The 6 Best Exercises for Your Chest Workout Program

Written by Taisiia Dobrozorova

Written by Taisiia Dobrozorova

Taisiia Dobrozorova is a nutrition and fitness writer at Unimeal and a healthy lifestyle devotee. She has accomplished several courses on health, nutrition, dietology.

on August 11, 2022

Fact checked by Pavel Balezin

Fact checked by Pavel Balezin

Pavel Bazelin is a fitness expert at Unimeal. He owns a fitness studio and works as a personal trainer. His education includes a bachelor’s degree in Health, Fitness, and Recreation.

The Unimeal team works to give you the most accurate and up-to-date information. All texts are reviewed by a panel of experts and editors and updated according to the latest research. Only evidenced-based and verified sources of leading medical publications and universities get into the article materials.

Sagging in the chest area and not knowing where to start to tone up your body? Don't despair! The most straightforward way is chest workouts that you can do at home or gym, with dumbbells, resistance bands, or with no equipment at all. Here's what you need to know to kickstart!

What’s the use of chest workouts for women?

Chest workouts are integral to women's health and, no doubt, notably contribute to the girls' breast area. But you can't say that chest exercises may change breast size or shape.

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Girls who want to increase breast volume with the help of fitness should understand that there is no muscle in the breast itself. So, it will not work to change its parameters using this method. But it is possible to pump up the breast and bring many other perks to your appearance and health. With chest workouts, your breast will also become more toned if we mean the pectoral muscles and not the mammary glands themselves.

6 best chest exercises to strengthen your chest

Try these top female chest workouts at home to sculpt a bigger chest.

Push-ups (classical version)

Push-ups provide a great full-body workout that engages your arms, chest, and core. For classical push-ups:

• Get into a high plank position with your hands under your shoulders. 
• Begin to lower your body, keeping your back straight until your chest touches the floor, and then straighten your arms, returning to the starting position. 
• Perform this exercise as a warm-up. 
• Do 3-4 sets of 12-20 reps.

Elbow Squeeze Shoulder Press

The combined exercise comprehensively works out all the bundles of the deltas and also strengthens the back and arms.

• Stand up straight, and take dumbbells with a direct grip. 
• Bend your elbows at a right angle and raise your arms to chest level with your palms facing you. 
• From this position, raise your arms with supination at the end of the movement. 
• From the extreme point, raise your hands, performing a dumbbell press up. 
• Return to the starting position by doing the exercise in reverse order.

Dumbbell Chest Press

This workout is considered the most effective exercise for the pectoral muscles. It can be performed on a horizontal surface and an inclined bench. If you have long been interested in how to pump up the chest muscles at home, then feel free to choose this exercise.

• Take dumbbells in your hands, sit down and lean them on your knees. Lie down on a bench, and press the dumbbells to your chest.
• Be sure to bend your legs and start doing bench presses - lower the dumbbells to chest level while inhaling.
• As you exhale, raise your hands with the projectile up.

Resistance Band Chest Fly

Another excellent exercise for developing the pectoral muscles is the chest fly. Depending on the fixation angle, you can work out different parts of the chest muscle, which is a huge plus!

• For this exercise, you will need 1 or 2 resistance bands. Fix them in the door latch or on any pipe at the level of the knees. Take the ends of the bands in your hands. If you have only one, hold its ends in your hands, leaving the middle part behind your back.
• As you exhale, simultaneously use both hands to bring your hands together. The elbows should be slightly bent and fixed in that position. Hands should go in a circle. 
• Pause briefly at the endpoint, then slowly return to the starting position.
• Do 4-5 sets of 5-10 repetitions.

Dumbbell Plank Rotation

The exercise will fit perfectly into a functional workout with dumbbells, as it works out the chest, arms, and shoulders and pumps the press's oblique muscles, forming a sports relief.

• Get into a side plank position on your right forearm. 
• Take a dumbbell in your free left hand and raise it above your head. 
• Then put the projectile on the floor and lift it again. 
• Perform all repetitions for the right hand and then for the left.

Knee Push-ups

And although the workout is considered a simplified version of the classic push-ups, it perfectly works out muscles such as the triceps, front and middle bundles of deltas, pectoralis major muscles, abs, and back.

• Take the starting position: lying on outstretched arms and knees, cross your legs and lift.
• As you inhale, slowly lower yourself and try to touch the floor with your chest.
• We recommend spreading your elbows if you want to pump the pectoral muscles.
• As you exhale, slowly rise back to the starting position.
• Do 3 sets of 20 reps.

Benefits of chest workouts for ladies

You'll improve posture

Upper back and shoulder workouts alone may not be enough to say goodbye to stoop forever. Only with elastic and trained pectoral muscles you're more likely to achieve the correct position of the shoulder blades¹C. Hrysomallis. (2010, February). Effectiveness of strengthening and stretching exercises for the postural correction of abducted scapulae: a review. The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. DOI:10.1519/jsc.0b013e3181c069d8.

When you sit at a computer in a bent position for a long time, the chest muscles weaken and shorten, and the shoulder blades begin to bulge. Over time, you will face a stoop and an ugly posture that is definitely not on your list of aims. To combat this problem, do classic push-ups and bench presses with dumbbells or barbells. Chest workouts can significantly contribute to your beautiful posture!

You'll tone breasts

Going to the gym does not help girls increase breast volume, but training is still necessary. After all, the degree of a breast lift depends on the state of the pectoral muscles. If the muscles are not sufficiently developed - the mammary glands sag and look flabby. But if they are trained, they act as a frame that will lift the female breast and visually correct its shape. So, the conclusion is: work out this muscle group to prevent the loss of elasticity and sagging of your breasts.

You'll become stronger

Almost always, when you lift something or just do it with your hands, the chest muscles are included in the process. With weak muscles, any routine activity - whether it is lifting a child in your arms, carrying bags from the supermarket, or opening a heavy door - can be a task that is not easy to handle. But regular push-ups and dumbbell workouts can make your muscles more robust and resilient²R. Ogasawara, R. S. Thiebaud, J. P. Loenneke, et al. (2012, December). Time course for arm and chest muscle thickness changes following bench press training. Interventional Medicine & Applied Science. DOI:10.1556%2FIMAS.4.2012.4.7, positively affecting your daily life!

You'll train other vital muscles

The vast majority of exercises for the chest muscles also involve the muscles of the shoulder girdle³Q. Pu, R. Huang, B. Brand-Saberi. (2015, December). Development of the shoulder girdle musculature. American Association for Anatomy. DOI:10.1002/dvdy.24378 and back. Fitness trainers often use such practices to create a beautiful relief of the arms. Without them, it is almost impossible to succeed in the form of inflated biceps and triceps. The dumbbell plank rotation is an ideal essential exercise for working out the chest and upper shoulder girdle muscles.

To sum up

Whether you're doing workouts at home or sweating it out at the gym, designing an effective chest workout doesn't have to be complicated. 4-6 exercises are enough if you do them on a regular basis.

Chest workouts help your muscles function and build your body structure. Pectorals are aesthetically and psychologically beneficial for women. For this reason, don't skip over this crucial area and add upper-body exercises to your workout asap!