8 Best Chest Exercises For Strength And Function

1. Incline push up

Equipment required: none

This is a good warm-up to prepare the chest for work. Research has shown that a dynamic warmup is helpful in preventing injury prior to training. Lower resistance movements related to those you are about to perform prepare the muscles for work (6Trusted Source).

  1. Start with your hands on the wall or a countertop height surface. Walk your feet back so that your body makes roughly a 45-degree angle with the floor.
  2. Keep your body straight and your spine neutral, and lower your chest to the surface you’re leaning against.
  3. Pause for a moment, then return to the start position.
  4. Make sure the resistance feels light enough to complete up to 20 repetitions. If you need to make it easier, step closer to your hands; to make it harder, step farther away.

2. Flat bench press

Equipment required: barbell or dumbbells, flat bench

  1. Lie on your back on the bench with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Grasp the barbell, with your thumb wrapped around the barbell and palms facing toward your feet. Press your arms straight toward the ceiling to lift the weight off the rack.
  2. Move the weight over chest level.
  3. Bending your elbows down at a 45-degree angle, slowly lower the weight to your chest. Keep the bar approximately in line with your nipples.
  4. Pause for a moment, then press the weight back to the start position.
  5. Complete 3 sets of 8–12 repetitions.

Remember to keep your back flat and maintain good control of the weight. Also keep your neck neutral to avoid excessive strain. It’s recommended to enlist the help of a spotter to ensure safety in this exercise.

3. Incline bench press

Equipment required: barbell or dumbbells, incline bench

  1. Lie on your back on the incline bench with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Grasp the barbell, with your thumb wrapped around the barbell and palms facing toward your feet. Press your arms straight toward the ceiling to lift the weight off the rack.
  2. Position the weight above your collarbone.
  3. Slowly lower the weight down to your chest, approximately in line with your mid-chest to just above your nipples.
  4. Pause, then press the weight back to the start position.
  5. Complete 3 sets of 8–12 repetitions.

As with the flat bench, remember to keep your back flat and your feet flat throughout the movement. And, again, it’s highly recommended that you do this exercise with someone spotting you.

4. Decline bench press

Equipment required: barbell or dumbbells, decline bench

  1. Lie on your back on the decline bench, with your knees bent and ankles secured behind the ankle rests. Grasp the barbell, with your thumb wrapped around the barbell and palms facing toward the feet. Press your arms straight to lift the weight off the rack.
  2. Position the weight above your lower chest to upper abdomen region.
  3. Slowly bend your elbows to lower the weight down to your chest, approximately in line with your nipples.
  4. Pause, then press the weight back to the start position.
  5. Complete 3 sets of 8–12 repetitions.

5. Pushup

Equipment required: none

  1. Begin on your hands and knees, and step back into a high plank position. Your hands should be just wider than your shoulders, and your legs should be straight with your quads. Your hamstrings should be engaged and your spine neutral.
  2. Keeping your core tight, bend your elbows at a 45-degree angle to lower your chest toward the floor, maintaining a straight line from head to heel.
  3. Aim to go as low as you can without losing the support of your core or the alignment of your spine and pelvis.
  4. Press your chest away from the ground until your elbows are straight.
  5. Repeat, completing 8–12 repetitions. Do 3 sets.

Remember to keep your keep your hips in line with your shoulders and ankles. If this is too challenging to perform on your feet, you may do this exercise on your knees.

If you wish to increase the challenge, you can do a decline pushup by placing your toes on an elevated surface such as a bench or table.

6. Cable crossover

Equipment required: cable machine or a resistance band

  1. Begin by standing away from a set of high pulley cable machine or a resistance band anchored overhead. Select a light to moderate weight to add challenge but give you success.
  2. Grasp the hands (or the ends of the band) as you step forward with 1 foot. Keep enough tension and control on the handles to keep them in front of your chest.
  3. Contract your chest muscles and bring the handles down and forward across your body at roughly belly button level. The hands can cross to add emphasis to the serratus anterior muscles.
  4. Hold for a moment and then slowly return to the start. Then repeat.
  5. Do 3 sets of 8–12 repetitions.

7. Chest dip

Equipment required: dip station

  1. Stand facing the two parallel bars and grasp them, palms facing in.
  2. Straighten your elbows and press into your hands, lifting your body up so that it is in line with your hands.
  3. Then, bend your elbows and lower the chest toward your hands.
  4. Pause, then press back to the start position. Repeat.
  5. Do 3 sets of 8–12 repetitions.

8. Resistance band pullover

Equipment required: resistance band

  1. Anchor the band on something solid. Then, lie on your back with your head toward the anchor point. The band should be about 1–2 feet higher than your head.
  2. Grasp the band overhead so that there is slight tension on the band. Keep your thumbs pointing to the sky and your palms facing away from each other.
  3. Keeping your core tight and elbows straight, pull the band toward your hips. Slowly return to the starting position with control.
  4. Do 3 sets of 8–12 repetitions.

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