Upper Chest Exercises: 7 Moves for a Fuller Upper Chest

The best upper chest exercises are incline presses at a low angle (about 15-30 degrees), low-to-high cable flyes, and incline machine presses. The upper chest is the clavicular head of the pec, and it works hardest when your arms push up and in toward your face, which is exactly what an incline bench lets you do.

A full upper chest makes the whole torso look thicker, especially in a T-shirt. Here are seven exercises, how to pick the right angle, and how to put them into your week.

Why the upper chest lags

The clavicular head is smaller than the sternal head, and flat bench mainly trains the sternal part. If flat bench is most of your chest work, the bottom of your chest grows and the top stays flat. That's why so many lifters with a strong bench still have a hollow look below the collarbone.

Your chest workout for mass doesn't need to drop flat pressing. It just needs at least as much incline work, done early in the session when you're fresh.

Pick the right bench angle

Higher isn't better. Once the bench goes past roughly 45 degrees, the front delts take over and the press becomes more of a shoulder exercise. A low incline of about 15 to 30 degrees keeps the upper chest as the main driver while still letting you load the press well.

Many gym benches jump straight from flat to a steep angle. If yours does, put a plate under the foot of a flat bench, or use the lowest notch. Keep your shoulder blades back and lower the weight to your upper chest, just below the collarbone.

Your grip and elbow path matter as much as the bench. A grip slightly narrower than your flat bench grip lets the elbows travel a bit more forward, which lines up better with the upper chest fibers. Press the weight up and slightly back toward your face rather than straight up over your belly. With dumbbells, let them come together a little at the top without clanking, so the chest finishes the rep instead of the triceps.

One simple test: after a set, your upper chest just under the collarbone should feel worked or pumped. If only your shoulders and triceps feel it, adjust the angle or the grip before adding more weight.

The 7 best upper chest exercises

Choose two or three of these each week:

• Low incline dumbbell press: 3 sets of 8-12. The best all-round option, with a deep stretch at the bottom.
• Incline barbell press: 3-4 sets of 6-10. Easiest to load heavy and track strength.
• Incline Smith machine press: 3 sets of 8-12. Stable, so you can push closer to failure.
• Low-to-high cable fly: 3 sets of 12-15. Set the cables low and bring your hands up and together at chin height.
• Incline machine press: 3 sets of 10-12. Great at the end of a session.
• Incline dumbbell fly: 2-3 sets of 10-15, with a slight elbow bend and a controlled stretch.
• Landmine press: 3 sets of 8-12 per arm. Shoulder-friendly and naturally pushes up and across.

Sets, reps and where to put them

If the upper chest is a priority, start your chest sessions with an incline press. Aim for about 6 to 10 hard incline or upper chest sets per week, as part of 10 to 16 total chest sets. Use 6-10 reps for barbell and Smith presses, 8-12 for dumbbells and machines, and 12-15 for flyes.

Rep range matters less than effort. As covered in our post on the best rep range for hypertrophy, sets from about 6 to 20 reps all build muscle as long as you end them close to failure. Add weight once you hit the top of the range on every set, for example from 50 lb (22.5 kg) dumbbells to 55 lb (25 kg).

A sample upper chest session

Use this as one of your two weekly chest days, and keep flat bench on the other day. Rest two to three minutes on presses and about 90 seconds on flyes.

• Low incline dumbbell press 4x8-12
• Incline Smith machine press 3x8-10
• Low-to-high cable fly 3x12-15
• Feet-up push-ups 1 set near failure

Common upper chest mistakes

Setting the bench too steep is the big one. If you feel incline presses mostly in your front delts, lower the angle. Flaring the elbows straight out is another; keep them at roughly 45-60 degrees from the body. Short reps that stop well above the chest also skip the stretched range, where a lot of the growth comes from. The last one is patience. The upper chest is a small area, and the change from month to month is subtle. Take photos in the same light every four weeks and track your incline press numbers, because the log will show progress before the mirror does.

Remember that the front delts work hard in every incline press. If you also follow a shoulder workout for wider shoulders, you probably don't need extra front raises. To see a fuller upper chest on your own photo, try the chest editor.

FAQ