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Exercises

Chest exercises for men: presses, incline work, flys and dips

Published October 29, 2026

The best chest exercises for men are the barbell bench press and flat dumbbell press for overall size and strength, the incline barbell and incline dumbbell press for the upper chest, chest dips for the lower chest, and the cable fly or pec deck to finish. Train chest twice a week with one heavy press at 4 to 8 reps, one incline press at 8 to 12 and one fly at 10 to 15, about 12 to 18 hard sets a week, each stopping 1 to 3 reps short of failure. Add weight when you reach the top of the rep range.

  1. Barbell Bench Press Chest
  2. Incline Dumbbell Press Chest
  3. Flat Dumbbell Press Chest
  4. Incline Barbell Bench Press Chest
  5. Chest Dip Chest, Triceps
  6. Cable Fly Chest
  7. Pec Deck Fly Chest
  8. Push-Up Chest

Flat presses for size and strength

One heavy flat press is the backbone of chest training. The barbell lets you lift the most weight, dumbbells give a longer stretch and even out a weaker side, and the machine and floor press are there when your shoulders need a break.

Whole chest, heavy barbell press

Barbell Bench Press

Chest

It lets you move more weight than any other chest exercise and gives you a clear number to progress. Keep it as the first lift of your heavy chest day.

How to do it

  1. Lie on the bench with your eyes under the bar, feet planted, and squeeze your shoulder blades back and down into the pad.
  2. Grip the bar a little wider than shoulder width, unrack it, and hold it over your shoulders with locked elbows.
  3. Lower the bar to your lower chest, around nipple height, with your elbows angled roughly 45 to 70 degrees from your sides.
  4. Touch your chest without bouncing, then press the bar up and slightly back until it is over your shoulders again.

Cues

  • Shoulder blades stay pinned
  • Bar to the nipple line
  • Drive your feet into the floor

Common mistakes

  • Flaring the elbows straight out to the sides: let them sit a bit closer to your ribs so your shoulders stay comfortable.
  • Lifting your hips off the bench to finish a rep: keep your glutes down and count that rep as your last.

Swap for: Flat Dumbbell Press, Smith Machine Bench Press, Machine Chest Press

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Whole chest, dumbbell press

Flat Dumbbell Press

Chest

Each arm works on its own, so a stronger side cannot cover for the other, and the dumbbells go lower than a bar. Many men grow more chest from it than from the barbell.

How to do it

  1. Lying on a flat bench, hold two dumbbells above your chest.
  2. Lower the bells to the sides of your chest with elbows at about 45 degrees.
  3. Press them back up over your shoulders.

Cues

  • Shoulder blades pinched.
  • Control the lowering.

Common mistakes

  • Flaring the elbows straight out.

Swap for: Push-Up, Barbell Bench Press

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Whole chest, guided press

Machine Chest Press

Chest

No balance is needed, so you can push the last sets close to failure without a spotter. A strong second press after the bench, or the main press if barbells bother your shoulders.

How to do it

  1. Raise or lower the seat until the handles line up with the middle of your chest, then sit with your back on the pad.
  2. Take the handles with straight wrists and your shoulder blades pressed back.
  3. Push forward until your arms are nearly straight.
  4. Return slowly until your hands are level with your chest, then press again.

Cues

  • Handles at mid-chest
  • Back stays on the pad
  • Slow on the way back

Common mistakes

  • Seat too high, so your shoulders take over: lower it until the handles meet your mid-chest.
  • Stopping the handles short of your chest: let them come all the way back each rep.

Swap for: Flat Dumbbell Press, Smith Machine Bench Press

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Chest and triceps, short-range press

Dumbbell Floor Press

Chest, Triceps

The floor stops your elbows before the bottom of the range, which is where sore shoulders usually complain. It also works at home with no bench.

How to do it

  1. Sit on the floor with a dumbbell on each thigh, then lie back with your knees bent and pull the weights in to your chest.
  2. Press both dumbbells straight up over your chest until your arms are straight.
  3. Lower them until your upper arms touch the floor, elbows angled about 45 degrees from your sides.
  4. Let the arms rest for a moment on the floor, then press again.

Cues

  • Elbows touch down softly
  • Weights over your chest at the top
  • Knees bent, feet flat

Common mistakes

  • Dropping the elbows hard into the floor: lower slowly and land them gently.
  • Elbows flared straight out to the sides: point them toward your hips a little.

Swap for: Floor Press, Machine Chest Press

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Incline work for the upper chest

The upper chest is the part most men are missing, and it fills out the top of a shirt. A bench at 30 degrees moves the work up the pecs without turning the press into a shoulder lift.

