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If you bust your hump every chest day with little to show for your efforts, it’s probably time you found a better pec workout.
Fortunately, this article has exactly what you need.
In it, you’ll learn the best chest workout for mass. It contains all the best chest exercises and the perfect mix of volume and intensity to add serious size to your chest without running yourself ragged.
You’ll also discover highly effective chest workouts if you train with dumbbells, bands, or body weight, so even if you don’t train in a fully stocked gym, you can still build “armor-plated” pecs.
The Best Chest Workout for Men
Chest workouts for mass don’t have to be complicated. In fact, the best pec routines usually only include a handful of exercises. Crucially, however, they revolve around exercises that allow you to lift heavy weights safely and progress regularly, which is vital for muscle growth.
The chest day workout for men below meets these criteria perfectly.
(Note: This is the best chest workout for the gym. If you don’t have access to the necessary equipment, check out the other workouts for chest below.)
1. Barbell Bench Press: 3 sets | 4-to-6 reps | 2-to-4 min rest
Why: The flat bench press is one of the best exercises for building almost every major muscle group in your upper body, especially your pecs. That’s why all good chest workouts revolve around heavy benching.
How:
- Lie on a flat bench and place your feet flat on the floor.
- Pull your shoulder blades together and down, and without lifting your butt or shoulders off the bench, slightly arch your back.
- Grab the bar with a pronated grip (palms facing your feet) slightly wider than shoulder-width apart and unrack the barbell.
- Lower the barbell to your chest, keeping your elbows tucked 6-to-8 inches from your sides.
- Press the bar back to the starting position.
Incline Dumbbell Bench Press: 3 sets | 4-to-6 reps | 2-to-4 min rest
Why: Like all incline presses, the incline dumbbell bench press trains the upper portion of your pectoral muscles more than flat variations, making it ideal for a full chest workout. Dumbbell presses also allow you to train through a greater range of motion and stretch your chest muscles slightly more than barbell presses, which aids muscle growth.
How:
- While lying on a bench angled at a 45-degree angle or slightly lower, hold a dumbbell in each hand and rest them on your thighs.
- Lie back, hoisting the dumbbells up so you’re holding them on either side of your chest by giving them a nudge with your thighs.
- Press the weights over your upper chest until your arms are straight and your elbows are locked.
- Lower the dumbbells to the starting position.
Close-Grip Bench Press: 3 sets | 6-to-8 reps | 2-to-4 min rest
Why: While many think of the close-grip bench press as a triceps exercise, it’s also highly effective for training your pec major. Taking a narrow grip and tucking your elbows tends to be gentler on your shoulders, too, which most people welcome after several heavy sets of pressing.
How:
- Lie on a flat bench and place your feet flat on the floor.
- Pull your shoulder blades together and down, and without lifting your butt or shoulders off the bench, slightly arch your back.
- Grip the barbell with a shoulder-width grip or slightly narrower and unrack the barbell.
- Lower the barbell to your lower chest, keeping your elbows tucked 2-to-4 inches from your sides.
- Press the bar back to the starting position.
Dip: 3 sets | 6-to-8 reps | 2-to-4 min rest
Why: The dip trains most upper-body muscle groups to a high degree, making it not just one of the best chest exercises but one of the best upper-body exercises overall. It also allows you to train your pecs while deeply stretched, which benefits muscle growth.
How to:
- If you’re using a dip belt, wrap the chain around your waist, add the desired amount of weight to the chain, and fasten the carabiner.
- Grab both handles of a dip station, then press yourself up by straightening your arms and gently jumping off the ground so your arms are straight and supporting your entire body weight.
- Slightly bend your knees to keep your feet from touching the ground, lean forward a little, and then lower your body by bending your elbows until your upper arms are roughly parallel to the floor.
- Reverse the movement and return to the starting position.
