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The chest muscle or pectoralis major (pecs) is one of the more important muscles in the upper body.
Most exercises that hit this muscle really, really hard require a lot of equipment, from barbells and dumbbells to chest-focused machines. However, that's not to say you can't build a great pair of pecs without any outside help (read equipments). There are plenty of chest muscle exercises you can do with just your bodyweight.
Building a solid set of pecs doesn't have to be as monotonous as most men think it to be.
Sure, the bench press is an excellent compound exercise that works the chest from multiple angles, but that's not the only option. Before we get to chest exercises to help you build a better pair of pecs, let's have a look at the anatomy of chest muscles:
Anatomy of Chest Muscles
To build big pecs, you need to train all your pec muscles. However, as there are a lot of chest muscles, it can be tough to know how to target each one. Here's a quick guide to all the major pec muscles.
The chest muscle is called the pectoralis major. It makes up most of the chest muscle mass and is large, fan-shaped, and composed of a sternocostal head and a clavicular head.
The pectoralis minor muscle lies underneath the larger pectoralis major. Its main function is to pull the shoulders forward and down. Meanwhile, when you lift weights overhead, you will notice the serratus anterior muscles contracting and expanding at the sides of your chest.
Best Exercises to Build Bigger and Stronger Pecs
Here are five best exercises for men who want to work on their pecs:
1) Dumbbell Squeeze Press
To target the pecs more during a chest press, squeeze the dumbbells together at the top of the movement. That will engage the pecs throughout the entire range of motion, which is key to maximize muscle gain.
Here's how you do this exercise:
- Pick up the dumbbells off the ground, with your palms facing towards each other.
- Squeeze them together, and imagine there's a piece of paper between them that you cannot let go.
- As you breathe out, arch your back slightly, and push the dumbbells upwards.
- Make sure to tuck your elbows in when you do this.
2) Incline Barbell Press
The incline barbell bench press is an upper body strength exercise that targets the chest, shoulders, and triceps. This move is performed on a bench at a slight incline, which targets the upper portion of the chest. The incline also makes this exercise safer for the shoulders.
To do this exercise:
- Lie on a bench that's at a 45-degree incline.
- Lift the weight with both hands, and hold it at shoulder height, palms facing away from you.
- Exhale as you straighten your arms to press the weight up.
- At the top of the lift, lock your arms, and squeeze your chest before slowly lowering the weight back to its starting position.
3) Incline Dumbbell Bench Press
The incline dumbbell bench press is a variation of the incline bench press and is a chest exercise that targets the upper pecs. It also involves the shoulders and triceps, allowing you to better work your entire chest.
Here's how you do this exercise:
- Lie back on a bench set at a 45-degree angle, and lift the weights over your chest.
- Lower a weight slowly; push it back up, and squeeze your chest at the top.
- Repeat on the other side.
- To make the exercise harder, take the weight all the way to the top of the movement before lowering the opposite side to keep the chest under tension.
4) Close Grip Barbell Bench Press
The close grip bench press shifta the emphasis to the triceps and chest, which can help you build bigger triceps. To do this exercise, place your hands at less than shoulder width.
To do this exercise:
- Lie back on a flat bench with a barbell held over your chest in a narrow, overhand grip.
- From a standing position, breathe in, and lower the bar till it touches your chest.
- Push explosively up to the starting position as you breathe out. Focus on using the chest muscles to push the bar upward.
5) Decline Push-Up
The decline push-up is a challenging upper body exercise that can strengthen the chest, shoulders, back, and arms. It also works the core and legs to help you maintain proper body position.
To perform a push-up on a bench:
- Place your feet up on the bench, and position your hands on the floor in front of you.
- Press your body down till your chest almost touches the floor, and return to an upright position.
- Repeat 5-10 times.
Takeaway
If you're looking for an effective chest workout, it's better to crank out maximal repetitions at a low weight than to get as many reps at a heavier weight. That's easy to do with dumbbells but tricky on machines and cables.
By keeping the weight down and moving through a full range of motion, you get more volume.
