights.

Bench presses benefit from the same tried-and-true methods as other weightlifting classics, such as the 5x5 for muscle and power or the 10x10 (also known as German Volume Training) for lean mass alone.

If you’re serious about chasing a huge number on the bench press, you may look for the best fitness program online to help you stay focused and learn the utmost chest exercises.

Benefits of the Barbell Flat Bench Press

  • The bench press workout can help you develop a robust core by strengthening your chest, triceps, and shoulders.
  • As one of the three chest exercises assessed in a powerlifting competition, this pecs workout is an absolute must for every powerlifter.
  • The bench press allows you to use more weight than most other best pecs workouts.

How To Do the Barbell Flat Bench Press

The best way to relax is to lie back on a bench with your feet flat on the floor and your back arched slightly.

To improve balance and upper body strength, squeeze your shoulder blades together. To achieve maximum flexion of the arm and grip muscles, grab the bar (using a variety of clutches) and grasp the hand tightly.

With the weights unracked, bring the bar down until it touches your sternum. When pressing the weight, maintain your back straight and shoulder blades together.

2. Best Chest Workouts: Dumbbell Bench Press

You can’t lift as much weight with dumbbells as with a barbell bench press, but the motion still has its benefits.

The versatility of dumbbells makes it possible to select a pressing posture that is more pleasant for those with shoulder or elbow discomfort.

The chest (and the minor stabilizer muscles surrounding the shoulder joint) are trained differently using dumbbells than the bench.

The one-sided character of this motion is helpful if you’ve got a lagging limb since it helps it cope with the other, making it one of the best pecs workouts.

Benefits of the Dumbbell Bench Press

  • If you’re experiencing discomfort in your shoulders or elbows when pressing, you may find a more favorable posture with relative ease.
  • In order to strengthen your muscles and joints, try using two dumbbells instead of one for this best chest workout.
  • Lifting dumbbells requires equal effort from both sides, so you may strengthen your weaker side as well.

How To Do the Dumbbell Bench Press

Rest your back on the ground or a weight bench. Arrange your knees to 90 degrees and put your feet level on the floor. Lift dumbbells with both hands.

Make a cactus with your arms, hands approximately 3 inches apart, and elbows at right angles to your sides. Keep your elbows bent as a starting position.

Exhaling, raise the weights upward until they are at chest level. Exhale as you slowly return the weights to the beginning position. Finish two or three sets of 1 repetitions.

Change this pecs workout by not lifting the dumbbells simultaneously but rather alternating between the two. The pec major, shoulders, and triceps are all put to work during wide-grip chest presses.

While a barbell may be used, Croce suggests using dumbbells instead. Choose dumbbells within your strength and fitness range for your best chest workouts.

3. Best Chest Workouts: Push-Up

Push-ups are excellent for the best chest workouts without spending money on fancy equipment.

Yet, they are also quite adaptable, allowing you to easily modify your range of motion and focus your chest exercises on some regions of your chest by simply changing your hand placement or the height at which you are holding the handles.

Okay, but they’re only push-ups, right? The strength they provide is insufficient for pecs workout.

The muscle activation and total muscular growth from doing push-ups and press ups are surprisingly identical, according to a thorough investigation on pecs workouts.

While you shouldn’t rely just on push-ups, you should include them in your chest day routine.

Sets of push-ups performed to failure are a fantastic way to exhaust yourself or add volume toward the end of your chest day workout.

They work particularly well when combined with dips in a compound set, a mechanical drop set after flys or presses, or a rowing movement in an antagonist chest-and-back superset.

If necessary for your chest day workout, push-ups with weights or resistance bands attached might serve as the main push exercise.

Benefits of the Push-Up

Your joints won’t wear out as quickly as they would if you were using weights instead of your own body weight while on your best chest workouts.

You may also do many pushups, allowing you to gain muscle by accumulating stress.

How To Do the Push-up

Here, we’ll show you how to do the two popular types of push-ups during your chest day routine.

