The Best Chest Workout Routine (Your Comprehensive Guide)
In this article, we are going to cover the best chest workout routine you can do at the gym without wasting any more time second-guessing if you’re doing things right.
What makes this article different from all of the other “best chest workout routine” content out there?
I’m going to literally show you and educate you on everything you need to know to effectively and efficiently target and build your chest as fast as possible.
Specifically, we are going to be covering:
- Your Chest Musculature Anatomy & Physiology
- What Not To Do: Best Chest Workout Routine Myths
- Exercises And Movements To Hit Specific Areas Of The Chest
- What A Sample Workout Looks Like
Before we dive in, the only thing I ask of you is to read this article from top to bottom and left to right because I don’t want you to miss a single thing.
Also, quick detour: I just wanted to quick a shoutout to N1 Education because they have taught me most of the knowledge I have today about proper anatomy and biomechanics in regards to muscle building.
So without further ado, let’s dive into…
The Best Chest Workout Routine
The Anatomy Behind The Best Chest Workout Routine
In order to best design a workout program to train the muscle(s) that we want, we must first understand what that muscle looks like and what it does.
The main muscle that is visible when we see someone with a well-developed chest is the pectoralis major, commonly shortened to, and known as the “pecs.”
You may have also commonly heard that you can train the different areas of the chest like the “upper” or “lower” chest.
This is true.
As you can see from the picture above, the pecs are further separated into two “heads.”
One is the clavicular head which attaches to the clavicles (collar bone), commonly referred to as the “upper chest.”
The other is the sternocostal head which attaches to your sternum (the big bony part in the center of your chest) and the costals (the anatomical term for the cartilage formation as a part of your ribs – colored as gray in the picture above).
Furthermore, according to the research done by N1, the sternocostal head is further divided into two subdivisions known as the sternal division (commonly referred to as the “mid-chest”) and the costal division (commonly referred to as the “lower chest”).
So putting it all together, the three divisions of the pecs that you can train are as follows:
Now that we know this, we can get a better understanding of how to train the chest.
But first, let’s address what not to do (some of these may surprise you!!).
What Not To Do: Best Chest Workout Routine Myths
“Inner Chest” Workouts
As you can see, I have made no mention of the elusive “inner chest” whatsoever.
Why?
Because it doesn’t exist.
You can see that there aren’t any muscle fibers that run along the inner chest. The muscle fibers only run from side to side from your arm to the middle of your chest.
So anyone that says you can train the “inner chest” is spouting off bullshit and doesn’t understand basic anatomy.
“So how do you get that inner chest definition?”
Simple, let me show you my transformation.
Firstly, I’ll tell you what I didn’t do.
I didn’t do any of these “inner chest workouts” you find all over the internet and social media.
I stuck to basic movement patterns that are anatomically sound and focused on getting stronger at them and lost overall body fat as well.
As you can see even on my picture on the far left, I still had a bit of inner chest definition even with very low levels of muscle mass. Why? Because I simply lost body fat.
So there’s no secret “inner chest workout” you’re missing out on.
Now that we got that out of the way, let’s talk about each of these divisions from top to bottom.
Why The Barbell Is Not The Best Chest Workout Routine Tool
Okay first off, I know some people reading this are going to get mad because they don’t fully comprehend what I am saying.
Here’s what I’m not saying.
I am not saying that the barbell bench press is going to give you chest cancer and that you should throw it away immediately.
But what I am saying is that it isn’t the best tool to build your chest.
If a barbell is the only thing piece of equipment you have access to or if you enjoy doing the barbell bench press then have at it.
As long as you are training hard and progressively overloading, you are still going to see overall chest development.
That said, here’s why the barbell bench press isn’t the best choice…
This is the main function of the pecs: shoulder horizontal adduction or bringing your arm towards the midline of your body.
This is the barbell bench press movement.
Notice how your hands are fixed to the bar during the entire movement?
By fixing your hands to the bar, you can’t get as much shoulder adduction as you would using say dumbbells or cables.
So while doing the barbell bench press isn’t going to shrink your chest into oblivion, there are certainly better options to train your chest if those options are available to you.
“Wide Grip For Chest, Close Grip For Triceps”
This is an outdated piece of information that has been repeated again and again in bodybuilding circles for decades.
This is simply untrue because of the way our anatomy works.
When you put your arm in this highly abducted or wide position, the pecs actually have less of an advantage to lift the weight.
“But I feel it in my chest more!!”