Upper chest, barbell incline press

Incline Barbell Bench Press

Chest

The heaviest way to train the upper chest. Use it as the main press on your second chest day so both parts of the pecs get a heavy lift each week.

How to do it

  1. Set the bench to about 30 to 45 degrees and lie back with your eyes under the bar.
  2. Pinch your shoulder blades back, plant your feet and unrack the bar with a grip a bit outside shoulder width.
  3. Lower the bar to your upper chest, just below your collarbones.
  4. Press it straight up until your arms lock, keeping your chest high.

Cues

  • Bar to the collarbones
  • Chest up to meet the bar
  • Lower angle if your shoulders take over

Common mistakes

  • Setting the bench too steep, which turns it into a shoulder press: 30 degrees is plenty for most people.
  • Bringing the bar down to your mid chest as on a flat bench: on an incline it belongs higher.

Swap for: Incline Dumbbell Press, Smith Machine Incline Press, Machine Incline Press

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Upper chest, dumbbell incline press

Incline Dumbbell Press

Chest

The dumbbells let you press in a slight arc and lower deep at the bottom. If you only have time for one upper chest exercise, use this one.

How to do it

  1. Set the backrest to about 30 to 45 degrees and sit with the dumbbells on your thighs.
  2. Lean back and bring the weights to the outside of your shoulders as your back meets the pad.
  3. Squeeze your shoulder blades back and keep your hips on the seat.
  4. Press up and slightly in until your arms are straight over your upper chest.
  5. Lower under control until your elbows are just below the bench line.

Cues

  • Low incline, not a shoulder press
  • Wrists stacked over elbows
  • Touch the stretch, then press

Common mistakes

  • Setting the bench steeper than about 45 degrees: the front delts take over. Drop it a notch if you mostly feel your shoulders.
  • Lifting your hips off the seat to finish a rep: that turns it back into a flat press.

Swap for: Single-Arm Incline Dumbbell Press, Incline Dumbbell Squeeze Press, Incline Barbell Bench Press

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Upper chest, rising cable fly

Low-to-High Cable Fly

Chest

Sweeping the handles up from your hips trains the upper chest fibers without loading the shoulders the way a press does. It finishes an incline day well.

How to do it

  1. Set both pulleys at the bottom and hold a handle in each hand, palms facing forward.
  2. Take a step forward, staggered stance, arms down and slightly behind your hips.
  3. Keeping your elbows softly bent, sweep the handles up and in until they meet at chin height.
  4. Lower back along the same arc until your arms are just behind your body again.

Cues

  • Scoop up and in
  • Ribs down, chest proud
  • Hands finish at chin height, not overhead

Common mistakes

  • Shrugging the handles up with your traps: keep your shoulders down and let the arc come from the chest.
  • Leaning back to finish the rep: if you need to, the weight is too heavy.

Swap for: Cable Fly, Incline Cable Fly, Incline Dumbbell Press

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Flys that stretch the pecs under load

Flys train the chest without the triceps, so they add volume after the presses when your arms are already tired. Use them for 10 to 15 controlled reps, not heavy singles.

Chest, low-to-high cable crossover

Cable Fly

Chest

The cables keep tension on the pecs through the whole rep, including the squeeze where dumbbells go slack. Add it after your presses for extra chest volume with little joint stress.

How to do it

  1. Set both pulleys at the lowest notch and take a handle in each hand.
  2. Stand in the middle with your feet about shoulder width and knees soft, arms low and slightly behind your hips, elbows softly bent.
  3. Sweep both handles forward and up in a wide arc until they meet in front of your chest.
  4. Lower them back down and out along the same arc until your chest is stretched, then repeat.

Cues

  • Scoop up and in
  • Elbows stay soft and fixed
  • Squeeze for a second where the hands meet

Common mistakes

  • Bending and straightening your elbows each rep: that turns the fly into a press. Lock the elbow angle and move only at the shoulder.
  • Leaning back to heave the handles up: stand tall and take a plate off the stack.

Swap for: High-to-Low Cable Fly, Single-Arm Cable Fly, Dumbbell Chest Fly

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Chest, machine fly

Pec Deck Fly

Chest

The easiest fly to learn and to take close to failure. On busy gym nights it is often free when the cable station is not.

How to do it

  1. Set the seat so your upper arms are level with your shoulders when your forearms rest on the pads.
  2. Sit tall with your back on the pad, elbows bent to about 90 degrees, forearms against the pads and hands on the handles.
  3. Drive your elbows forward and together until the pads nearly meet in front of your chest.
  4. Let the pads swing back slowly until your elbows are level with your shoulders, then repeat.