1. Traditional Push-Up

To begin, go down to your hands and knees with your knees about a foot apart and your arms about a shoulder’s width apart.

Raise yourself into a high posture by straightening your legs and arms until your knees are off the floor.

Gently lower yourself until your torso is just a few inches above the floor, maintaining your head, shoulders, neck, back, and knees linearly the whole time. Reverse your body’s position by pushing with your chest and arms.

The recommended number of repetitions is 8–10 as the best chest workout, and you should do 2–3 sets as your pecs workout.

By lowering your torso to the floor, you may do the upper body action of a push-up with a knee modification.

One of the finest no-equipment chest workouts is the push-up. The primary benefit of push-ups is that they work not just the chest muscles but also the abdominals, upper back, and shoulders.

2. Scapular Push-ups

Place both hands shoulder-width apart while your legs just a few inches apart to begin this variation on the standard push-up. Maintaining a straight back and arms, push your shoulder blades together and then gently let them go.

Serratus anterior muscles may be effectively worked using scapular push-ups (muscle). It’s important to keep the body from moving too much up and down, even less so than in a regular push-up.

Do eight to ten scapular push-ups in two to three sets. If you find this too difficult, try lowering yourself to your knees.

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4. Best Chest Workouts: Incline Bench Press

Many weightlifters choose incline bench presses over flat bench presses for a chest day workout as their “primary lift” since the former reduces stress on the shoulders while the latter strengthens the upper chest.

As one of the best chest workouts, it works well on a barbell or multi-grip bar. However, the versatility of chest exercises with dumbbells allows you to target your upper pecs more precisely.

The extreme incline of many benches also targets the front deltoids. Use an angle of 30 degrees or less to isolate your upper pecs.

Benefits of Incline Bench Press

  • Compared to other forms of the bench press, the shoulder and chest area are worked more.
  • Since the deltoids are also worked during the incline bench press, the benefits may be extended to other pressing exercises.

How To Do Incline Bench Press

One may do a flat bench press by setting up a workout bench at a 45-degree incline. Remove the barbell from the rack and lower the weight until it is in line with your chest area (a few centimeters below the clavicle).

The ideal posture involves drawing the shoulder blades together and bending the elbows to a 45-degree angle. Raise the barbell by pushing up on it.

5. Best Chest Workouts: Decline Bench Press

Most people believe that decrease only benefits the lower chest. And although it’s useful for that, the best of the best. They may lift more weight without discomfort than on a flat bench since this machine targets the whole chest.

To maximize your chest workout time, utilize a plate-loaded hammer strengthening machine , or another similarly padded decline press equipment, if available at your gym. You may sit on the side and push across your body with one arm or execute the standard double-arm press.

One of the pec major’s fundamental functions is shoulder adduction, shown by this unilateral chest motion.

Benefits of the Barbell Decline Bench Press

  • More stress placed on the pectoral muscles located below.
  • Because of the bench’s slanted design, you can lift with less stress on your shoulder joints.

How To Do the Barbell Decline Bench Press

Get started by anchoring your feet into a decline bench and then fastening your upper back and pelvis towards the bench (just like the flat bench press). Put your shoulder blades together, unrack the weight, and then draw it toward your sternum.

Your elbows should be locked out as you press through the barbell. Ensure your elbows don’t go too far out to the side while you exercise.

6. Best Chest Workouts: Chest Flye

The chest flye is one of the best chest workout to increase muscular size and strength; it may be performed with dumbbells or a cable machine. The pump will aid in delivering oxygen and nutrients to the injured region, hastening the healing process.

To maximize their effectiveness, flyes should be performed following pressing as either the first isolated motion or the last activity of your program. Heavy-handedness is unnecessary. Sets of 10-12 repetitions or even more should be used for a productive chest day routine.

Benefits of the Chest Flye

  • Extending the arms while carrying a little weight (a “chest flye”) is a great way to work the chest muscles and get oxygen and nutrients to the region.
  • You may do this exercise with anything from kettlebells to dumbbells on a wire machine.
  • This kind of dumbbell lifting requires more muscle coordination since the lifter must simultaneously stabilize and raise two objects.