The sensation you’re actually feeling is the coracobrachialis because this is going to be the muscle that has the most advantage in this position.
Whereas the pecs wrap around the ribcage and are better advantaged with your arm tucked and closer to your side.
So just press with your arm right off to the side of your chest for maximal chest activation (as shown in my demo videos below).
Furthermore, when you press with a wide grip, this also puts more strain onto your shoulder joint and its structures (like tendons and ligaments) leading to an increased risk of injury and impingement.
So if you want more gains and less pains, then stop pressing with an extremely wide grip.
The Best Chest Workout Routine For The Upper Chest (Clavicular Pecs)
First up is the upper chest or the proper anatomical term, the clavicular pecs.
This is going to contribute most to that “upper shelf” look that many guys want.
For ladies, this can build your upper chest and can give that area a bit of a “lift.”
Incline Dumbbell Bench Press
Points of Performance
- Set incline to about 30 to 45 degrees
- Don’t arch your upper back
- Elbows tucked (don’t flare them out)
- Don’t lock down shoulder blades
- Come down just off to side of chest to get stretch
- Bring hands together as you come up, but no need to touch DBs together
Sets: 2-4
Reps: 6-10
The staple exercise for the upper chest that we all know and love: the incline bench press.
I personally prefer dumbbells because it allows more movement freedom rather than fixing both hands to a barbell, but if that’s all you have then that’s a fine substitution, too.
I also do want to add by saying that there is no one size fits all approach to developing the upper chest because how and where these muscles attach to your body is going to be determined by so many individual factors like the length of your arms, the size of your ribcage, where the muscles actually attach on your body, etc.
So I can’t necessarily recommend a specific bench angle that is going to work best for you, but a good rule of thumb is at the top you want your humerus (upper arm) to line up with your clavicles (collar bones).
Incline Barbell Bench Press
Points of Performance
- Don’t arch your upper back
- Use medium-ish grip (don’t flare elbows out)
- Don’t lock down shoulder blades
Sets: 2-4
Reps: 6-10
Like I said, barbell can be a good option if that’s the only thing you have access to or like doing barbell work.
Also anecdotally, I have found the barbell incline press to be much easier on my shoulders than the barbell flat bench press. Go figure.
Upper Chest Cable Flys
Points of Performance
- Keep cable in line with wrists and elbows for entire motion
- Slight bend in elbow at bottom, straighten arms at the top
- Think pushing armpits into collarbones
- Biceps should line up with collarbones at top of movement
Sets: 2-4
Reps: 8-15
The Best Chest Workout Routine For The Mid Chest (Sternal Pecs)
Onto the mid-chest now which is going to contribute to more of the “fullness” look (for both men and women) because as pictured above, this division also covers the most area on the entire pec muscle itself.
So if say, you’re strapped on time, you can get the most “bang for your buck” try just training the mid-chest.
For the mid-chest, you’re going to have a bit more options just simply due to the way most commercial gym machines are built.
Pec Deck/Chest Fly Machine
Points of Performance
- Line up machine so that handles are about mid chest level
- Slight bend in elbows in stretched position, bring hands together and straighten arms when they come together
- Think about bringing arm pits to midline
- Let shoulder blades move naturally
The Pec Deck or Chest Fly Machine is a staple chest exercise and for good reason.
However, one main thing to mention with this exercise is to make sure you straighten your elbows and add an extra pause when you finish the movement in the center to get a complete chest contraction.
Sets: 2-4
Reps: 8-15
Dumbbell Flat Bench Press
Points of Performance
- Don’t arch your upper back
- Elbows tucked (don’t flare them out)
- Don’t lock down shoulder blades
- Come down just off to side of chest to get stretch
- Bring hands together as you come up, but no need to touch DBs together
Again, I prefer dumbbells over barbells because of the extra freedom of movement.
I have heard from many clients that the barbell flat bench press can really irritate their shoulders and I have had personal experience with this as well.
So I just ditched them all together, but if you can do barbell with no problem or if that’s the only piece of equipment you have then that’s better than nothing or opting for a Swiss bar if you have access to this.
Mid-Chest Cable Flys
Points of Performance
- Line up cables at mid-chest height
- Slight bend in elbow at stretched position
- Straight arms as you bring hands together
- Think about pushing armpits into mid-chest
- Let shoulder blades move naturally
Converging Chest Press Machine
Points of Performance
- Any chest press machine where the handles converge (come together)
- Hold the squeeze for 2 seconds
- Keep elbows tucked and close to body, don’t flare
The converging chest press is definitely a staple in my workout programs if one has access to it.
