Many people tend to do about 3-4 different exercises on their chest day, never changing their routine. This is a huge mistake if you want to develop a powerful bench press and build a massive chest. Although the bench press is extremely effective if you don’t do variations and change up your routine from time to time your muscles would reach a plateau. That’s why we decided to let you in on the 10 best exercises that will help you build massive chest and develop powerful bench press.
- Incline Dumbbell Bench Press
This exercise helps you build a bigger upper chest by increasing the range of motion you have which activates stabilizing muscles. To do this exercise you will need an incline bench and a couple of dumbbells. The starting position is in a semi-sitting position on the bench which is inclined to 45 degrees. Take a dumbbell in each hand and lift them directly above your chest. Slowly bring them down to the starting position before raising them again.
- Dumbbell Squeeze Press
The dumbbell squeeze press is an interesting exercise because it puts priority on your pecs. Engaging your pecs helps with developing a strong and better defined chest. To do the exercise you will need a bench and a couple of dumbbells. Lie flat on the bench holding dumbbells in your hands. Use a neutral grip and raise the dumbbells straight over your chest and start there. Lower the dumbbells to your side and lift them up again to the starting position.
- Decline Press-Up
Another exercise that develops your pecs and helps you build a stronger chest. It engages the lower pectorals the most and all you need is a bench and your bodyweight to do it. To start the exercise, place the top of your feet on a bench and place your hands on the ground to get to a push up position. While keeping your core engaged and your body straight, lower yourself to the floor and press back up to return to the starting position.
- Chest Dips
Another bodyweight exercise that is great for building a massive and powerful chest. This exercise puts emphasis on your chest but it’s great for the entire upper body. It activates the stabilizing muscles too which is great for your form. To start the exercise, you need to grab hold of the bars on the dip station and pick yourself up till your arms are fully extended. Slowly lower yourself down till your elbows are about 90 degrees and then push yourself up to engage your chest and arm muscles.
- Decline Bench Press
The decline bench press is your best friend when you want to build up the size of your lower chest. You can use either dumbbells or a barbell. If you decide to use a barbell with weights, you’ll need to start the exercise lying down on the decline bench press and grab the barbell at shoulder-width. To start the exercise, extend your arms completely in front of your chest. Lower the bar slowly toward your chest and then push back to extend your arms fully upwards.
- Machine Chest Press
The machine chest press is an excellent way to engage your chest and work them up without involving your shoulders too much. The machine chest press exercise is easy to do but you have to be in a gym to do it. To execute the exercise, load up the machine with weight plates equally on each side. Sit on the chair and adjust it so the handles are at chest-height. Grab the handles and start pushing till your arms are fully extended then slowly bring them back into the starting position.
- Cable Fly
The cable fly exercise is a good change when you only do dumbbell and barbell presses. It provides the chest muscles with constant tension and engages your chest intensely. You need a cable machine to do this exercise and the stirrup handles attached to the pulley that are highest on the machine. To start the exercise, grab the handles in each hand, slightly bend forward and extend your arms to the side. From this position, start pulling on the cables bringing your arms in front of you till your hands are nearly touched.
- Dumbbell Pull-Over
This exercise puts an emphasis on engaging the pecs as well as lats. To do this exercise you’ll need a bench and one dumbbell. The execution of the exercise is quite simple. You need to lie flat on the bench and grab the dumbbell by one of the weighted plates with both hands. Extend your arms directly above your face and start lowering the weight behind your head as far as you can before your arms start bending in your elbows. Bring the weight back up to the starting position to complete one rep and make sure you keep your hands straight for the entire movement.
- Machine Fly
There’s a reason that people go to the gym to build muscle. It’s filled with awesome machines which allow you to target specific groups of muscles and the machine fly exercise is an excellent example. It’s easy to use and all you need to do is adjust the weight you want to lift and the height of the chair. To execute the machine fly you need to sit up straight on the machine and grab the handles in each hand. Make sure the height is adjusted to your liking for maximum efficiency. To do one rep on the machine fly you need to simultaneously move both of your arms from the sides, in front of you till they touch. This engages your chest and provides an excellent workout.
- Push Ups
This exercise is one of the best ones for activating your chest muscles. Although many people underestimate the push up because it’s extremely basic and requires no equipment to do it, it activates your chest muscles similarly to all the bench presses. To do a push up you need to bring your body parallel to the floor resting on your toes and hands. Your hands need to be shoulder-width apart and fully extended. To do one push up you have to lower yourself down to the floor while keeping your core tight and your entire body flat and push yourself back up again.
