Three of the Best Exercises to Build a Bigger and Stronger Chest

The recipient of a bachelor’s degree in film and electronic arts from Cal State Long Beach, Joe Arrigo is a resource development manager at Modis, where he provides staffing services for IT and engineering firms in Northern California. When he isn’t working, Joe Arrigo enjoys hobbies such as reading, playing ping pong, and lifting weights.

There are dozens of different exercises designed to help build a stronger and bigger chest. Here are three of the most effective:

1. Incline bench press — Lying back on a 45-degree incline bench, lift dumbbells until your arms are fully extended. Squeeze your pecs at full extension and count to five while lowering the weights for maximum effect.

2. Dips — Dips can be an effective way to build strong triceps and back muscles, but they can also primarily target the pectoral muscles if done while leaning forward with your elbows flared out and feet elevated behind you. This is a safer alternative to the decline press.

3. Seated machine chest press — While it’s generally more effective to use free weights, the seated machine chest press machine has the benefit of allowing you to slow down and emphasize the pectoral muscles due to a decreased need of the deltoid muscles for stabilization purposes.