Upper Body Strength: Exercises to Build a Bigger Chest

One of the first areas you notice on someone, other than the abs, is the chest area. Building a strong, powerful upper body requires targeting specific muscles, like the chest. It takes hard work but also requires the appropriate exercises. There are many different chest exercises to choose from at the gym between machine, bodyweight and free weight exercises. The following three work nicely in a weekly training program.

Barbell Bench Press

Trainer Tips

Many would agree that the barbell bench press is one of the best compound exercises to perform. It is also the most popular chest exercise in the Jefit database (used more than 255,000 times). Expectations are usually met when trying to pack on muscle in the top half of the upper body, including the chest, shoulders, and arms. Keep in mind when performing the movement, the goal is to keep the back in contact with the bench throughout the exercise. There are also other barbell bench press exercise options (wide and close grip) available to you. Try those out as well in an upcoming program.

Dumbbell Incline Bench Press

Trainer Tips

The chest muscles responds well in workouts when targeted by a combination of free weights and machine exercises. When you’re in need of switching things up check out these this variation, DB incline bench press (hammer grip). Also, play around the incline you work at. Try a 45-degree angle for a few week before increasing to a 60-degree angle for another few weeks.

Cable Incline Fly

Trainer Tips

Adding any type of cable chest exercise to the training mix is usually a good idea. It can work well as a warm-up or as a finishing exercise. When using a cable machine periodically change the height and the exercise angle of pull every few weeks or when in need of a change.

Final Thoughts

The combination of the three chest exercises that we focused on here works well when trying to build a bigger chest. Keep in mind there are plenty of different exercise variations to choose from. This is one of the luxuries of strength training. There are many new training options to try for a given muscle group.

Stay Strong Together

Try the award-winning Jefit app for your next workout. Take advantage of Jefit exercise database for planning & tracking your strength training workouts. Named best app for 2022 and 2023 by PC Magazine, Men’s Health, The Manual, the Greatist and many others. The app comes equipped with a customizable workout planner and training log. The app also has ability to track data, offer audio cues, and even has the ability to share workouts with friends. Visit our members-only Facebook group. Connect with like-minded people, share tips, and advice to help get closer to reaching your fitness goals.