How to Do the Chest Flye

Get on your back on the bench, feet flat on the floor, and hold a dumbbell in each of your hands. To begin, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your arms extended, elbows bent slightly. Keep your palms up and your arms at your sides.

When you let your breath out, cross your arms in the middle of your chest. When you bring your arms back to the beginning position, take a deep breath in. Do two or three sets of 10-15 reps.

If working your chest on a level surface and dumbbells seems too taxing, try doing cable chest flyes on a cable machine instead. To do this exercise, stand with your backside to the machine and grab the cable grips. Step forward with one foot and lean forward slightly.

Maintain an upright posture. With your arms bent at a 90-degree angle, draw the handles in front of your body together until your hands touch. Then, carefully let go so that your arms straighten out again.

Do not let your core relax while you are working out. After you’ve completed 10 to 15 repetitions in one direction, switch feet and do another set.

7. Best Chest Workouts: Dip

For a good reason, dips were a mainstay of the golden era greats’ pecs workout routines: no other bodyweight exercise is as effective at stretching and working the chest.

If you’re very strong, you can use a dip belt to increase weight, but if you’re not, you can always use a band or a machine to help you out. As one of the best chest workouts, they provide a viable substitute to the declining press that doesn’t need a spotter.

Although the chest is worked in every kind of dip, it’s especially important to target the pecs on chest day by doing dips with a heavier emphasis on the upper chest. With this move, you’ll want to raise your feet off the ground, lean forward as much as you can, and dip while letting your elbows flare outward just a little.

Benefits of the Dip

  • You’ll be using far more of your body weight than you would in a push-up.
  • Pressing power will be increased when you work both the triceps and biceps simultaneously.

How To Do the Dip

Use a chair, sofa, weight bench, or other flat, elevated, sturdy surface to press your hands on.

Squat down, knees bent, and thighs parallel to the ground; this is the starting position.

Your rear end should be perched precariously on the edge of the seat. To do this best chest workout, start with your arms extended straight out before you.

Then, bend your elbows and lower your body till your arms are bent to a 90-degree angle and are held close to your sides.

With your core engaged, use your pectoralis major, triceps, and shoulders to push yourself back up to the beginning position. Do two or three sets of 10-15 repetitions.

There is no need for a level, elevated platform to do the triceps dip; you may just as well execute it on the floor.

While the range of motion is reduced, the same muscles are engaged. With this variation, put both feet flat on the floor and bring the tips of your fingers in toward your midsection.

You should raise your toes off the floor and bend your elbows to get this position. Keep your bottom off the floor by simultaneously extending your arms, straightening your elbows, and pressing through your heels.

Gently drop back to the beginning position, hovering just over the floor, by bending your elbows. Do two or three sets of 10–15 repetitions.

If you want a tremendous pump after your exercise, superset dips with push-ups.

8. Best Chest Workouts: Svend Press

The action may appear silly, but it’s one of the most effective and best chest workouts. Squeezing the weights together will prevent you from accidentally dropping them on your toes. Just doing that will stimulate the pecs.

The next step is to spread your fingers and grip your chest even tighter. Unlike hard pressing, the Svend press’s low-impact method is far more secure. It also takes little setup (so you won’t waste time searching for a free bench on International Chest Day).

Benefits of the Svend Press

  • The Svend chest press is a low-cost option since it doesn’t require specialized tools or gadgets. It’s a great alternative when you want to have a chest day in the comfort of your own home.
  • Using the Svend chest exercises, you may strengthen your mind-muscle connection with your pectorals.
  • You may work your pecs and shoulders in front in a new manner with this exercise. The most common eccentric muscle training is dragging or pushing heavy items. The svend press is an isometric exercise. It works by subjecting the muscle to sustained stress for more time.

