Chest Exercises Ranked (WORST TO BEST!)
There are so many chest exercises to choose from that you can include in your chest workouts, but which ones should you focus your efforts on if you want build a bigger chest and increase your strength? In this video, I am going to rate some of the most popular chest exercises and on each one, I am going to tell you if you should rep it or reject it. Hopefully, after this video, you will know with these chest exercises rated, which ones to you can include in your workouts and which ones you can skip altogether.
Pec Deck: while not everyone has access to a pec deck machine, I think it is a good option to stimulate adduction of the chest and allows you to get the stretch you might think that you are getting with a bench fly. I prefer the machine that has articulating arms as it allows people with any arm length to get the same stimulus needed. Overall, I think it’s a good exercises and that you should rep it.
Flat Bench Press: one of the best exercises you can do to overload the chest with maximal tension, this one is not only going to build a big chest, but a strong chest too. If you have shoulder discomfort when using the barbell, you have the option of using dumbbells which allows for more freedom of motion to help shoulder stability. This is one of my top ranked chest exercises and thus, you should rep it.
V-Sh*t Crossover: do I really need to say much about this exercise? Not only is it not training adduction, it doesn’t do a whole lot for the chest at all in the first place, and it looks downright dumb. If that wasn’t enough, just look at who invented the exercise and that should be enough to tell you to reject it.
Incline Bench Press: when you are looking to build a big chest, especially a big upper chest, there are few exercises that match the effectiveness of the incline bench press. Not only does it have the greatest range of motion for all bench press variations, but it also provides the most stretch at the bottom of each rep. If you opt for dumbbells over a barbell, you get even more stretch with a greater range of motion at the bottom. Definitely an exercise that falls in the “rep it” category
Underhand Bench Press: another variation of the bench press that is great for hitting the upper chest, this one is a go-to if you don’t have access to an incline bench and you want to hit the upper chest fibers. One feature of this exercise is the travel of arms from low-to-high, which follows the fibers of the upper chest. My only caveat would be to suggest using dumbbells over a barbell as the awkward hand placement is exacerbated by the use of barbell if you aren’t experienced enough with the exercise. Absolutely rep it.
Plate Press: a fairly awkward exercise that can be done by squeezing one plate between two hands or even two smaller plates between both hands. There is not a lot of chance for overload on the chest here as the weight you can handle on this exercise is going to be fairly minimal. I would say you should reject it in your next chest workout.
Decline Bench Press: this bench press variation is designed to hit the lower chest fibers and is a great way of overloading them. While it has the least range of motion for most bench press variations, it is easy on the shoulders, so if you have any discomfort, this could be a great option for you. When it comes to ranking chest exercises, I would rate this one towards the top.
Pushups: the gold standard for bodyweight chest exercises, I think everyone should be doing pushups. However, if you can do 30 or more pushups in a single set, I would say that you need to find a different variation that challenges you enough to where you fail under 30 reps if you are looking to grow your chest. Overall though, this is an exercises that falls in the “rep it” category.
Guillotine Press: this version of the bench press requires you to bring the barbell down towards your throat while flaring your elbows out wide. I think if you are going to do this exercise, you should use dumbbells as you can alter your elbow angle while bring the weight down to that upper chest touch point. Add in the safety factor that you can actually dump the dumbbells. However, with better options in my chest exercises rated, I am going to reject this chest exercise.
For the rest of my answers, make sure to watch to the end of the video to see which chest exercises are rated to rep or reject.
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