7 Best Upper Chest Workouts & Exercises

Building the upper chest to create full pecs can seem impossible if you aren’t doing the right exercises. You may think you’re doing everything right, but you still end up with the dreaded man boobs look.

If you’re frustrated by how your upper chest looks and want to have symmetrical, full pectorals, check out these exercises.

But first, let’s discuss the muscles you’ll be working to build your upper chest using these workouts.

Upper Chest Muscles Worked

When focusing on the upper chest, you’ll be focusing on the pectoralis major muscle. Specifically, the portion right under the collarbone is called the clavicular head.

We often forget about this portion of the pectoralis major in favor of the much larger sternocostal head. 

Have you ever seen someone with a defined pec with a depression between it and the collarbone? Most likely, they are focusing more on middle and lower chest workouts and forgetting the upper chest.

If you’re looking in the mirror and realizing you are missing out, these exercises can help fill out your pecs.

If you’re ready to fill out your chest, check out these seven upper chest exercises to include in your workout.

1. Low-to-High Cable Crossover

The cable crossover is a versatile exercise that can target the upper chest muscle with proper positioning.

Starting with the cables in the top position will focus on the sternal head. However, if you change the cable position down to the bottom of the machine, it works the clavicular head.

How to do it: 

1. Position the cables to pull from the lowest setting. 
2. Once you have your weight set, grab a handle in each hand, with your feet about shoulder-width apart. 
3. You can choose to put one foot slightly out in front for a firmer stance if you prefer. 
4. When you’re ready, pull each cable simultaneously up toward each other, as if you are making an X. 
5. Continue to pull through until your hands just cross each other, to really engage the upper chest. 
6. Pause for a second before you lower back down to the starting position.

Pro tip: If you don’t have access to a cable machine, you can do the same exercise using dumbbells. 

2. Incline Bench Press

To take full advantage of the bench press, use an adjustable bench to change the depth of the incline. You can do this upper chest workout with dumbbells or use the Smith machine.

Challenge yourself by doing a set at one incline setting on the bench and then change it to the next. Continue to change the incline so you can hit the chest fibers differently with each set.

Use a decently heavy weight but don’t go so heavy that your back arches to help lift the weight.

How to do it: 

1. Set the incline bench and sit down with your back against the bench. 
2. With a dumbbell in each hand, position them so they are on either side of your head at chest level. 
3. Your elbows should be at roughly a 90-degree angle with your palms facing away from you. 
4. Raise the dumbbells together at the same time and bring them up overhead in one motion. 
5. Continue to raise the dumbbells until they touch, to fully activate the upper chest muscle. 
6. Bring them back down to the starting position to complete the rep.

Pro tip: To ensure you have the proper form on the incline bench press, check out Mr. Natural John Hansen’s demonstration.

3. Decline Push-up

Another great upper chest workout you can do at home is decline push-ups. Different from the traditional push-up, the decline push-up has your feet elevated.

To perform this type of press up, start with your feet up on an elevated surface, like a desk or chair. Doing this version of the push-up will allow you to focus on the upper chest muscles.

How to do it: To learn proper form for the push-up, check out our step-by-step guide. Once you’ve got the form down, grab a platform or chair to complete the decline push-up.

4. Sunrise Sunset

This move is done using a tube cable or resistance band. To get the move right, the cable has to go around a rack or other sturdy pole. The tube/cable needs to move freely around whatever you have for resistance, so choose wisely.

How to do it: 

1. Stand with a staggered stance, one foot in front of the other with a cable in each hand. 
2. Position yourself so there is tension on the tube/cable and you’re met with resistance throughout the exercise. 
3. Start with your hands in front of you, down by your thighs, with palms facing up. 
4. Raise your arms up and move the cable in a circle until your hands meet at the top. 
5. Bring your hands back down until your hands meet in front of you to complete the rep.

5. Landmine Rainbow

This movement is like the sunrise sunset but uses a barbell in a landmine rack. The rainbow landmine is technically a full-body workout, but keeping the torso stationary puts focus on the upper chest.

Start with just the weight of the barbell to get the motion right before you add weight. Use a low weight when just starting out to avoid injury.