How To Do the Svend Press

To do this exercise, stack several plates, bring your palms together at chest level, and push them together.

From there, steadily push your hands outward while maintaining steady pressure with your palms on the plate.

Using a dumbbell and a bench provides additional options for spicing up your standing svend press routine.

9. Best Chest Workouts: Cable Iron Cross

You can build your chest, triceps, and shoulders with the cable iron cross, a version of the cable chest fly.

Due to the difficulty of overloading the cable iron cross, this best chest workout is probably utilized as a supplementary motion by people whose primary goal is to build up their chest muscles.

You may include this motion into your chest, push, upper body, and full body routines.

Benefits of Cable Iron Cross

  • Strengthens the muscles in the lower chest, which are otherwise difficult to work.
  • The lower chest muscles are isolated, and a greater range of motion is used than with dumbbells.
  • Maintains a challenging resistance throughout exercise, which aids in muscle gain.

How To Do the Cable Iron Cross

Start by raising the pulleys, deciding on the desired level of resistance, and grabbing a hold of a handle with each hand.

Keep your arms at your sides and your body centered between the two pulleys. Lift your chin and chest and make a “T” with your arms. This is where you’ll begin your work.

Bring your arms straight down by your sides, keeping your elbows out. After pausing at the peak of contraction, bring your arms back to the beginning position.

Carry on for the allotted amount of times.

10. Best Chest Workouts: Side-to-Side Landmine Press

Another terrific landmine press variation for training the chest and triceps with a heavier weight is the side-to-side landmine press.

Although there are a variety of landmine presses that may help you build a bigger and stronger chest, a close-grip version that requires two hands enables you to use larger weights.

Benefits of Side-to-Side Landmine Press

  • Landmine pecs workouts are perfect for those with limited space since they don’t need much area.
  • Those with disabilities, injuries, or restricted movement may benefit from this.
  • Landmine chest exercises are a great way to hone your form for more advanced variations on the squat, lunge, and rotation.
  • Landmine training is often preferred over utilizing barbells and dumbbells for the same chest exercises by many individuals.

How To Do the Side-to-Side Landmine Press

Position the barbell’s end between your right shoulder and your hands using both hands. Maintain a neutral spine and a lifted chest.

Bring the barbell to your chest by pressing up on it. Cuff your hands behind your back. Bring your chin down to your left shoulder.

Repeatedly drive toward the middle. To the right of your shoulder, lower yourself. If you want to complete an equal amount of repetitions on each side, you’ll need to keep switching.

Consider combining your chest workouts with the best pre workout supplements to help improve focus and stamina during exercise.

11. Best Chest Workouts: Dumbbell Floor Press

Triceps, shoulders, and chest all benefit from doing the dumbbell floor press. Dumbbell floor presses are superior to barbell presses because they restrict motion and provide a neutral grip.

As a result, this best chest workout allows the biceps and triceps to be worked out with less strain on the shoulder joint.

Benefits of Dumbbell Floor Press

  • The floor press is an excellent exercise for developing your chest and triceps since it requires less of your lower body.
  • Because of the neutral grip as well as the decreased range of motion on the floor, this exercise is less taxing on the shoulders.
  • This exercise is great for increasing your triceps’ lockout strength so that you can do more reps of bench presses.

How To Do the Dumbbell Floor Press

Place a dumbbell in each hand and sit on the floor. Hold them close to your heart. To do this exercise, you should lie down slowly while holding the dumbbells tightly against your chest.

Keep the feet level on the floor and the knees bent at a 45-degree angle to provide a secure basis.

Raise the weights over your chest and place your elbows on the ground.

Use your grip strength to counteract the load. At this point, we’re at the very beginning. Take a deep breath in and tense your abdominals, glutes, and grip.

Raise the weights above (without locking your elbows). Then, bring the weights down to the initial state slowly. Exhale. Repeat for the desired number of reps.

