Upper Chest Exercises

Incline Barbell Bench Press

This exercise is very similar to the regular barbell bench press except that you will be using an incline free weight bench press machine and your upper chest will be the muscle group worked instead of your middle chest. Lift the barbell off of the rack and slowly lower it to about 3 inches above your clavicle (just below your Adam’s apple) and then press the bar back to the start position. DO NOT TOUCH THE BAR TO YOUR UPPER CHEST (this causes unneeded stress on your shoulder joints and takes the tension away from your upper pec muscles, which are what we want to be doing the work!). Be sure that when you are lowering the bar that you do so in a slow and controlled fashion. Conversely, when you press the bar upward, you want to do so in an explosive fashion. Repeat this movement for as many repetitions as you can until failure. Remember to always use a spotter when performing this and almost every other free weight exercise!

Incline Bench Cable Flyes

This exercise is very similar to both the Hammer grip incline dumbbell press and the flat bench cable flyes. Place a free standing incline bench in between a cable pulley machine that has pulleys on two sides. Position yourself with your back lying on the incline bench. Using a low pulley on each side, have your spotter hand you the one-hand attachment for each hand. When you begin this movement, you want your arms to be stretched out wide to your sides with your elbows slightly bent and your palms facing inward, toward one another. When you lift the pulleys up together, visualize hugging a giant tree trunk. At the peak of the movement, really squeeze your pecs together for a one-count. When returning to the start position, be sure to lower the pulleys in a slow and controlled fashion. Repeat this movement for as many repetitions as you can until failure.

Incline Dumbbell Flyes

This exercise
is very similar to the incline cable flyes except that you will be using dumbbells in each hand instead of the cable pulleys. Position yourself on a free standing incline bench, lying on it with your back flat on the bench. Have your spotter hand you two dumbbells, one for each hand. Grip each dumbbell with your palms facing inward toward one another. When you begin this movement, you want your arms to be stretched out wide to your sides with your elbows slightly bent and your palms facing inward, toward one another. When you lift the dumbbells up together, visualize hugging a giant tree trunk. At the peak of the movement, really squeeze your pecs together for a one-count. When returning to the start position, be sure to lower the dumbbells in a slow and controlled fashion. Repeat this movement for as many repetitions as you can until failure.

Incline Supinating Dumbbell Flyes

This exercise is very similar to the regular incline dumbbell flyes except that you will be twist your wrists inward at the top of the movement. Position yourself on a free standing incline bench, lying on it with your back flat on the bench. Have your spotter hand you two dumbbells, one for each hand. Grip each dumbbell with your palms facing inward toward one another. When you begin this movement, you want your arms to be stretched out wide to your sides with your elbows slightly bent and your palms facing inward, toward one another. When you lift the dumbbells up together, visualize hugging a giant tree trunk. As you are nearing the peak of the movement, twist your wrists so that both thumbs are pointing outward, away from one another. When returning to the start position, be sure to lower the dumbbells in a slow and controlled fashion. Repeat this movement for as many repetitions as you can until failure.