Cues

  • Push with your elbows, not your hands
  • Squeeze for a second
  • Chest up, shoulders down

Common mistakes

  • Letting the weight drag your elbows behind your shoulders: stop the return when they line up with your shoulders.
  • Hunching forward to close the pads: sit tall and use less weight.

Swap for: Cable Fly, Dumbbell Chest Fly

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Chest, dumbbell fly

Dumbbell Chest Fly

Chest

The fly for a home gym with a bench and dumbbells. Keep the weight moderate and stop the stretch where your shoulders still feel comfortable.

How to do it

  1. Lie on the bench, dumbbells pressed up over your chest, palms turned in.
  2. Bend your elbows slightly and keep that angle fixed for the whole set.
  3. Open your arms in a wide arc until you feel a deep stretch across your chest.
  4. Pull the weights back up along the same arc as if hugging a big barrel.
  5. Stop when the dumbbells are a few inches apart over your chest.

Cues

  • Fixed elbows, moving shoulders
  • Wide arc down, hug up
  • Stretch, do not strain

Common mistakes

  • Turning the fly into a press by bending the elbows more on the way down: lighter weights and a locked elbow angle fix it.
  • Going so deep that your shoulders roll forward off the pad: stop at the point where your chest is stretched and your shoulder blades still touch the bench.

Swap for: Incline Dumbbell Fly, Flat-Bench Cable Fly, Decline Dumbbell Fly

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Dips and push-ups

Dips load the lower chest with your full bodyweight and then some, and push-ups are the press you can do anywhere. A weight plate on your back turns the push-up into a real muscle builder.

Lower chest and triceps, leaning dip

Chest Dip

Chest, Triceps

Leaning forward on the dip bars shifts the work toward the lower chest, the line under the pecs. Once bodyweight is easy, add a belt or hold a dumbbell between your feet.

How to do it

  1. Grip parallel bars and step or jump up until your arms are straight and you are holding yourself above the bars.
  2. Lean your chest slightly forward with your legs under you or a little behind.
  3. Bend your elbows to sink down until your upper arms are about level with the bars.
  4. Press back up to straight arms and lock out.

Cues

  • Shoulders down, chest proud
  • Slight forward lean
  • Lock out every rep

Common mistakes

  • Sinking so deep your shoulders ache: stop when your upper arms reach the level of the bars.
  • Swinging your legs to get up: keep them still and end the set when you need momentum.

Swap for: Machine Chest Dip, Decline Dumbbell Press

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Chest, bodyweight press

Push-Up

Chest

The chest exercise you can do anywhere, and a good finisher after heavy presses. Sets of push-ups to near failure still build muscle in trained men.

How to do it

  1. Set your hands slightly wider than your shoulders with your body straight from head to heels.
  2. Lower until your chest nearly touches the floor, elbows at about 45 degrees.
  3. Press back up to straight arms.

Cues

  • One straight line
  • Elbows angled back

Common mistakes

  • Flaring the elbows straight out: tuck them toward your ribs.

Swap for: Kneeling Push-Up, Incline Push-Up, Push-Up Plus

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Chest, loaded push-up

Weighted Push-Up

Chest

Adding a plate on your upper back keeps push-ups in the 8 to 15 rep range once bodyweight sets pass 25, which keeps them useful for building muscle.

How to do it

  1. Get into the top of a push-up with your hands a bit outside your shoulders.
  2. Have a partner set a plate flat across your upper back, between your shoulder blades, or wear a loaded backpack.
  3. Lower your chest close to the floor without letting the load slide.
  4. Press up to straight arms with your body rigid.

Cues

  • Load between the shoulder blades
  • Same depth as unloaded reps
  • Brace before every rep

Common mistakes

  • Letting the plate slide toward your neck: keep your back flat and the plate centered.
  • Adding so much weight that depth gets shorter: lighten it until your chest reaches the floor again.

Swap for: Push-Up, Flat Dumbbell Press

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Put them together: example sessions

Each session below picks from the exercises above for one situation, with the sets, reps, rest and RIR filled in.

Session 1

Full gym, two chest days a week

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets18 a week
  • Per workout~30 min
  • EquipmentBarbells, Flat Bench, Dumbbells, Incline Bench +3

You train on an upper/lower or push/pull/legs split, have a barbell, dumbbells and cables, and want a bigger chest.

