If you want to build muscle, the most important factor is consistency. You need to work your chest every day and make sure that you’re pushing yourself to lift heavier weights. With this in mind, here are 10 of the best exercises for building muscle mass: Best Chest Workouts for Building Muscle
You need specific chest exercises that best promote muscle growth if you want to really bulk up your pecs and build the best chest in the gym. You’ll need more than a few exercises to develop your upper chest (and entire upper body) from every angle because the main chest muscles, in particular the pectoralis major, also known as the pecs, are so large and important to so many movements.
These 50 chest workouts can help you create stronger muscles, develop your pecs and surrounding musculature, and generate a more intimidating figure. Some exercises require specific tools, such as a bench and dumbbells for a chest press, while others merely need a resistance band (like band-resisted pushups and flyes).
If you’re not sure what rep-set ratio to use for your upcoming chest day workout, consult our comprehensive guide to determining which is more important: increasing strength or increasing size.
1# Barbell Bench Press
The Barbell Bench Press is a type of weight bench press. It uses a barbell, which is loaded with weights, instead of dumbbells or a machine. The barbell bench press is usually the last exercise performed in a weight training workout.
Main benefits:
- -It builds power and strength in the chest and anterior deltoids muscles by using large muscles groups
- -It feels more natural than the dumbbells for many people
-Performing this exercise can help make other exercises feel easier because it strengthens stabilizing muscles. These stabilizing muscles are used to balance out the force of other exercises that can be destabilizing to the body
How to do it:
- Grasp the bar just outside shoulder-width and arch your back so there’s space between your lower back and the bench.
- Pull the bar out of the rack and lower it to your sternum, tucking your elbows about 45° to your sides.
- When the bar touches your body, drive your feet hard into the floor and press the bar back up.
2# Dumbbell Bench Press
Dumbbell Bench Press is a weight training exercise that mainly works on your pectoral muscles.
The dumbbell bench press is done by lying on the floor on your back, holding dumbbells in both hand with arms fully extended at the side of your body, palms facing each other and feet flat on the floor. Slowly lower one arm to chest level while bending your elbow and rotating you palm away from you. When the arm has gone as low as it can go, slowly raise it back up to its starting position. Repeat this process but with the other arm now. If needed, you can use a spotter to help with keeping balance when lifting heavy weights and returning them to their original position.
How to do it:
- Lie back on a flat bench with a dumbbell in each hand.
- Hold the weights at shoulder-level
- Then press the weights straight up.
3# Alternating Dumbbell Bench Press
The alternating dumbbell bench press is an exercise that allows for upper body and core development. There are two different variations of this exercise: one involves using a barbell, while the other involves using dumbbells.
In both forms, the person lies on their back upon a bench, lifting their chest off the surface to allow for easier breathing during the repetition. The person grasps the weights from each hand with palms facing each other and then presses them overhead until they are at shoulder height before lowering them back down to starting position.
Natural movements of this exercise involve alternately pressing one weight or the other depending on whether it is on top or bottom position in order to maintain symmetry in strength as well as balance throughout different areas of muscle groups.
This article will be focusing exclusively on the alternating dumbbell bench press with weights instead of behind a bar (as it is much less common). In this variation, there are a number of different techniques
How to do it:
- Lying faceup on a bench, holding dumbbells at the outside of your shoulders and with palms facing your thighs, lift both dumbbells over your chest.
4# Hips-Off, Single-Arm Bench Press
The Hips-Off, Single-Arm Bench Press is a great exercise that targets the entire shoulder and arm muscles. Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Reach over with one hand to grip a dumbbell, keeping your elbow tight to your side.
Perform the same motion as a standard Bench Press, but instead of lowering the dumbbell straight down from above you, lower it out to the side of your chest at about a 45 degree angle. Start by performing 4 sets of 8 repetitions per arm per day for 4 consecutive days before increasing to 5 sets of 8 repetitions each arm for four consecutive days.
The Hips-Off, Single-Arm Bench Press is not recommended for those who have had recent surgery or are pregnant or suffer from chronic joint pain such as arthritis or fibromyalgia.
How to do it:
- Lie back on a flat bench so the right half of your torso is off bench, a heavy (40- to 50-pound) dumbbell in right hand.
- Brace core and press dumbbell over right shoulder. Do all reps on right side, then switch sides.
5# Cable Crossover
How to do it:
- Stand between two facing cable stations with both pulleys set midway between the top and bottom of the station.
- Attach a D-handle to each pulley and hold one in each hand.
- Keep your elbows slightly bent, and step forward so there’s tension on the cables.
- Flex your pecs as you bring your hands together out in front of your chest. Alternate
6# Incline Dumbbell Press
This exercise is a variation of the dumbbell bench press. To perform the Incline Dumbbell Press, have a dumbbell in each hand, palms facing your body. Sit on an incline bench, feet firmly planted on the ground while sitting up tall. Create a 90 degree angle with your upper arms and torso by raising them to form a right angle in front of you. Keeping your elbows at 90 degrees and parallel to the ground, lower the weights towards your chest by bringing them together as you exhale. Allow for a slight bend in your elbows so that you do not strain them when lowering the weight down to contact with your chest or shoulders since this can become painful and dangerous if done incorrectly. With an inhale, extend both arms straight out from your chest at an angle of approximately 45 degrees from horizontality to finish each rep. Return to starting position and repeat for reps based on what you want to accomplish for specific training goals such as muscle growth or fat loss
How to do it:
- Set an adjustable bench to a 30°-45° angle and lie back on it with a dumbbell in each hand at shoulder-level.
- Press the weights over your chest.
7# Dumbbell Half Flye
A Dumbbell Half Flye (DBH) is a weight lifting exercise that targets the shoulder. The DBH is performed by standing with one foot in front of the other and holding a dumbbell with both hands in front of your body. You then bend at the hips to bring your chest down as you extend both arms up, holding the dumbbell straight out in front of you. To complete the DBH, bring your arms back down at an angle to 90 degrees and repeat the exercise on alternating sides.
The DBH targets the upper back, shoulders, and pectorals muscles groups. It also works on balance as it forces you to lean forward while extending your arm up while balancing on one leg and keeping your torso as upright as possible.
How to do it:
- Lie back on a flat bench with a dumbbell in each hand, held above your chest. Lower the weights out to the side, opening your arms wide.
- Feel a stretch in your pecs. Bring the weights halfway up, then return them back to the bottom position. That’s one rep.
The best chest exercises for building muscle mass
It’s a good idea to start off with the barbell bench press, because it can be performed with a variety of grips and arm positions.
The dumbbell chest press is also an excellent option for building muscle mass in the upper body. This exercise works the pectoral muscles by using both arms at once, so you’ll need to keep your elbows straight as you perform each rep. Best Chest Workouts for Building Muscle
Finally, there are many variations of weighted chest flys that will build up your pecs while also targeting your triceps and shoulders: push-ups are optional but helpful if you want even more definition around your pecs; dips will help increase overall strength while avoiding injury; decline push ups allow you to use lighter weight than normal (but don’t go too heavy!) which means less stress on those precious muscle groups—and finally weighted dips target those areas even more effectively!
So, there you have it! We hope this list was helpful in helping you decide on your own best exercises for developing your chest muscles. The key takeaway here is that there are many different methods out there—and they each work better than others depending on what kind of goals you have in mind. Shoulders and back work great too, but those abs might not be quite as big an issue if you want bigger pecs (which most people do). 8 Best Chest Workouts for Building Muscle – 2030