Muscular-Fitness

There are a number of upper chest exercises available to a strength trainer and in this article I will explore the upper chest exercises that will stimulate the most growth. The majority of upper chest exercises will be performed on an incline bench which provides the correct angle for resistance specifically on the upper chest, as opposed to using a flat bench which applies the most resistance on the lower chest muscles. The upper chest is usually the most difficult part of the chest to grow so when you see someone with a developed upper chest it looks very impressive since very few people seem to be able to grow the upper chest to the same degree as the lower chest.

Probably the most effective of all upper chest exercises to stimulate growth is the dumbbell incline press. When performing the dumbbell incline press use an incline bench with the back rest at approximately a 45 degree angle. Start the movement by lying on the bench with your feet firmly planted on the floor and hold the dumbbells in front of your face with your arms fully extended and your thumbs pointing towards each other. Lower the dumbbells with your elbows pointing out towards your side but with the bar of each dumbbell always remaining parallel to the floor. You should get a full stretch through your full chest while you perform this upper chest exercise. Hold the dumbbells at the low point of the movement for no more than a second and then push upwards and touch the dumbbells together at the top of the movement.

The incline bench press is another very powerful upper chest exercise that can be performed on either the smith machine or on an incline bench with a barbell. Of all the upper chest exercises this is probably the most commonly performed movement. It is super effective in stimulating growth in the upper chest although you can’t quite get as full a stretch with the barbell as you can with the dumbbells. To perform this exercise lie on the incline bench and lower the bar to your neck and then press upwards so the bar finishes at the top of the movement directly in front of your eyes with your arms fully extended.

Incline dumbbell flyes are another great upper chest exercise that really stretches the upper chest to the max when performed correctly. You can’t use as much weight doing dumbbell flyes as you can with dumbbell presses although it requires a different type of movement. To perform a dumbbell fly movement properly you should start by lying on the incline bench with your arms fully extended holding the dumbbells above your face with your palms facing each other. Lower the dumbbells out to the side always keeping your palms facing upwards and the bar of each dumbell parallel to the floor during the entire movement. At the bottom of the movement the dumbbells should be out to the side with your arms just slightly bent. Do not straighten your arms fully, this is not necessary and puts too much unnecessary strain on ligaments and tendons in your forearms, biceps and around the elbow area. Curl the dumbbells up from the low point of the exercise and touch the dumbbells together at the top of the movement with your arms fully stretched out.

Another way of doing incline flyes is with cables. You can perform the incline flyes in between the cable crossover machine with the cables coming up from the floor. Perform the cable incline flyes in the exact same manner as you would with incline dumbell curls.

There are other upper chest exercises that can be performed on certain chest machines available in some gyms that target the upper chest specifically although the upper chest exercises I have mentioned in this article are predominantly the most effective upper chest builders. Always do at least one or two different upper chest exercises for about 3 sets per exercise every time you train your chest muscles and with consistency and hard work you will begin to see some development in your upper chest that will be well deserved. It takes time to build the upper chest but don’t give up, the results will come with persistence and time.