Training Tips for Dumbbell Floor Press

  • Keep your chest tight at all times. At the height of the exercise, squeeze the pecs before lowering the weights again.
  • Keep the elbows in a neutral posture by tilting the dumbbells slightly.
  • On your way down, go slowly and steadily. Increased gains from hypertrophy training are another benefit of increasing time under strain.
  • Try to avoid banging your elbows on the ground.
  • Avoid bouncing the dumbbells at the peak of your rep.
  • Don’t arch your lower back too much. The floor must always be felt between the shoulder blades, and the hips and the floor must always be touched by the glutes.

Best Chest Workouts: Conclusion

The best chest workouts may be just as effective as more complex exercises, and they don’t even need any special equipment. Your chest will get stronger with regular practice , and you may also see changes in your breathing and posture.

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10 Easy At-home Cardio Exercises, No Equipment Required

Sports & activity.

All you need is a little motivation and time to crush these heart-pumping moves.

10 Easy At-Home Cardio Workouts, No Equipment Required

Cardio can be a divisive topic. But no matter where you stand on the workout, building your cardiovascular endurance has too many health perks to count.

“It improves your mood, aids in better sleep, lowers blood pressure and cholesterol, and helps you maintain a healthy body weight,” said Cedrina Calder, M.D., a board-certified preventive medicine physician, health expert and fitness professional based in Nashville, Tenn.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services suggests adults get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise (Think: brisk walking) and 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity (such as running) weekly. And you don’t need a ton of equipment to get the job done — in fact, you technically don’t need any at all.

You also don’t have to log major miles on the bike or run for an eternity to get in a good workout. There are plenty of simple and straightforward cardio workouts you can do in the comfort of your home that will get your heart pumping. But before jumping into these moves, check out these expert insights on how to break a sweat with your at-home workout.

RELATED: 10 Benefits of Bodyweight Exercises, According to Experts

Tips on How To Get the Best Cardio Workout at Home

Beau Burgau, C.S.C.S. and founder of Grit Training, recommended combining the moves listed below into a HIIT (high-intensity interval training) circuit to give them true value.

Calder said that HIIT is more time efficient than steady state cardio. “It allows you to burn more calories in a shorter period of time,” she said. “This is helpful for individuals who either don't have the time for longer workouts or just don't enjoy them. High-intensity interval training is also great for increasing your aerobic capacity, which is the maximum amount of oxygen your body can take in at any given time. Essentially, it's a measure of how efficient your body is at utilizing oxygen.”

But you have to make sure you’re putting in the right amount of effort to reap the benefits of these movements. That can be tricky, however, and Burgau recommended using a metric called Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) to calculate how hard you’re actually working. Your RPE is measured on a scale of one to 10 — one meaning minimal effort and 10 meaning an all-out max effort, Burgau said.

“Not only is this one of the most effective ways to measure the intensity of your exercise, but it also doesn’t require any equipment and simply involves listening to your body,” he said, adding that the “talk test” can be a great way to indicate where you fall on the scale.

“If you can easily carry a conversation, you’re likely between one and three,” Burgau said. “If you can still talk, but need to pause to catch your breath, you’re likely between a three and a five. If you’re completely breathless, and can no longer speak, you’re likely between seven and 10.”

Based on your fitness level, Burgau recommended selecting five to eight of the movements below and completing them back-to-back for 30 to 60 seconds each. Once you’ve finished all of the movements, rest for 30 to 60 seconds and repeat two more times for a total of three rounds.

Now, here are the 10 cardio exercises Burgau says you can combine into one workout.

1. Jump Rope

10 Easy At-Home Cardio Workouts, No Equipment Required

Stand tall with your legs zipped together and feet firmly planted on the ground. Extend both arms off to your side, ensuring that they’re the same distance apart from your body. Pretend you’re holding the ends of a jump rope in each hand and begin rotating both wrists. Simultaneously start making tiny jumps, roughly 1 to 2 inches off the ground. Maintain a slight bend in the knees and softly land with each jump.

RELATED: Is Jumping Rope Better Than Running?

