The Only 2 Chest Exercises You Need

This is the first in a series of articles. We’re going to break down the best exercises for each muscle group.

This is to help beginners who are new to the gym get the most out of their workouts. You’ll learn which exercises to do, how to structure them, and the correct form to use.

Today, we’re starting with everybody’s favorite muscle group: chest.

Benefits of a strong chest include:

• Strength and power - A strong chest assists in exercises such as throwing, pushing, tackling, and punching.
• Functional strength - Your chest muscles stabilize and aid your body with everyday activities like opening doors, shoveling, and carrying heavy objects.
• Better posture - A lot of people suffer from rounded shoulders from too much sitting. Training your chest in balance with your back goes a long way to improving your posture and assists with recovery.
• Metabolic boost - Chest exercises are compound movements, meaning they target multiple muscles in the same motion. This makes your workouts more efficient for building strength and burning calories.
• Aesthetics - Consistent chest workouts help to build your pectoral shelf. It gives your torso a fuller, broader look. Your chest also helps balance out your shoulders and arms, which contributes to the V-shape physique most of us aspire to.
• Injury prevention - Strengthening your chest helps to protect the shoulder joint, which is one of the most injury-prone joints, especially when it comes to athletics. Chest exercises help prevent muscle imbalances, which can lead to rotator cuff or posture-related injuries.

How do I train chest?

When it comes to chest workouts, there are two movements I concentrate on: pressing movements, and fly movements.

Performing chest exercises on a flat bench targets your middle chest. When they’re done on an incline, your upper chest is targeted. Exercises on a decline bench target the lower portion of your chest.

If you’re going for an aesthetically pleasing physique, focus on targeting the upper portion of your chest. This makes your chest appear filled out and gives your pecs that ‘shelf’ look.

Chest exercises are pushing exercises, so if you’re training with a push-pull-legs split, these exercises are going to happen on your push day.

Some people have a dedicated chest day, or pair it with one or more muscle groups.

I train my chest the same day as my back. It’s a heavy day where all the big muscles in my torso are targeted in the same workout.

My suggestion is to train chest at least once per week, but if you can go twice, that would be ideal.

I perform my lifts to failure. What this means is that I lift the heaviest weight I can until I start losing proper form towards the end of my set.

Going to failure does not mean lifting until your arms don’t work anymore. That’s a surefire way to get injured.

If you’re getting started, focus on performing the lifts with the correct form. Learn how your body feels when performing the exercises. You can add weight later.

When I was getting started, I began lifting with just the bar. From there, I started going up in 5 lb increments. It took a few sessions to learn where my limit was, and from there I was able to start pushing myself.

I also perform supersets during my workouts, both to save time and have a more intense lifting session.

A superset is when you perform two or more exercises back to back with minimal rest in between.

What exercises should I do?

If you’re strapped for time, you can get a killer chest workout in with only two exercises.

1. Bench Press - Everybody’s favorite. No chest workout is complete without having some variation of bench press.
   I mostly perform the incline press, unless I have more time, then I’ll add flat bench press to my workout.
   I use a barbell. Many people prefer to use dumbbells, especially if they have an injury or mobility issue with their shoulders. Go with the one that suits you best.
   Proper form is more important than moving a heavy weight.
   
   When I first started weightlifting, my shoulders would start to hurt when I was doing this exercise. It turned out that my starting position was completely wrong. I kept the bar at eye level causing my shoulders to strain every time I lifted it on and off the hooks. Now, I position the bar closer to mustache level and don’t have any problems.
   
   Keep your hands a little wider than shoulder width. Going too wide can cause unnecessary strain and risk injury to the shoulder. Lower the bar slowly until it touches your chest, then push it up to the starting position. Do not bounce the bar off your chest, and remember to keep your feet flat on the floor.
   

2. Chest Fly - Use the cables for this exercise. If you don’t have access to a cable pulley, dumbbells will work.
   
   Cable crossover flies are superior to dumbbell flies because you’re able to pull the weight across your body for a wider range of motion. With dumbbells, you can only bring them to the center of your chest before they meet each other and can’t go any further.
   
   With cable flies, if you position the handles low and bring them up and across your chest, you target your upper chest. Going from high to low targets lower chest and starting them at chest level hits the middle part of the muscle. I normally go from low to high to target my upper chest, but will mix it up on occasion.
   When doing this exercise, remember to keep a slight bend in the elbows to protect your shoulders.

And that’s it.

These are the only two exercises you need for a complete chest workout.

I know. It feels like there should be more, right?

Well, if you want to mix it up or go heavier, here are some additional exercises worth adding:

• Dips - Whether you perform weighted dips or just use your bodyweight, this is a great exercise that hits the chest muscles along with the triceps and shoulders. The more you lean forward, the better it targets the chest - otherwise it becomes more of a triceps exercise.

• Push ups - The original bodyweight exercise. If you don’t have access to free weights, wide push ups are a great way to build muscle and strengthen your pectoral muscles.
  
• Dumbbell pullovers - This exercise does a good job of targeting your upper chest muscles, lats, and also feels great. You can feel your ribs expand and contract as you move the weight over your head and through the exercise. This is a great accessory lift to the pressing and fly movements.

• Seated Machine Press / Machine Flies - These can be a great addition to your chest workout, however, I recommend prioritizing free weights over the machines.
  
  These machines do a good job of locking you into proper form and will target the main muscle groups.
  
  However, when you train with free weights, you’re using additional muscles to stabilize the movement. Training your stabilizing muscles will help prevent injuries.
  
  Use these machines sparingly. I tend to use them on busy days if there’s a lineup for the equipment I want.

Sample Workouts:

• The format for these workouts is: Exercise: Number of Sets x Number of Reps
• Take 1 minute rest breaks in between each set

Quick Workout

• Incline Bench Press: 4 x 8
• Cable Crossovers or Dumbbell Flies: 4 x 12

Proper Workout

• Incline Bench Press: 5 x 8
• Cable Crossovers or Dumbbell Flies: 5 x 12
• Superset Dips: 3 sets to failure
• Superset Pushups: 3 sets to failure

Hardcore Workout

• Incline Bench Press: 10 x 4
• Flat Bench Press: 5 x 6
• Superset Cable Crossovers or Dumbbell Fly: 5 x 12
• Superset Dumbbell Pullovers: 5 x 12
• Push Ups: 3 sets to failure

Training your chest doesn’t have to be complicated. If you stick to presses and flies, you’ll cover everything you need to build strength, protect your shoulders, and get that broad, powerful look.

Whether you only have time for a quick session, or if you’re looking to go all out - consistency is what matters.

Put in the work, push with proper form, and your chest will grow.

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Thanks for reading.

God Bless.