Barbell Chest Workout
If you train in a “spit-and-sawdust” gym or home gym, you might only have access to a bench and a barbell. Thankfully, this isn’t a problem—you don’t need a gym full of equipment for an effective chest day workout. Here’s a good chest workout for when you only have a bench and a bar:
Chest Workout with Dumbbells
Not having access to a barbell won’t stop you from building an awesome chest—grab a pair of dumbbells and crank out the following dumbbell chest workout:
- Dumbbell Bench Press: 3 sets | 4-to-6 reps | 2-to-4 min rest
- Incline Dumbbell Bench Press: 3 sets | 4-to-6 reps | 2-to-4 min rest
- Dumbbell Pullover: 3 sets | 6-to-8 reps | 2-to-3 min rest
- Dumbbell Flyes: 3 sets | 8-to-10 reps | 2-to-3 min rest
At-Home Chest Workout with Dumbbells
This chest workout at home with dumbbells is perfect for when you have minimal equipment but still want an effective pec workout:
- Dumbbell Floor Press: 4 sets | 4-to-6 reps | 2-to-4 min rest
- Dumbbell Pullover: 4 sets | 6-to-8 reps | 2-to-3 min rest
- Dumbbell Chest Fly: 4 sets of 10-to-12 reps
Resistance Band Chest Workout at Home
You can do plenty of chest exercises with a set of bands that will help you gain or maintain muscle and strength. Here’s a simple chest workout routine that doesn’t require barbells or dumbbells.
- Banded Push-up: 3 sets | 10-to-20 reps | 2-to-3 min rest
- Feet-Elevated Banded Push-up: 3 sets | 10-to-20 reps | 2-to-3 min rest
- Banded Chest Press: 3 sets | 10-to-20 reps | 2-to-3 min rest
- Banded Chest Fly: 3 sets | 10-to-20 reps | 2-to-3 min rest
Chest Workout at Home without Weights
This workout hits all the upper-body “pushing” muscles hard without the need for equipment:
Feet-Elevated Push-up: 3 sets | 10-to-20 reps | 2-to-3 min rest
Diamond Push-up: 3 sets | 10-to-20 reps | 2-to-3 min rest
Push-up: 3 sets | 10-to-20 reps | 2-to-3 min rest
Dive-Bomber Push-up: 3 sets | 10-to-20 reps | 2-to-3 min rest
5 Tips on How to Properly Grow Your Pecs With These Chest Workouts for Mass
You now know all the best chest workouts for mass.
Now, let’s explore how to optimize your results from the pec workouts above.
1. Warm up before your first exercise of each workout.
Here’s the warm-up protocol you want to follow in your pec workouts:
- Roughly estimate what weight you’re going to use for your three sets of the first exercise (this is your “hard set” weight).
- Do 6 reps with about 50% of your hard set weight, and rest for a minute.
- Do 4 reps with about 70% of your hard set weight, and rest for a minute.
Then, do all your hard sets for your first exercise and the rest of the exercises for that workout.
2. End every set 1-to-3 reps shy of muscle failure.
As I explain in my fitness books for men and women, to maximize your results, you must take most of the sets in your workouts for chest to within a rep or two of failure.
Ask yourself at the end of each set, “If I had to, how many more reps could I have gotten with good form?” If the answer is more than two, increase the weight or reps to make your next set more challenging.
3. Once you hit the top of your rep range for a set, move up in weight.
If your chest day workout calls for 4-to-6 reps of the bench press and you get 6 reps for a set, add 10 pounds to your next set.
If you manage 3 or fewer reps with the new weight, reduce the weight by 5 pounds to ensure you stay in the 4-to-6 rep range.
Follow this pattern of trying to add reps or weight to every exercise in every workout.
4. Eat enough calories and protein.
To maximize your results from your chest days, you need to maintain a mild calorie surplus, ideally around 110% of your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) each day.
This will optimize your body’s “muscle-building machinery,” greatly enhancing your body’s ability to recover and build muscle.
The one exception is if you’re a beginner weightlifter. Novices can grow their pecs at maintenance calories thanks to a phenomenon known as “newbie gains.” However, if you’ve been training for over a year, maintaining a calorie surplus is essential for muscle growth.
Furthermore, you need to eat enough protein. Around 0.8-to-1.2 grams of protein per pound of body weight per day works best for most.