How to do it:

1. Hold the barbell up high with both hands in the landmine rack with your feet between hip-width and shoulder-width apart.
2. Begin by lowering the barbell down to one side in an arc, allowing the weight of the bar to fall into the lower hand.
3. Bring the bar back up to center, switching hands as you squeeze the chest muscles. 
4. Then lower back down on the opposite side, creating a half-circle.
5. Keep the torso straight and core engaged throughout the exercise, allowing the arms and shoulders to move the barbell back and forth.

6. Dumbbell Shrugs

The dumbbell shrug is usually used in bodybuilding for bigger traps, but it’s also effective at working the upper chest. 

For this exercise, using heavier weight is encouraged. Focus on lifting the weight with your chest muscles to target the clavicular head.

How to do it:

1. Hold dumbbells in an overhand grip with your palms facing you and your hands positioned in front of your pelvis or thighs.
2. Focus on using your upper chest muscles to lift the weights up into a shrug.
3. When doing this correctly, the dumbbell shouldn’t move much. Remember, you’re using your upper chest to move the weight up.
4. Relax your upper chest to move back into the starting position to complete the rep.

7. Chest Dips

Using a dip machine or stand to perform chest dips will help you finish off your upper chest workout. Increase the challenge by adding weight once you’ve perfected the bodyweight chest dip.

How to do it:

1. Mount the dip machine/rack with your hands placed next to your torso and your palms facing in.
2. Lift yourself up, keeping your knees bent (cross your ankles if it’s comfortable for you), until your arms are straight and your elbows locked.
3. Lower your body down slowly with controlled movement, keeping your torso slightly forward, until your elbows are at a 90-degree angle. Continuing too low can cause shoulder injury.
4. Lift yourself back up, using your chest muscles to help with the lift. Continue back up to the top to move through the reps to finish the set.

Tips for an Effective Upper Chest Workout

These tips will ensure that you’re making the appropriate gains so your upper chest stands out.

Track Your Progress

Sometimes, you can feel like even the best laid out plan isn’t helping you see results in the gym. One way to know your upper chest workouts are working is by tracking your progress through images.

Once you’re ready to start your journey in building your upper chest, take photos. Get one from the front and then one from each side. 

Having images to look back on as you progress through your upper chest workouts will show any progress you’ve made. It can also show any imbalance between the pecs, so you know if you have to work on symmetry.

Lift to Failure

Unless you’re a bodybuilder or powerlifter, you don’t want to perform every set to failure. However, taking one or two sets to failure will break down the muscle fibers more, leading to bigger gains.

When performing this upper chest workout, complete two to three sets per exercise. Get anywhere from 8 to 12 reps per set, then keep going until you’ve reached failure for at least one.

If you find that you’re breezing through your sets, then you need to add more weight. Want to learn more about the proper amount of reps and sets for your exercise routine? We’ve got you covered, check this out to learn how to properly improve your strength and muscle mass.

Challenge Yourself

Don’t be afraid to challenge yourself if you want to see actual results. This could mean doing supersets or drop sets, which are a great way to work towards failure. Rest when needed between sets but keep going if you can to complete a superset. 

If you have a partner to work out with, then you can use techniques like negative resistance training and forced reps. These methods have been used since the Golden Era and for good reason – they force the muscle into overdrive.

Try out these techniques when you’re ready for some serious gains in a short amount of time.

Don’t Do Chest Alone

Everyone has a reason for building their workout schedule a certain way. However, incorporating chest day with back or shoulders will give you a more effective workout in less time.

If you haven’t already, including chest days with other upper body muscle groups can help you reach your muscle-building goals. Just don’t forget to rest for at least two days before you work your chest again.

Here are even more tips and workouts to build a bigger chest. Want more ideas for exercises to work the entire upper body? We’ve also got a killer shoulder workout you can use when adding to your chest day.

Wrapping Up

Improving muscle definition in your upper chest comes down to prioritizing the right movements. By doing specific exercises, you’ll be able to round out your upper chest, making it look symmetrical, removing the clavicular depression.

Using techniques like negative resistance training or forced reps with a training partner will bring faster results. If you prefer to workout alone, drop sets are another way to get the upper chest gains using these exercises.

Fueling your workouts with a product like Vintage Build™ will help with muscle building, even after your sets are over. It also aids in recovery, allowing you to get back to your workouts faster without risking injury.

What are your favorite upper chest workouts? Do you prefer to workout with a partner or solo? Did we miss your favorite upper chest exercise? Let us know which exercise you love to build your pecs in the comments.