--- title: "Upper chest exercises" description: "Upper chest exercises - incline presses and flyes with a barbell, dumbbells, bands and machines. Technique on video." locale: en url: "https://hi.fitness/exercises/muscles/upper-chest" count: 21 type: muscles code: UPPER_CHEST --- # Upper chest exercises The upper chest is the set of fibers running down from the collarbone. They work in every press, but they take the most when your arm travels up and forward relative to your torso - that is, when the back of the bench is raised. Which is why almost everything on this list is an incline variation. This list is short and that is not an oversight. The bench angle is basically the only thing separating these exercises from their flat-bench counterparts, so there is nothing here to multiply. Pick one pressing movement and maybe add a fly - the rest of the entries are variations of grip, tempo and equipment around the same pattern. ## How steep should the bench be? The descriptions in the atlas consistently say 45 degrees, and that is already fairly steep. The relationship runs both ways: the more vertical the backrest, the closer the movement is to an overhead press and the more the front delt takes over. The flatter it is, the more it is just a flat bench press and the less it changes anything at all. The useful setting sits somewhere in between, and exactly where depends on how your shoulder is built. The simplest feedback comes during the set itself: if you feel it mainly in the front of your shoulder, the backrest is probably too high. It also helps to accept up front that the weight will be lower than on the flat bench - that is the angle, not a step backwards. ## What if you don't have an adjustable bench? Then there is not much left and it is better to say so plainly. Almost every entry on this list assumes a bench with the back raised, including the band versions, which anchor underneath it. Without that piece of equipment the atlas has no way to load the upper chest specifically. The only push-ups in this set put your hands on a box. Raising your hands takes part of your bodyweight off your arms, so it is an easier version than push-ups from the floor - a good way into the pushing pattern, but not a replacement for incline pressing. If you have a bench but no rack, dumbbells are the smarter pick over a barbell. You get into position with them on your own, and when a rep fails you set them down to the sides. There is no way out from under a barbell with no rack. ## Common mistakes - **Bench set too steep** - The more vertical the bench, the closer the movement gets to an overhead press, and the bigger the share of the work the front delt takes over. If you feel the set mostly in the front of your shoulder instead of under your collarbone, drop the backrest one notch. - **Using your flat bench weight** - You will usually press less on an incline and that is normal. Weight carried straight over from the flat bench usually ends in a cut-short descent or in your hips driving the bar up. - **Hips coming off the bench** - The descriptions keep repeating it: keep your back pressed into the backrest. When your hips lift off, your torso straightens out in mid-air and the incline you just set stops meaning anything. ## By equipment - [Bench](https://hi.fitness/exercises/muscles/upper-chest/bench) - 17 exercises - [Dumbbell](https://hi.fitness/exercises/muscles/upper-chest/dumbbell) - 9 exercises - [Resistance band](https://hi.fitness/exercises/muscles/upper-chest/resistance-band) - 5 exercises - [Barbell](https://hi.fitness/exercises/muscles/upper-chest/barbell) - 2 exercises - [Cable](https://hi.fitness/exercises/muscles/upper-chest/cable) - 1 exercises - [Machine](https://hi.fitness/exercises/muscles/upper-chest/machine) - 1 exercises - [Other](https://hi.fitness/exercises/muscles/upper-chest/other) - 1 exercises - [Smith machine](https://hi.fitness/exercises/muscles/upper-chest/smith-machine) - 1 exercises - [Stability ball](https://hi.fitness/exercises/muscles/upper-chest/stability-ball) - 1 exercises - [Weight plate](https://hi.fitness/exercises/muscles/upper-chest/weight-plate) - 1 exercises ## All Upper chest exercises - [Barbell Incline Bench Press](https://hi.fitness/exercises/barbell-incline-bench-press) - Upper chest · Barbell - [Dumbbell Incline Bench Press](https://hi.fitness/exercises/dumbbell-incline-bench-press) - Upper chest · Dumbbell - [Decline Push Up](https://hi.fitness/exercises/decline-push-up) - Upper chest · Other - [Dumbbell Incline Fly](https://hi.fitness/exercises/dumbbell-incline-fly) - Upper chest · Dumbbell - [Machine Chest Press Incline](https://hi.fitness/exercises/machine-chest-press-incline) - Upper chest · Machine - [Smith Machine Press Incline](https://hi.fitness/exercises/smith-machine-press-incline) - Upper chest · Smith machine - [Incline Bench Cable Fly](https://hi.fitness/exercises/incline-bench-cable-fly) - Upper chest · Cable - [Dumbbell Incline Squeeze Press](https://hi.fitness/exercises/dumbbell-incline-squeeze-press) - Upper chest · Dumbbell - [Barbell Pause Incline Bench Press](https://hi.fitness/exercises/barbell-pause-incline-bench-press) - Upper chest · Barbell - [Dumbbell Incline One Arm Press](https://hi.fitness/exercises/dumbbell-incline-one-arm-press) - Upper chest · Dumbbell - [Dumbbell Incline Alternate Press](https://hi.fitness/exercises/dumbbell-incline-alternate-press) - Upper chest · Dumbbell - [Band Incline Bench Press](https://hi.fitness/exercises/band-incline-bench-press) - Upper chest · Resistance band - [Svend Press Incline Bench](https://hi.fitness/exercises/svend-press-incline-bench) - Upper chest · Weight plate - [Dumbbell Incline Palms Back Press](https://hi.fitness/exercises/dumbbell-incline-palms-back-press) - Upper chest · Dumbbell - [Chest Press Low to High Resistance Band](https://hi.fitness/exercises/chest-press-low-to-high-resistance-band) - Upper chest · Resistance band - [Band Incline Fly](https://hi.fitness/exercises/band-incline-fly) - Upper chest · Resistance band - [Band Incline Hammer Press](https://hi.fitness/exercises/band-incline-hammer-press) - Upper chest · Resistance band - [Band Incline Palms Back Press](https://hi.fitness/exercises/band-incline-palms-back-press) - Upper chest · Resistance band - [Dumbbell Incline Twisted Fly](https://hi.fitness/exercises/dumbbell-incline-twisted-fly) - Upper chest · Dumbbell - [Dumbbell Incline Svend Close Grip Press](https://hi.fitness/exercises/dumbbell-incline-svend-close-grip-press) - Upper chest · Dumbbell - [Dumbbell Incline Fly on Exercise Ball](https://hi.fitness/exercises/dumbbell-incline-fly-on-exercise-ball) - Upper chest · Dumbbell