Top 3 Upper Chest Exercises for Building Thicker Pecs | BOXROX (2024)

FAQs

How to build a thick upper chest? ›

Not to mention that the upper pectorals are probably the most important muscles to train to get that full, ripped-chest look. So, our top six exercises to help you get that chest are the incline dumbbell fly, incline bench press, close grip bench press, cable crossover, decline push-up, and bar dips.

The best exercises for chest muscle growth are the standard Bench Press for the middle pecs, the Incline Bench Press for the upper chest muscles and the Weighted Dip using heavy barbell plates for the lower chest.

The upper chest is typically one of the toughest areas of the upper body to develop. There are various reasons for this, and like most things, there are ways to work around it. Here are five reasons why your upper chest is lagging in comparison to the rest of the chest region.

It takes time to really build up your pectoralis muscles to get a bigger chest. Most programs take 10- to 12-weeks of steady determination for a noticeable difference. Of course, spending time at the gym is a requirement. But that's not all it takes to build your chest muscles to improve your overall physique.

On average, you would need to perform 3 – 4 chest exercises per workout if your goal is growing your chest through muscle hypertrophy and 2 – 3 exercises if you're aiming to build strength. The exact amount of chest exercises you should do per workout ultimately depends on your fitness level, goals, and preferences.

As far as sports specific application and building upper body strength, the bench press is still king. Also, because it's a heavy free weight movement, it will still be one of the first exercises you perform in your chest routine.

The upper chest may ignored completely if workouts are focused on middle and lower chest movements such as bench press, crossovers, dips etc. This is especially prominent if the incline is left until the end, where energy levels will be low.

Why is the upper chest so hard to build? ›

Many lifters struggle to build the upper chest, mainly because they lack the proper understanding of what movements are best to build the upper pecs and how to use them in a training program.

A chosen few are also known as the "big three." The bench press, squat, and deadlift are the "big three." These are the three lifts that powerlifters utilize to compare their strength to that of the competition using the combined total.