Chest: exercises and how to train them
The chest grows from presses and flyes at different angles. The base is a flat press, the upper chest comes from an incline, and the stretch from flyes and cable crossovers.
What these muscles do
The pec major brings your arms together in front of you and pulls the upper arm down — so both presses and flyes load it. Its upper (clavicular) part works harder on a 30–45° incline, the lower part a bit more on dips and decline presses. In almost every press the front delts and triceps work alongside the chest.
Exercises with technique breakdowns
26 more exercises in the catalog
- Decline Dumbbell Press
- Hammer Strength Chest Press
- Incline Dumbbell Fly
- Cable Chest Press
- Incline Cable Chest Press
- Smith Machine Bench Press
- Smith Machine Incline Bench Press
- Wide-Grip Barbell Bench Press
- Neutral-Grip Dumbbell Bench Press
- Neutral-Grip Incline Dumbbell Press
- Machine Incline Chest Press
- Machine Decline Chest Press
- Flat Bench Cable Flyes
- Low Cable Crossover
- Incline Cable Flye
- Feet-Elevated Push-Ups
- Barbell Floor Press
- Smith Machine Decline Press
- Decline Dumbbell Flyes
- Single-Arm Cable Crossover
- Standing Cable Chest Press
- Incline Push-Up
- Wide-Grip Push-Up
- Suspended Push-Up
- Pin Press
- Dumbbell Floor Press
They're all in the diary: find one by name in the bot or the app, and I'll remember the weight and reps.
How to train them
- Pull your shoulder blades back and keep them pinned — the chest takes the load and the shoulder stays in a safe position.
- Add an incline press to the flat one so the whole chest works, not just the middle.
- Don't chase weight on flyes: the work is in the stretch at the bottom, not the last inches at the top.
- Mix the tools: a barbell lets you load heavy, dumbbells give range and work each arm on its own.
Programs and sets for this group
| Program | Sets per cycle | Days per cycle |
|---|---|---|
| 3-Day Split | 10 | 3 |
| Full Body — 3 Days | 9 | 3 |
| Push / Pull / Legs | 7 | 3 |
| Full Body — 2 Days | 6 | 2 |
| Strength 5×5 — A/B | 5 | 2 |
| Upper / Lower | 4 | 2 |
Sets for one pass through all of the program's days, by its own schemes. A deadlift set is split in half between back and hamstrings — the way the diary counts it.
Exercise comparisons
Log your workouts — I'll show how many sets a week you give this group.