Two chest days with three exercises each give 18 hard sets a week, enough for most men to grow. Day 1 is heavy and flat, Day 2 is heavy on the incline, so the whole chest gets a hard press twice a week.

Day 1: Flat and heavy
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Barbell Bench Press2 warm-up sets first 4 × 4–8 2 3 min
Incline Dumbbell Press 3 × 8–12 1 2 min
Cable Fly 3 × 10–15 1 75 s

Open Day 1: Flat and heavy in the session builder

Day 2: Incline and dips
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Incline Barbell Bench Press2 warm-up sets first 3 × 6–10 2 2:30 min
Chest Dip 3 × 6–12 2 2 min
Pec Deck Fly 2 × 12–15 0 1 min

Open Day 2: Incline and dips in the session builder

How to run it
Do Day 1 and Day 2 at least two days apart, as the chest part of your upper or push days. Shoulders and triceps can follow in the same session.
How to progress
On the bench and incline bench, add 2.5 to 5 lb when every set hits the top of the range at the target reps in reserve. On flys and dips, add reps first, then load.
Open in the session builder

Session 2

Home gym with dumbbells and an adjustable bench

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts3× a week
  • Working sets15 a week
  • Per workout~15 min
  • EquipmentDumbbells, Flat Bench, Incline Bench

You train at home with a set of adjustable dumbbells and a bench that inclines, and no barbell rack.

Dumbbells cap how heavy you can go, so the plan uses higher reps and a third weekly session to reach about 15 sets. Flat and incline presses alternate as the main lift, and push-ups add volume without heavier weights.

Day 1: Flat
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Flat Dumbbell Press1 warm-up set first 3 × 8–12 1 2 min
Dumbbell Chest Fly 2 × 10–15 2 75 s

Open Day 1: Flat in the session builder

Day 2: Incline
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Incline Dumbbell Press1 warm-up set first 3 × 8–12 1 2 min
Push-Up 2 × 10–25 1 75 s

Open Day 2: Incline in the session builder

Day 3: Volume
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Flat Dumbbell Press 3 × 12–15 1 90 s
Weighted Push-UpPlate or backpack on your upper back. 2 × 8–15 1 90 s

Open Day 3: Volume in the session builder

How to run it
Run the three days on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, or put each one at the start of a full-body home session.
How to progress
When the dumbbell presses reach 12 reps at 1 rep in reserve, go up one dumbbell size and drop back to 8. Once your heaviest dumbbells feel light, slow the lowering to 3 seconds and pause at the bottom.
Open in the session builder

Session 3

Shoulders ache on the barbell bench

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets12 a week
  • Per workout~15 min
  • EquipmentDumbbells, Cable Crossover, Chest Press, Fly Machine

Your front shoulder complains at the bottom of a heavy bench, and you still want your chest to grow.

This plan keeps about 12 weekly sets but moves them to presses with a shorter range or a fixed path and to cable and machine flys. Effort stays high on the machines, where pushing near failure costs your joints little.

Day 1
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Dumbbell Floor Press1 warm-up set first 3 × 8–12 2 2 min
Low-to-High Cable Fly 3 × 12–15 1 75 s

Open Day 1 in the session builder

Day 2
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Machine Chest Press 3 × 8–12 1 2 min
Pec Deck Fly 3 × 12–15 1 1 min

Open Day 2 in the session builder

How to run it
Put the two sessions on non-adjacent days, for example Tuesday and Friday. Warm up with a set of push-ups before the first press.
How to progress
Add weight on the floor press and machine press when you reach the top of the range at 2 reps in reserve. On the flys, add reps to 15, then one plate. If a press still hurts, shorten the range before you cut the weight.
Open in the session builder

Make it fit you

Questions

What is the best chest exercise for men?

The barbell bench press for strength and the incline dumbbell press for overall chest growth. Most men build the best chest with one of each every week, plus a fly.

Are 7 chest exercises good in one workout?

Usually too many. After three or four exercises the later ones get done tired and add little. Spread 12 to 18 sets over two days with three exercises each instead.

What workouts flatten your chest?

No chest exercise removes fat from the chest itself. Fat there comes off with overall fat loss, and pressing and fly work builds the muscle so the chest looks firm and flat rather than soft.

How many times a week should men train chest?

Twice a week works best for most men. It splits the weekly sets so each session is high quality and the chest gets a growth signal every few days.

Can you build chest with only push-ups?

Yes, up to a point. Push-ups taken near failure build muscle, but once you pass 25 to 30 reps add a plate, raise your feet, or switch to dumbbell presses to keep the sets hard.