Chest Exercises are considered to be one of the important workouts that can be performed by individuals. The chest is also a large muscle group. Many individuals have found it difficult to develop their chest muscles. These exercises also play a vital role in helping you perform your daily routine tasks such as lifting of any object and few other tasks.
The chest of your body is divided into different parts and they are your upper, middle and lower chest. Whenever you are working on your chest, it is just that you have been working on your pectoral muscles. The pectoral muscles can be seen covering most of your front upper chest. Pectoral muscles are also supported by various muscles that are smaller in size. These muscles are present in the upper chest, starting from the shoulder and going up to the breastbone. The arm movements and the shoulders are controlled by these pectoral muscles. Hence, the upper chest workouts are being created to work alongside the shoulder as well as your deltoids.
Individuals who are planning to do exercises for the first time can seek the help of a trainer who has enough experience to assist and guide them with adopting the correct method to increase the weight. Firstly, it is always advised to go for a warm up session, wherein, you may start with some jogging or do some stretching of your arms for a few minutes, including stretching your chest. You could also try to rotate your arms in the air for a few minutes.
Some of the exercises you can perform for your upper chest are mentioned below:
- Incline Dumbbell Press
Incline Dumbbell Press is one of the upper body exercises that literally target the top of your chest, including your triceps and shoulders. The size of your chest increases as you perform the workout using incline dumbbell press. As you use the incline dumbbell press, the focus of the movement switches towards the upper part of the pectoral muscles, including the front part of your shoulder. You will not require any bigger space that is beyond the space that is provided for the bench.
Equipment Required:
- A set of dumbbells
- An incline bench.
How to do this exercise?
- Place the bench at an angle of 20-30 degrees.
- Start by lying down on the bench by facing skywards.
- Hold on to your dumbbells by grasping with your underhand at a little above the level of your shoulder.
- Now, extend your arms and push the dumbbells to the top. Also, make sure not to bend your elbows while doing the same.
- The dumbbells must be again brought down slowly till you reach your upper chest.
- You have completed one rep.
You can do at least 2-3 sets of 12 reps each.
- Incline Bench Press
Incline Bench Press is one of the upper body exercises that work the upper chest of your body. By doing this exercise, you are able to increase your chest strength, apart from growing your chest size. You are also able to train the front part of your shoulders in the process of doing this exercise. It works your triceps as well as your anterior deltoids.
Equipment Required:
- Incline Bench
- Weights
- Barbell Rod
How to do this exercise?
- Place the bench at an angle of 15-30 degrees.
- Start lying down by keeping your back on the bench.
- Take hold of the barbell rod with an underhand grip at a shoulder-width distance.
- Start pushing the barbell up by bending your elbows and extending the arms.
- Now, slowly bring the barbell down in a controlled manner till it reaches the upper chest area.
- You have completed one rep.
You can do at least 3 sets of 12 reps each.
3. Cable Crossover
Cable Crossover is a wonderful chest exercise, as it works on stretching your pecs present in the upper chest area of your body and finally hitting the outer pec muscle fibers. You can decide on your pulley position based on the chest area that you have planned to target. If you are targeting your upper pecs, the position of the pulleys must be set to reach the lowest setting. If you are focusing on your lower pecs, you can set the pulleys at the highest position.
Equipment Required:
You need a cable crossover machine to do this exercise. They can be seen at the gyms.
How to do this exercise?
- You can start by seizing two pulley rods by way of an overhand grip.
- Your elbows must be kept bent at 90 degrees angle.
- Now, place one leg in front of the other and move a little forward. While doing this move, turn away from the machine.
- Keep your arms extended in order to straighten them. Now, you can push the pulleys to the front.
- After moving your arms backwards to your side and keeping your elbows bent, you can again come back to the position where you started.
- You have completed one rep.
You can do at least 3-4 sets of 12 reps each. If you have just started to do this exercise for the first time, you can try to complete 3 sets of 10 reps each.
4. Reverse-Grip Bench Press
Reverse-Grip Bench Press can be one of the best exercises you can perform in order to build the upper chest. It is one of the barbell exercises that is easy to perform and targets your chest and triceps. The pectoral muscles are used more in this exercise. In the case of a reverse-grip bench press, you use an under-hand grip.
Equipment Required:
- Flat Bench
- Barbell
How to do this exercise?
- You can start by setting the weight of the bar rack. You could add weight plates according to how you plan to use.
- Now, lie down on your back on a flat bench by placing your feet firm onto the floor.
- Seize the bar by using your underhand grip and your hands must be kept at a wider than shoulder width.
- Take the bar away from the rack. Now, lower the bar down towards the middle part of your chest slowly. Make sure that the bar doesn’t touch your chest.
- After briefly holding for a minute, raise the bar again upwards slowly. Make sure not to keep your elbows locked. Now one rep is complete.
You can do at least 3 sets of 8 reps each.
These chest exercises are effective in working the upper chest of your body. They also bring many benefits to your upper chest such as improved posture, apart from supporting improved breathing. Moreover, the pectoral muscles can be used by you to perform many day-to-day activities such as holding, pushing or lifting that require adequate strength for performance.
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Disclaimer:
The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as a health advice. We would ask you to consult a qualified professional or medical expert to gain additional knowledge before you choose to consume any product or perform any exercise.
