We all have our “trouble body parts” – that one muscle group you want to build the most, but seem to see the slowest gains. For me it’s Chest.  I’m always trying different exercises to build a bigger chest and being in the fitness industry I’m not afraid to try some weird chest exercises either!  Regardless of if you’re weightlifting or bodybuilding to be competitive with other weightlifters,  or to be competitive lookin good on the beach – you can benefit from mixing it up from time to time.  So what the the best chest exercises to build a bigger chest?  As I was researching new chest workouts to try out, I came across a little gem of a study that I thought I’d write about.  It was released by ACE (the American Council on Exercise) and this is what it says…

Top Chest Exercises

These are the exercises used for the study:

Barbell Bench Press

Chest Press Machine

Incline Dumbbell Flys

Pec Dec Machine

Bent Forward Cable Crossovers

Dips

Suspended Push ups

Standard Push ups

Exercise Ball Push ups

The criteria of the study was to determine which of these exercises activated the pectoralis major most effectively and determine the best chest exercises to build a bigger chest.  They combined RPE (rating of precieved exertion) with EMG (electromyography) and compared it to the standard Barbell Bench Press.  

For those of you who don’t know, the Pectoralis Major is the “meat” of the chest muscle.  Imagine if you were holding a stack of popsicle sticks between your thumb and finger and fanned it out – that’s a good visual for how the pec or chest muscle appears.

They participants of the study performed five repetitions of each of the exercises in random order.  For the non bodyweight exercises the subjects used 80% of their predetermined 1RM (rep max).

3 Best Chest Exercises to Build A Bigger Chest

 

1. Standard Barbell Bench Press

It turns out the guys at muscle beach had it right all along.  The good ole standard barbell bench press came in at #1.

2. Pec Deck

Attention meat heads who think that machines can’t help you build muscle!  The pec deck actually came in at #2 on the list!  It turns out that performing flys on the pec deck actually activated more muscle activity than the dumbbell flys.  One can speculate that this is due to the isolation the pec deck machine can offer that dumbbell do not.

3. Bent – Forward Cable Crossover

If you’ve ever incorporated a cable exercise into your workout routine, you know that it can pack a punch.  The main problem with cable cross overs however is that they’re easy to do wrong!  Your torso and upper body needs to remain constant.  Using the momentum of your body weight to move the cables isn’t the point.  You want your chest muscles to do the work!  A good tip is to image that you’re bringing your hands together in front of you to hug a tree ( or someone else ).  Be careful not to hyper extend the shoulders by crossing your hands after they hit the midway point in front of you.

Whatever chest exercises you choose to do, it’s important you’re using proper form.  There is no single chest workout or exercise that works for everyone!  Consult with your Personal Trainer to help develop the best chest workout for you!