7 Rare Upper Chest Exercises for Incredible Muscle Gains (Look Good Get Strong)

Try adding this effective and rare Upper Chest Exercises into your training.

If you want to achieve that ‘big chest’ look, you need to work on strengthening your upper pecs. Strengthening these muscles will help you achieve a healthier posture as well as improving overall strength and performance in other movements, such as pushing or pulling exercises.

The muscles that make up the upper chest are the clavicular pectoralis major (upper pec) and the sternal pectoralis major (lower pec).

The upper chest muscles are the clavicular pectoralis major (upper pec) and the sternal pectoralis major (lower pec). These muscles are responsible for rotating your upper arm inward. They also contribute to flexion of the shoulder joint, adduction of the upper arm and depression of your shoulders.

Source: Depositphotos / Obi Vincent

Working out these muscles can help you develop a strong, well-balanced physique by strengthening not only your chest but also other areas such as arms, back, shoulders and abs.

Strengthening your upper pecs will help you to get that ‘big chest’ look.

Strengthening your upper pecs will help you to get that ‘big chest’ look. You can do this with dumbbells, a barbell, or resistance bands. Do a variety of exercises to work the different parts of your chest.

When you’re trying to get a ‘big chest,’ it’s important to focus on strengthening your upper pecs. These muscles are very visible, and they will help you get that look that most people want when they think of working out or going to the gym.

Add these rare upper chest exercises from Gravity Transformation into your training.

1. Rare Upper Chest Exercises – Reverse grip bench press

This increases muscular activation of the upper head (clavicular head) and will help you to build the upper chest in a new way.

• Make sure that your hands shoulder width apart.
• Keep elbows close in to the body.
• Keep your thumbs around the barbell the whole time.
• Don’t lock out your elbows fully at the top.
• Go lighter than you would for your regular bench press

2. Rare Upper Chest Exercises – Cross-body incline chest press

You can perform this on a hammer press machine, or set up your bench next to the cable machine and go from there (see the video below).

This will mimic the same motion. The cable also keeps constant tension.

3. Rare Upper Chest Exercises – Standing Svend press

This is not a well know chest exercise but it is tremendously effective.

Add it to the end of your workout, after you have completed all the rest of your heavy pressing exercises.

4. Rare Upper Chest Exercises – Hex press/ Incline hex press

The Hex Press will hit your upper chest in a unique way. Adding an incline will further enhance the stimulus on that part of your body.

Squeeze them really tightly together.

5. Rare Upper Chest Exercises – Incline chest fly (With Cables)

Here the cables will maintain constant tension on the chest. Lying down on the incline bench will also make the exercise harder, and your gains better.

The line of resistance for the cables on the incline bench hits the upper chest much more effectively.

Try keeping your hands open on the way down for even better chest activation.

Squeeze at the top.

6. Fly variation

This is a floor exercise that only uses one cable. Work in one side at a time.

Watch the video below for the full description of the movement.

Make sure to move with an arc like motion.

7. Landmine chest press

For this version, rest the barbell on a box as well. This will allow you to load up a much heavier load and challenge your chest even further.

Clasp the bar with a prayer like grip.

Make sure to lower slowly and squeeze as hard as you can.

Video Timestamps

1. Reverse grip bench press 1:04

2. Cross-body incline chest press 2:46

3. Standing Svend press 3:57

4. Hex press/ Inclined hex press 4:59

5. Inclined chest fly (With cables) 5:45

6. Fly variation 7:08

7. Landmine chest press 7:56

Video – Rare Upper Chest Exercises

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