To learn exactly how many calories and how much protein you should eat to maximize chest growth, take the Legion Diet Quiz.
5. Take the right supplements.
These supplements will help you optimize your performance and gains while following our chest workouts for mass:
- Protein powder: Protein powder, such as whey or casein, provides your body with the nutrients needed to build muscle tissue and recover from workouts.
- Creatine: Creatine boosts muscle and strength gain, improves anaerobic endurance, and reduces muscle damage and soreness from your workouts.
- Pre-workout: A high-quality pre-workout enhances energy, mood, and focus, increases strength and endurance, and reduces fatigue.
(If you’d like even more specific advice about which supplements you should take to reach your health and fitness goals, take the Legion Supplement Finder Quiz, and in less than a minute, you’ll know exactly what supplements are right for you.)
Chest Day Workouts: FAQs
FAQ #1: What workout is best for chest?
A good chest workout should . . .
- Comprise compound exercises that allow you to train with heavy weights safely and progress regularly.
- Involve exercises that train your chest at different angles and through varying ranges of motion.
- Be fun—engaging pec workouts tend to be more productive than tedious ones.
Here’s a workout for chest that meets these criteria for most:
- Barbell Bench Press: 3 sets | 4-to-6 reps | 2-to-4 min rest
- Incline Dumbbell Bench Press: 3 sets | 4-to-6 reps | 2-to-4 min rest
- Close-Grip Barbell Bench Press: 3 sets | 6-to-8 reps | 2-to-4 min rest
- Dip: 3 sets | 6-to-8 reps | 2-to-4 min rest
FAQ #2: Is 4 exercises enough for chest day?
Doing 3 sets of 4 exercises is enough for new weightlifters on chest day.
You may need to do more volume to continue progressing if you’ve been training for more than 6-to-12 months, though.
More experienced weightlifters should aim for 15-to-20 sets weekly using 4-to-6 chest exercises.
FAQ #3: How can I build my pecs fast?
Do the following to build your pecs fast:
- Train your pecs with 10-to-20 weekly sets. Those who’ve followed a strength training program for under 2 years should target 10-to-15 weekly sets in 1-to-2 pec workouts. Those with over 2 years of training experience should strive for 15-to-20 weekly sets over 2-to-3 chest workouts.
- Focus on getting stronger over time.
- Eat enough calories and protein.
Basically, follow the advice in this article. 🙂
+ Scientific References
- Bloomquist, K., et al. “Effect of Range of Motion in Heavy Load Squatting on Muscle and Tendon Adaptations.” European Journal of Applied Physiology, vol. 113, no. 8, 20 Apr. 2013, pp. 2133–2142, link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00421-013-2642-7, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-013-2642-7.
- Helms, Eric R, et al. “Evidence-Based Recommendations for Natural Bodybuilding Contest Preparation: Nutrition and Supplementation.” Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, vol. 11, no. 1, 12 May 2014, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4033492/, https://doi.org/10.1186/1550-2783-11-20.
- Stokes, Tanner, et al. “Recent Perspectives Regarding the Role of Dietary Protein for the Promotion of Muscle Hypertrophy with Resistance Exercise Training.” Nutrients, vol. 10, no. 2, 7 Feb. 2018, p. 180, www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/10/2/180/pdf, https://doi.org/10.3390/nu10020180.
- Eckerson, Joan M., et al. “Effect of Creatine Phosphate Supplementation on Anaerobic Working Capacity and Body Weight after Two and Six Days of Loading in Men and Women.” The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, vol. 19, no. 4, 2005, p. 756, https://doi.org/10.1519/r-16924.1.
- Bassit, Reinaldo Abunasser, et al. “Effect of Short-Term Creatine Supplementation on Markers of Skeletal Muscle Damage after Strenuous Contractile Activity.” European Journal of Applied Physiology, vol. 108, no. 5, 3 Dec. 2009, pp. 945–955, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-009-1305-1.
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Okay, so we do dig on profits, but we also go in for happy customers, and free shipping works like gangbusters. So, if you’re outside the USA, your order ships free when it’s over $199.
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