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Strength coach and Athlean-X founder Jeff Cavaliere C.S.C.S. regularly ranks his favorite, “unmissable” exercises for building strength and size in specific muscle groups, and in a new YouTube video he shares two essential moves that he believes are the only exercises you need to successfully and effectively target the upper, middle and lower heads of the chest muscles.
The first is the bench press.
“If it’s strength and overload that you’re seeking, then of course the barbell version gives you the best ability to do that.” However, if a fixed hand placement on the bar presents issues in terms of wrist or elbow pain, Cavaliere recommends a dumbbell variation. “In truth, I prefer the dumbbells,” he says. “With dumbbells, we’re going to expose any of that left or right-hand sided weakness.” An additional benefit of the dumbbell bench press is that it enables you to tilt the weights so that they are facing slightly outwards as you lift them, creating greater adduction at the top end of the movement. “For those of you out there who are struggling to build out your chest, adduction is your best friend.”
Cavaliere advises putting some thought into the angle of your bench, no matter which version of the exercise you decide to use. If you want to target your lower chest, then a decline is preferable, while an incline will help you better activate the upper chest area.
The second exercise is the crossover, which according to Cavaliere is not an optional exercise if you want to include adduction in your workout. And if you don’t have access to a cable machine, no worries: you can recreate the exact same movement patterns at home using a resistance band, and it will be possible to engage the upper, middle, or lower heads of the muscle depending on the angle of your arm during travel.
“Drive your shoulders and head back as you bring your arm forward,” he adds. “What this does is place the chest prominently out in front, ensuring that the delts are doing a minimum amount of work, and the chest is doing most of the work.”
Philip Ellis is a freelance writer and journalist from the United Kingdom covering pop culture, relationships and LGBTQ+ issues. His work has appeared in GQ, Teen Vogue, Man Repeller and MTV.
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