Chest Exercises for Men and Women

These chest workouts listed are for both men and women. Both of you can follow these workouts for building and toning your chest. There are a lot of chest workouts that you can follow, some of them need chest equipment or machines, while some of these exercises you can perform at home. We have listed chest workouts at the gym and chest workouts you can do at home.

You can do bicep exercises in various forms. Variation does matter to the growth of your muscles. Update your workouts every two to four weeks for better results. You can do chest exercises with dumbbells, barbells, machines, cable crossover, etc. You should incorporate various chest exercises with dumbbells.

Mentioned exercises is a list of all practical chest exercises that you can include in your workout schedule. You’re not supposed to do all of these on a single day.

1. Barbell Bench Press

Barbell bench presses are an excellent mass building and toning exercise targeting the chest. The Barbell bench press is one of the most common chest workouts that everyone starts as a beginner. Barbell bench presses are performed using a straight bar while lying flat on a bench.

The bar may be free style or attached to guides in a Smith machine. Even if this exercise seems easy, there are some instructions and process you should follow to grow your chest correctly and for your safety. Keep your butt on the bench when performing the press, and do not overarch your back.

Also, have a competent person spot you from behind.

Instructions for Barbell Bench Press:

1.  Lie flat on the bench.

2.  Use a medium width grip on the bar.

3.  Lift the bar from the rack over your head with your arms locked.

4.  This will be your starting position.

5.  Come slowly down and touch the barbell at the top of your chest.

6.  Then press the bar back up to the start position.

7.  This will complete your one repetition.

8.  Breathe in when you come down. Breathe out when you

     press the barbell up.

9.  Repeat it until failure (6-12 reps / 2-3 sets)

2. Barbell Incline Bench Press

Barbell incline bench presses are an excellent mass building and toning exercise targeting the upper chest. Barbell incline bench presses are performed using a straight bar while lying on an incline bench. The bar may be free style or attached to guides in a Smith machine.

Also, have a competent person spot you from behind.

Instructions for Barbell Bench Press:

1.  Lie on the incline bench with the bar at least 6 inches above your head.

2.  Use a medium width grip on the bar.

3.  Lift the bar from the rack over your head with your arms locked.

4.  This will be your starting position.

5.  Come slowly down and touch the barbell at the top of your chest.

6.  Then press the bar back up to the start position.

7.  This will complete your one repetition.

8.  Breathe in when you come down. Breathe out when you

     press the barbell up.

9.  Repeat it until failure (6-12 reps / 2-3 sets)

3. Dumbbell Incline Bench Press

Dumbbell incline bench presses are an excellent mass building and toning exercise targeting the upper chest. Do this exercise early in the routine when your strength is high. Dumbbell incline bench presses are performed using a pair of dumbbells while lying back on an incline bench.

Adjust the incline bench to about a 45-degree angle. You can also lower the incline bench to warm up and then raise it up to increase the intensity.

Instructions for Dumbbell Incline Bench Press:

1.  Stage the dumbbells on the ground in front of the incline bench.

2.  Face forward in front of the incline bench, bend your knees, keep your

     back straight, and then lift the pair of dumbbells straight up.

3.  Sit down on the incline bench resting the dumbbells on your thighs.

4.  Push both dumbbells up with your legs as you hoist them up to your chest

     and lean back on the incline bench. Alternately, you can hoist one dumbbell

     to your chest and then the other.

5.  This will be your starting position.

6.  Press the dumbbells all the way up until they touch, then slowly lower

     them back down.

7.  This will complete one repetition.

8.  Breathe in when you come down. Breathe out when you press

     the barbell up.

9.  Repeat it until failure (6-12 reps / 2-3 sets)

4. Decline Bench Press

Decline bench presses focus on building and toning the lower chest. They are performed while lying on a decline bench using either dumbbells or a straight bar. The bar may be either free style or attached to guides in a Smith machine as pictured below. When using a free style bar, have a competent person spot you from behind.

Instructions for Decline Bench Press:

1.  Lie on the decline bench positioned with your head about

    a foot above the bar.

2.  Use a medium width grip on the bar.

3.  Lift the bar from the rack with your arms locked.

4.  This will be your starting position.

5.  Come slowly down and touch the barbell at the bottom of your chest.

6.  Then press the bar back up to the start position.

7.  This will complete your one repetition.

8.  Breathe in when you come down. Breathe out when you

     press the weight up.

