Upper Chest Workout Routine

When it comes to chest training most guys have trouble filling out the upper chest and creating that nice full square chest look. Rather than the droopy look that comes from over developed lower pecs.

Most people usually do not have much problem with the lower pecs because the bench press, which primarily targets the lower chest, is one exercise that always finds its way into everyone’s chest workout.

For the regular iron pumper the bench press quickly becomes the yard stick by which your worth as a man is measured with the ever famous question… “How much can ya bench?”

However, in this workout we’re going to put the barbell bench press on the back burner and focus instead on filling out the upper chest with a complete workout routine that will target the upper pecs from a full range of motion – mid-range, fully stretched, and peak contraction.


Click PLAY To Watch The Chest Workout:

Note: if you are on an iPad and can’t watch the embedded video clip above,
you can watch it right on my YouTube Channel by Clicking Here

The unique thing about this workout is that in between each exercise we are going to do a set of push ups. This will pump a lot of blood volume into your chest and it works great for spurring on new growth in the chest.

The complete workout includes:

– Push Ups – 10+ reps

– Incline Dumbbell Bench Press – 3 sets of 8-10 reps

– Push Ups – 10+ reps

– Incline Dumbbell Fly – 3 sets of 10-12 reps

– Push Ups – 10+ reps

– Cable Cross Overs – 3 sets of 10-12 reps

– Push Ups – 10+ reps

– Incline Chest Press – 3 sets to failure

Give this chest workout a try for yourself and leave me a comment below…

About The Author

leehayward

Lee Hayward is a former competitive bodybuilder and muscle building coach who has been online coaching people since 1997. His work has been featured in several international magazines such as: FLEX, Muscle Insider, Muscle Mag International, Testosterone, Ironmag, and Forbes. Lee's main focus right now is with helping men over 40 - who don't want to be fat anymore - lose the gut, build muscle, and get back in shape. If you're ready to "Start Again" for the last time and finally build a lean healthy body that you can be proud of, just e-mail Lee to discuss a realistic action plan that's right for you... lee@leehayward.com

26 Comments

  • Bill

    Hey Lee great video,
    I find that breathing back squats build the upper chest like no other: What do you think?

  • Bill,

    Yeah I agree with that because indirectly squats will help you grow bigger and stronger all over.
    I have an old article on my website that covers the 20 rep squat routine at:
    http://leehayward.com/squats.htm

  • Aaron

    Lee,

    I’ve been working out for 25 years. I go to the gym 5 days a week. I’ve been dealing with some tendinitis in my elbow and some general discomfort in my shoulder. I had shoulder surgery many years ago from a football injury. In addition to that I’ve plateaued a bit on my bench press. With this info in mind, I have two questions for you:

    1. I do bench press every week. How often do you do bench press? I’ve noticed that if I skip it a week and do other chest exercises, when I return to it, I’ve lost strength and have to start over again to regain that strength. That usually takes a couple weeks to get back.

    2. I don’t take any supplements. But can you recommend something that helps to heal stuff like the tendinitis and shoulder pain? Don’t tell me to rest, because that’s not gonna happen.

    Thanks,

    Aaron

  • Yohan

    hey lee, do we have to do push ups, after every sets of each exercise or do it after finishing all the sets of each exercise?

  • sanjay

    Thanks Lee,I got this new challenge for my chest..

  • rob m

    I’ve been doing 10 push-ups after every set of chest for over two years. This was after seeing you demo it. I change it up from close to wide each set. Have added weight at times and do between benches. Even do dive bombers towards the end. Have to say I can’t lift as much but wow did my chest fill out. It works great.

    Also for back, when I don’t do straight sets to I get to100 pullups, I do sets to failure after each back and bi exercise. Awesome stuff.

  • clifford

    thks lee i will try this new chest workout .

  • Alvin

    I think doing incline push ups will be a better choice..

  • sal

    on your so called incline push up with that sway back, it looks like a flat push up. now your girl is doing it better. a good straight back.

  • Aaron,

    I usually stick to a workout for 4-6 weeks in a row before changing my exercises. So do bench press for 4-6 weeks and then you can change to doing another exercise as you main chest move for another 4-6 weeks.

    As for supplements, I recommend that you try taking “Joint Armour” from http://www.bluestarmuscle.com

  • Yohan,

    You can do the push ups however you like, but in this workout I did them in between every exercise.

  • elmachraa abdelkrim

    Push ups between sets is a great idea ! i am a loss at incline chest press or inclined barbell press because whenever i try to do them i have a horrible pain in the left shoulder . luckily i can do inclined dumbbell press but i can’t lift heavy then ! any sggestions , please !

  • elmachraa abdelkrim,

    Not every exercise works for every body. So if you can do dumbbell presses pain free, than go with them. I personally like dumbbell bench presses better than barbell bench presses.

  • Daneil

    Yo Lee ! upload some lower chest workouts 🙂

  • Rahul soni

    Hi…lee,
    If there is no available cable cross over at the Jim, in that condition can be alternate of cable cross over….. Pls suggest me

  • Rahul soni

  • Rahul soni,

    If you have a peck dec (aka butterfly machine) you can use that instead of cable cross overs.

  • Beeran

    Thália u sír ér wil start the Chest work out

  • peter

    Ive done this workout a few times now the pump is insane! A couple of my buddies saw me doing it and thought I was nuts, so they tried it and they say I am definitely nuts! Great workout

  • Greg Holton

    Great upper chest workout…will incorporate it into my chest workouts..thanks buddy.

  • Ned

    Hi Lee, I do 4 sets of 8 reps combination of dumbell press right into dumbell fly. I use about 80 pounds and I use proper form when doing my rep. Is this technique good or bad for me? Did you ever do this?

  • mina milek

    Hi lee I’m big fan, i have a question about this routine by saying doing push ups between each exercise you mean after each set you do or just one set of push ups for every different exercise you do ?

    • Just do 1 set of push ups after each exercise, NOT each set. So when you finish all of your sets of bench presses – do a set of push ups. When you finish all your sets of flys – do a set of push ups, etc.

  • Great video Lee, These exercises you showed are great. I am able to do them in my simple home gym. Exercise I didn’t see for the chest was the decline bench press that also works the upper chest and Dips.. Always good to see your videos Lee, they keep me informed and motivated. When I see you do something different I go do a set just to get the feel. Keep up the good work…

  • Nelson,

    Cool, glad you like the videos!

  • Norman Paskowsky

    Another fantastic workout! Thanks loads for your encouragement!