Trying to Develop the Upper Chest

Trying to Develop the Upper Chest

Most routines for chest usually involve the same movements (which have proved their worth for a lot of people): These are Flat DB/BB bench presses, Incline DB/BB bench presses, Dips and a Flye movement to finish off. The goal is to hit the chest from all different angles to get full development. However, before you devise a routine you should critique (or get someone with knowledge) to identify areas that are lacking in your pectoral area.

Most people will lack more in the upper chest than any other area (this is also another area that I have never seen too big on a bodybuilder) and it is my main focus every time I train chest.

I used to love benching; however, even with scapulae retracted, shoulders pushed down and back throughout the lift, and different grips experimented with, I only ever felt it in the shoulders and lower chest. As a result I no longer perform any flat bench chest work in my routines.

Inclines are the mainstay of my workout- but how do you find the angle that hits your upper chest the best? Your chest is a fan shaped muscle, so different angles will hit different fibres harder. I experimented with one angle each week and performed 10 sets of 10-20 reps. I found the best angle by the amount of soreness I felt in the upper chest the next day. For me this happened to be around 20 degrees.

Next thing was finding out what was the best range of motion? I always adhered to taking the bar to the chest or as low as possible with dumbbells (however, I would feel it too much in the shoulder joint). I decided to try different depths and found if I stopped about ½ an inch before the bar touched my upper chest area I only felt soreness in the chest the next day.

I train chest once every 8 days for approx 10-15 minutes (the other 10-15 minutes is training back). I use Rest pause, DXO, x’s, P.O.F, and alternate chest and back exercises.

Here are my current chest workouts that I alternate:

Workout 1

Exercise                  Weight      Sets    Reps      Reps goal        Technique

Incline DB press         40kg          2       9,4            15            rest pause*
Bench press up          16kg          3     12,5,3          20              DXO, r.p*
Incline Db flye            20kg           2       10,5          20                       rp*

Workout 2

Incline BB press        92.5kg         3       7,3,1         15                        rp*
Db Incline Bench          40kg         2         6,3          11                        rp*
Bench press up            16kg        3       12,5,3        20               DXO, r.p*
Or cable incline flye.

Other considerations:

I occasionally use hex dumbbells as handles on the floor when I perform press ups.
Cable flyes are effective because there is tension on the chest through the full range of motion- even at the fully contracted position at the top. (normal flyes provide hardly any resistance at the top).
A final higher rep set on a contracted or stretch position exercise gives a huge pump.
Using P.O.F i.e. mid-range, contracted then a stretch position exercise gives awesome pumps and muscle stimulus.
Blitz chains are a useful device (for press ups as you can bring hands closer when you extend your arms at the bottom.)


As I evaluate my training on a regular basis; exercises, rep goals and techniques used will change depending on what I see both physically and in my training diary. For some people doing only the bench press will develop huge pectorals but if your chest looks a little flat in the upper area give these ideas a try.