2. Jumping Jacks

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Stand with feet hip-width apart and arms by your sides. Bend your knees and push through the balls of your feet to jump into the air. As you jump out, simultaneously extend your legs to the side so that they’re a little wider than your shoulders, then jump back to center. To modify, drop the jump and simply step your legs to the side. At the same time, extend your arms overhead. Quickly jump or step back to the starting position and repeat.

3. Squat Jumps

10 Easy At-Home Cardio Workouts, No Equipment Required

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Plant your heels into the ground as you lower into a squat so that your knees are tracking over your toes. At the bottom of the squat, brace your core and engage your glutes to explosively jump up into the air. Softly land and immediately drop down to a squat. Repeat. To modify, perform regular squats.

4. Split Squat Jump

10 Easy At-Home Cardio Workouts, No Equipment Required

Start in a lunge position with your right leg forward and your left leg back. Your hips and knees should form a 90-degree angle. Brace your core and jump explosively. Switch legs midair and land in the opposite stance so that your left leg is forward and your right leg is back. To modify, either start with a smaller jump or skip it all together and drop down into a lunge. Continue alternating both sides with no rest in between.

5. Lateral Shuffle

10 Easy At-Home Cardio Workouts, No Equipment Required

Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Maintain a slight bend in the knees and keep your chest lifted. Using at least four small and quick shuffle steps, pause and then move to the left until you reach your starting point. Continue repeating the shuffling movement back and forth.

6. Plank Shoulder Taps

10 Easy At-Home Cardio Workouts, No Equipment Required

Assume a high plank position. Engage your quads, keep your core stable and your spine neutral. Bring your right hand to touch your left shoulder, then replace it on the ground and switch with your left hand to touch your right shoulder. Make sure to stabilize your hips so they don’t sway side to side. Continue repeating.

7. Mountain Climbers

10 Easy At-Home Cardio Workouts, No Equipment Required

Assume a high plank or top push-up position. Shoulders should be right over your wrists, core should be stable and spine neutral. Bring your right knee to your chest. Once your right foot meets the left one, switch and bring your left knee to your chest. Pick up the pace and continue alternating.

Stand with feet shoulder-width apart. Drop down into a squat and hinge forward to place both hands on the floor while maintaining a flat back. Jump or step both legs back to assume a high plank position. Jump or step both legs forward and return to a squat position. Return to standing position and repeat.

Get into an athletic stance with feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Shift your weight onto your left leg and lower into a partial squat while lifting your right foot off of the ground. Bound or step to the right landing on your right foot and cross your left leg behind you. Jump or step to the left pushing off of your right leg and landing on your left. Continue alternating.

10. Butt Kicks

Stand with feet hip-width apart with arms by your side at a 90-degree angle. Contract your hamstrings and kick your right heel up toward your right glute. Repeat this movement on the left side and continue alternating back and forth.

Words by Faith Brar

10 Easy At-Home Cardio Workouts, No Equipment Required

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Originally published: May 10, 2022

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I swapped the gym for Schwarzenegger’s two-move bodyweight workout, and it showed you can build muscle without weights

Strengthen your chest, arms and legs at home with Schwarzenegger’s bodyweight challenge

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Fit&Well fitness writer Harry Bullmore performing a push-up as part of an Arnold Schwarzenegger bodyweight workout challenge

I exercise regularly and love lifting weights. When I want to challenge myself, I whack some extra weight on my barbell or try squeezing out a few extra repetitions. However, there is another way to ramp up the difficulty of an exercise, which is by doing it at a slower pace. 

That's the idea behind this recent workout featured in Schwarzenegger's Pump Club newsletter. The session is based around two foundational exercises, the push-up and squat , but you're challenged to do them at a leisurely "5:3:1" tempo. 

This means you take five seconds to lower your body, pause for three seconds at the bottom of each movement, then drive explosively back to the starting position. Doing this increases the amount of time the working muscles are under tension.

