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There are numerous chest exercises that you can incorporate into your workout routine to maximize chest gains rather than altering between dumbbell bench press and barbell bench press.
Including different types of chest exercises into your workout routine will ensure that you effectively engage all your chest muscles, including the serratus anterior, pectoralis major, and pectoralis minor.
Here is a list of the six best chest exercises that will effectively engage all the chest muscles and allow you to maximize chest gains. Regularly doing these chest exercises will provide you with numerous advantages, the best one being greater functional fitness of the body.
Best Chest Exercises to Maximize Your Chest Gains
1. Inclined Dumbbell Bench Press
Incline dumbbell bench press is one of the most effective chest exercises that will help in maximizing chest gains with significant growth of the pectoral muscles.
To do this exercise:
- Begin in a lying position on the bench with its setting adjusted to an incline of about forty-five degrees.
- Maintain a good body posture with your feet flat on the ground and back pressed to the bench.
- Clutch a couple of dumbbells in both your hands and position them just above your mid-chest.
- Press the weights straight to the ceiling, and hold for a moment before bringing them back to the starting position. Repeat.
2. Cable Crossovers
Besides engaging your chest muscles, cable crossovers will also help in engaging your back and shoulder muscles efficiently.
To do this exercise:
- Adjust the settings of the cable machine to a high pulley position before grasping the handles and placing them on the front of your chest while maintaining tension in your body.
- With your chest muscles contracted, lower the handles towards your abdomen and across your body.
- Hold them before returning them back to their original position. Repeat.
3. Dumbbell Squeeze Press
Dumbbell squeeze press is an underrated chest exercise that helps maximize chest gains by promoting muscle growth in shoulders, chest, and triceps.
To do this exercise:
- Begin in a straight lying position on a flat bench while clutching dumbbells in both your palms.
- Keep your back pressed onto the bench with your feet pressed onto the floor.
- Position the dumbbells just above your mid-chest in a neutral grip.
- Next, drive the dumbbells straight upwards until your arms are completely straightened, all the while squeezing the weights towards one another.
- Bring the weights back to the initial position and repeat.
4. Chest Dips
Chest dips are among the most challenging chest exercises that will help in building both muscle mass and strength in the upper body, including triceps, back, chest, and shoulders.
To do this exercise:
- Position yourself between the two parallel bars and clutch them with your palms angled inwards.
- Next, push onto your palms and extend your elbows to lift your body towards the ceiling in a manner that is aligned to your hands.
- Bring your chest towards your arms by bending your elbows and lowering your body.
- Press back to the original position and repeat.
5. Barbell Decline Bench Press
Decline barbell bench press will help in maximizing chest gains by specifically targeting your lower pectoral muscles as well as improving the functional movements of your hands such as pulling and pushing.
To do this exercise:
- Begin in the lying position on the ground with the bench setting adjusted to the decline.
- Clutch the barbell in both your palms with your hands positioned apart at shoulder distance.
- Begin with your arms completely extended towards the ceiling straight above your chest.
- Next, gently and slowly lower the weight towards your chest and hold.
- Bring your hands back to the initial position and repeat.
6. Diamond Push-Ups
There are two variations of the push-up that place greater emphasis on your chest, including wide grip push-ups and diamond push-ups. This exercise will also help in improving the overall balance and stability of the body.
To do this exercise:
- Begin by bringing your body into the traditional tabletop position with your shoulders just above your palms and hips, just above your knees.
- Keep your back flat throughout the movement while keeping your core tightened.
- Bring your palms together and create a diamond shape with your thumbs and index fingers.
- Next, perform push-ups by extending your arms and then lowering your chest back to the ground. Repeat.
Bottom Line
The aforementioned chest exercises will help you to properly target and engage your chest muscles which will enable you to maximize chest gains.
Some of the benefits provided by these exercises include muscle growth, defined upper body strength, increased strength of the upper torso, better functional movement, and more.
You can also modify your diet to increase your intake of protein, which is often considered an important factor in building muscles.