This is because this machine offers a lot of stability and bracing so you can focus on training hard without the need to balance or stabilize a whole lot with your body.
The converging motion also allows you to train the converging motion of the pecs.
Sets: 2-4
Reps: 6-12
The Best Chest Workout Routine For The Lower Chest (Costal Pecs)
And last but not least, we have the “lower chest” or the costal pecs.
Before we talk about the exercises, here is something I feel the need to address because it comes up a lot with men.
Spot reducing fat is not a thing.
Many men will think the answer to getting rid of “man boobs” is to constantly hammer out lower chest exercises, but here’s the reality, no matter how much muscle you develop, you’re not going to be able to see it if you have a layer of fat over it.
So get on track with your nutrition and read my other article The Best Diet Plan To Build Lean Muscle to lose fat as needed.
Now, with that said, I’m here to bust another myth…
Why The Decline Bench Press Is Not A Part Of The Best Chest Workout Routine
The decline bench isn’t a good lower chest exercise either.
Allow me to explain.
Here is what the arm path looks like for most decline bench press setups.
Whereas this is more of the ideal angle we want (left). I also rotated the picture on the right so you can get a better idea of the arm angle (it looks almost just like the flat bench doesn’t it?).
This is because when we consider the way the lower chest muscle fibers run, the lower arm path is more ideal to target that division.
That said, let’s get into some proper lower chest exericses.
Lower Chest Cable Flys
Points of Performance
- Drive your hands DOWN rather than together
- Don’t come up so high that your shoulders roll forward
- Think about “punching the floor”
Sets: 2-4
Reps: 8-15
As you probably guessed from above, this is a solid movement that fits a lot of people’s structures to target the lower chest. The video above shows the exercise from a 1/4 view.
And then I’m going to post another video from Paul Carter showing the exercise from the side view.
Dips
Points of Performance
- Feet can be in front or behind
- Initiate movement by pushing elbows back
- Don’t go so far down that shoulders start to roll forward
- Keep elbow in line with shoulder, don’t internally rotate
- Using assisted machine is fine to get into prescribed rep range
Dips are another great exercise for the lower chest.
A lot of people only think this exercise is for triceps, but I like to think about it as a more integrated movement that trains both the chest and triceps really well.
I personally like to stick to doing a bodyweight burnout set with a really controlled tempo, but you also do them weighted in you are strong enough.
Otherwise using the assisted dip machine is fine as well.
Sets: 1-3
Reps: Depends on your strength levels
Assisted Dip Machine
Points of Performance
- Hold handles with a neutral grip (palms facing in)
- Initiate movement by driving elbows back
- Don’t go so deep that shoulders roll forward
Sets: 2-4
Reps: 8-15
Putting It All Together And Sample Workouts
And that’s all the exercises. Now let’s put everything we’ve learned together build a few sample workout plans.
Cable Only Chest Focused Workout:
- Upper Chest Cable Flys – 3 sets of 8-15 reps
- Mid Chest Cable Flys – 3 sets of 8-15 reps
- Lower Chest Cable Flys – 3 sets of 8-15 reps
Balanced Chest Day 1:
- Pec Deck – 3 sets of 8-15 reps
- Dumbbell Bench Press – 3 sets of 6-10 reps
- Upper Chest Cable Flys – 3 sets of 8-15 reps
Balanced Chest Day 2:
- Converging Chest Press Machine – 3 sets of 6-12 reps
- Incline Barbell Bench Press – 3 sets of 6-10 reps
- Bodyweight Dips or Assisted Dip Machine – 1 set of max BW reps or 3 sets of 8-15 reps
Final Thoughts
Alright, that’s about it!
One last thing I do want to talk about is that in my experience, most of the chest training space seems to be dominated by men so I also do want to emphasize that it’s just as important for women to train chest.
I understand that it can be intimidating to train chest or that you don’t want to shrink your breasts, but let me tell you that being strong is never a weakness.
So, ladies, if you’re reading this go out there and get after these chest workouts as well.
And look, I know these workouts don’t look like much, but they are pretty killer if you apply an adequate intensity to them.
As explained in my other article, How Many Sets And Reps To Build Muscle And Lose Fat, it’s not so much about the quantity of work you do in the gym, but the quality of the work you do.
So give these workouts a try and shoot me an email and report back. I would love to hear all about it 🙂
Thanks so much for reading and let’s get after it.
Until next time,
-Aus