As a long-time barbell lover, my interest was piqued by the idea of a slower-paced bodyweight workout that could help me build muscle at home, so I decided to test it out. 

Yes4All Vinyl Coated Cast Iron Kettlebell: was $29.41, now $19.49 at Amazon

Yes4All Vinyl Coated Cast Iron Kettlebell: was $29.41 , now $19.49 at Amazon

Save $9.92 If you want to add extra weight to the squat portion of this workout, you won’t need anything particularly heavy; this 15lb Yes4All kettlebell should do the trick, held in a goblet squat position. The fact it’s currently down just shy of $10 is an added bonus. (If you want something a little less conspicuous, you can pick up a black 15lb ‘bell from Cap Barbell for a similar price .) 

How to do Arnold Schwarzenegger's 'Max Tension Workout'

A post shared by Harry Bullmore: Fitness Writer (@harry_bullmore_fitness_writer) A photo posted by on

There are scaling options for this workout, so you can adapt it to your fitness levels.

Perform five rounds of the following, using the 5:3:1 tempo. You can make the push-ups easier by lowering your knees to the ground or placing your hands on an elevated surface. 

  • Push-ups: 3-5 repetitions 
  • Squats: 3-5 repetitions
  • Rest: Two minutes

Intermediate

Perform five rounds of the following, using the 5:3:1 tempo

  • Push-ups: 5-10 repetitions
  • Squats: 5-10 repetitions
  • Rest: One minute

Perform five rounds of the following, using the 5:3:1 tempo for the push-ups and squats. Rest as little as possible between rounds.

  • Push-ups: 10 repetitions
  • Plank: One minute
  • Squats: 10 repetitions

My takeaways from Arnold Schwarzenegger's 'max tension workout' challenge

Before starting the advanced version of this workout, I was confident I could handle 50 push-ups and squats along with a few planks; I'm used to doing longer high-repetition workouts in my regular CrossFit training sessions.

However, the slower tempo made the push-ups much more challenging. I can normally rattle through 10 repetitions (reps) in a matter of seconds, but by using the 5:3:1 tempo my chest, shoulder and triceps muscles were made to work for more than a minute at a time. 

The result? These muscles were on fire by rep 10. By round three I couldn't manage the full 10 reps, and had to drop my knees to the floor and rest for a few seconds before finishing off the set. 

On the flipside, I didn't find the squats too difficult. In fact, I'd probably add a light dumbbell or kettlebell to this move if I was doing the workout again. I'd also be tempted to add a third bodyweight exercise that works the back muscles, such as a superman pull-up, to turn it into a full-body workout. 

But before making any changes, I'd advise anyone to give this workout a go as written. It's a fun, effective and accessible way to challenge your muscles without weights—I certainly felt the effects in my chest the next day.

Get the Fit&Well Newsletter

Start your week with achievable workout ideas, health tips and wellbeing advice in your inbox.

Harry Bullmore is a Fitness Writer for Fit&Well and its sister site Coach, covering accessible home workouts, strength training session, and yoga routines. He joined the team from Hearst, where he reviewed products for Men's Health, Women's Health, and Runner's World. He is passionate about the physical and mental benefits of exercise, and splits his time between weightlifting, CrossFit, and gymnastics, which he does to build strength, boost his wellbeing, and have fun.

Harry is a NCTJ-qualified journalist, and has written for Vice, Learning Disability Today, and The Argus, where he was a crime, politics, and sports reporter for several UK regional and national newspapers. 

Surprisingly, jumping up and down on a mini trampoline comes with a whole host of benefits

By Vicki-Marie Cossar Published 15 February 24

Workout Improve your stability, posture and strength by developing all of your core muscles

By Harry Bullmore Published 15 February 24

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  17. 10 Fantastic Home Chest Workouts to try

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    Consider combining your chest workouts with the best pre workout supplements to help improve focus and stamina during exercise. >> Try Million Dollar Body risk-free 11.

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  26. I swapped the gym for Schwarzenegger's two-move bodyweight workout, and

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