When building a nice, big chest, you must make sure you are doing the proper exercise. Check out these 12 best chest exercises for building more muscle!

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Putting together the right chest workout can be difficult.

How are you supposed to know that the exercises you’re choosing are good exercises at all?

Well, luckily for you, here is a list of 12 best chest exercises for you to choose from.

Best Chest Exercises

• Bench Press

This is one of the best chest exercises for all over muscle growth. The bench press is one of the most common compound movements. It’s great for upper body size and strength.

• Cable Crossover

This is a great chest fly variation for more chest muscle growth. For this exercise, you will actually be crossing your arms rather than stopping when they are together. This is effective because it over-ensures full range of motion.

• Chest Dips

Dips are a great exercise for the chest and triceps. But one way to make the chest the primary mover is to simply lean forward. As you go throughout the movement, try to keep your upper body as far leaning forward as possible and push through your palms to engage your chest.

• Dumbbell Chest Press

This is a great variation to the barbell bench press. These are good because your hands are not in a fixed position. Instead, they are free moving, allowing for better adduction and abduction of the elbows. This means bringing them outward to the side and in together for a full chest contraction.

• Hammer Strength Chest Press

Chest press machines are always great to change it up from doing barbell or dumbbell press. These allow the chest muscle to be hit from a slightly different angle. Just make sure you always keep your shoulders rolled back to engage your chest.

• Cable Fly Low to High

These are a great chest fly variation for the upper chest. For these, you really want to focus on keeping your chest puffed out at the top just as much as at the bottom. Also, focus on bringing your elbows together, rather than your hands.

• Cable Fly High to Low

These are very similar to the chest fly low to highs, except they target your lower chest. Here, you will focus on the same things.. chest out, shoulders back and bring your elbows together towards the bottom instead of your hands.

• Landmine Press

This exercise is a great way to switch things up and trick your chest muscles into new growth. By always having your hands in on the bar, you will be engaging in the peak contraction more than usual.. which may help the “inner chest” area of the muscle development. For these, continue to make sure you are puffing your chest out so you don’t engage your shoulders too much.

• Plate Press

Plate presses are very similar to the landmine press when talking chest development. This exercise is amazing for constant tension on the chest muscle. By holding two plates together out in front of you, you are always engaging your chest muscles. But due to your hands always being together, you must be careful of your shoulders rolling forward. I like to image that I am holding a pencil in-between my shoulder blades.

• Chest Pullovers

This exercise can be great for chest or lat development. For this reason, you want to be careful to engage your chest as much as possible. This is done by ensuring that you are always squeezing your arms together on the dumbbell. Another thing to be careful of is stretching back too far, as this will take the focus off the chest and put it on the back. Establish that mind-muscle connection and keep it the whole time.

• Hammer Strength Side Press

This is an effective chest press variation to change things up from the normal exercises. For these, you will turn to the side and focus on one side at a time. You want to make sure you’re never losing tension by going back too far with the weight. Then, keeping your shoulder rolled back, press the bar across your body and squeeze at the top. Make sure to count your reps so you do the same amount on both arms.

• Pec Deck Fly

The pec deck fly is a great exercise that has been used for years and years for chest development. Here, you will sit on a bench and bring the hands together out in front of you. When doing this exercise, you want to make sure you’re not letting your shoulders roll forward and your upper back to come off the pad. By keeping your shoulders rolled back, in the same place, you will increase your chest activation as much as possible.

One thing to be careful of is combining too many exercises together at once. Pick 4 exercises and stick with them for 4-6 weeks and then switch it up.

Make sure you share these exercises with your friends and comment your thoughts down below!