9.  Repeat it until failure (6-12 reps / 2-3 sets)

5. Cable Chest Fly

This exercise for chest is done using cables that come from the sides, the angle of pull can be from low to high. Using upper-pulley positions, the focus is on your lower pecs, to complement the mid to upper pecs lower the cable position. Keep your arms locked in the slightly bent position throughout the range of motion to ensure the pecs do the work.

Instructions for Dumbbell Incline Bench Press:

1.  With the pulleys in the upper-most position, use a split stance centered

    between them, extending your arms to the sides. Lean forward, then

    contract your pecs to pull the handles toward your midline as you

    would hug a giant barrel,

2.  With the pulleys in the lower-most position, use a split stance centered

     between them, extending your arms to the sides. Keep your back straight

     or slightly arched to focus your pecs to pull the handles toward your

     midline as you would hug a giant barrel.

3.  Give your pecs a one second squeeze and then slowly let

     the handles return.

4.  This will complete one repetition.

5.  Breathe out when you bring the handles together. Breather in when

     you slowly return them.

6.  Repeat it until failure (8-12 reps / 2-3 sets).

6. Dumbbell Fly

This exercise for chest is performed using a pair of dumbbells while lying on either a flat, incline, or decline bench. Using a decline bench, the focus is on your lower pecs, to complement the mid to upper pecs use either a flat or inclined position. Keep your arms locked in the slightly bent position throughout the range of motion to ensure the pecs do the work.

The fly requires significant less weight compared to a regular dumbbell press.

Instructions for Dumbbell Fly:

1.  Stage the dumbbells on the ground in front of the bench.

2.  Face forward in front of the bench, bend your knees, keep your back

     straight, and then lift the pair of dumbbells straight up.

3.  Sit down on the bench holding the dumbbells and then hoist them up

     to your chest and lean back on the bench.

4.  Press the dumbbells up keeping your elbows slightly bent.

5.  This will be your starting position.

6.  Lower the dumbbells slowly in an arc until you can feel a stretch, but

      don’t hyperextend to avoid injury.

7.  Raise the dumbbells back up in the same arc until the dumbbells touch.

8.  This will complete one repetition.

9.  Breathe in when you come down. Breathe out when you press

     the dumbbells up.

10. Repeat it until failure (6-12 reps / 2-3 sets).

7. Peck Deck Fly

This exercise for chest is done using a peck deck fly machine. Using a low seat position with hands placed about shoulder height, the focus is on your mid to upper pecs, to complement the lower pecs raise the seat position higher and position hands below your shoulders.

Adjust the handles back so that your arms get a full stretch in the start position. Keep your arms locked in the slightly bent position throughout the range of motion to ensure the pecs do the work.

Instructions for Peck Deck Fly:

1.  Sit on the bench with your back rested against the pad, take hold

    of the handles.

2.  Pull the handles toward your midline as you would hug a giant barrel.

3.  Give your pecs a one second squeeze and then slowly let the

     handles return.

4.  This will complete one repetition.

5.  Breathe out when you bring the handles together. Breathe in when

     you slowly return them.

6.  Repeat it until failure (8-12 reps / 2-3 sets).

8. Pushup

This exercise for chest is performed on the floor with your feet positioned on the ground or elevated on a bench (pictured below). With your feet elevated, the focus is on your mid to upper pecs, to complement the mid to lower pecs position your feet on the ground.

Handles may also be used to raise your body focusing more on the lower pecs. Keep your lower back flat and think about a push-up as a moving plank.

Instructions for Pushup:

1.  With your feet positioned either on the ground or elevated, place your

     hands shoulder-width apart, or a little bit wider, elbows locked.

2.  As you bend your elbows and lower toward the ground, your elbows

     should be at about a 45-degree angle to your body. Your fingers

     should be splayed, with your middle fingers pointing toward 12 o’clock.

3.  Lower all the way to the ground in a controlled manner, then push

     your body all the way back up.

4.  This will complete one repetition.

5.  Breathe out when you push up. Breathe in when you come down.

6.  Repeat it until failure or completion of your set (10-25 reps / 2-3 sets).