The Best and Worst Chest Exercises

What are the best chest exercises for building strength and muscle? I’m Bill. I am a private personal trainer in Atlanta and I am going to help you out. You no longer have to watch YouTube videos, doom scroll on Tiktok, or listen to old dudes at the gym. I know I know. No need to thank me. I do this because I want to (google requires me to be active on here). Please note that this is a very subjective list. It is not perfect…at all. What works for me may not also work for you. 

Okay now that we have that covered, you may be wondering how am going to rank these chest exercises. Valid question and I’ll tell you. 

I have three factors. They are as follows: 

1. Effectiveness: how well the exercise builds strength and muscle hypertrophy 

2. Comfort: how easy it is to perform the exercise and set it up without discomfort or injury risk 

3. Progression: how easy it is to make steady progress by adding weight, reps, or intensity 

Alright then. Let’s hop into it with our S tier exercises. 

S-Tier chest exercises (please do these I beg of you) 

• Flat Bench Press 
• Flat Dumbbell Bench Press 
• Incline Bench Press 
• Incline Dumbbell Bench Press 
• Incline Smith Machine Bench Press 
• Flat Smith Machine Bench Press 
• Machine Chest Press (Plate Loaded)
• Cable Fly
• Seated Cable Fly

I Bill, with the power vested in me, crown these chest exercises as the best. Let’s talk about why. Overall, these exercises excel at my three criteria for a good chest movement. Now with that said, I’d like to discuss some high/lows of each and why I ultimately have given them my star of approval. 

Okay let me start off by saying that I believe dumbbell bench press to be an upgraded form of barbell bench press. Dumbbell bench allows for a deeper stretch of the pec muscles at the bottom of the movement (deep stretch = more gains). With barbell, you are limited by how far the bar can travel before it hits your rib cage. Ego lifting is also a contributing factor believe it or not. I find that people are more likely to ego lift using barbells than they are using dumbbells. Something about the bar makes dudes revert back to cavemen or so I’ve heard. Also, using dumbbells is going to be safer. If something happens, you can just drop the weights beside you. Another added bonus is not having to ask a stranger at the gym to spot you.  

You may then ask, “Why did you include barbell in S-tier?”. Well, this is a tricky question to answer. For a beginner/intermediate lifter, I probably wouldn’t. I’d just throw them down into A-tier. But here’s the thing, I am not a beginner lifter. Everyone knows I was the direct inspiration for characters such as Captain America…Goku…King Kong. I don’t know take your pick. Point is, I lift heavy. I don’t enjoy lugging around 100lb dumbbells. Getting into the pressing position is difficult, uncomfortable, and makes me wish I was doing barbell. Again, this is going to apply to more advanced lifters. A lot of you are not going to face this issue. Moving on. 

Another interesting discussion to be had here. Let me throw some science at you. We have data to indicate that incline bench will be better for the upper chest. “Duh.”- you probably. You may have known that but did you know that data also indicates that incline bench is AS GOOD as flat bench for the middle/lower portion of the chest? I don’t know maybe. This is good because most of you could use some upper booba development. So, does flat deserve to be in A-tier? 

If you answered yes, I would like a word with you. Flat bench is the OG of chest exercises. It’s makes you look like a complete badass. Incline just doesn’t give off those same giga chad vibes. My inner gym bro simply can’t let flat fall into A-tier. Remember, fitness is like a buffet – pick and choose what works for you. Some of you may find flat to be better for you. Don’t let me tell you what’s best for you. I don’t know you bros and broettes.  

I don’t know why, but for some reason, unbeknownst to me, the smith machine gets a lot of hate from the gym bros. Studies consistently show that using the smith machine is very effective at building muscle. More gains for me I guess. Another important concept to understand is that the data suggest that training muscles in the stretched position is going to be better than training them in the shortened position (most cases). This is why dumbbell bench is better for growth than barbell. You can go deeper into the movement at the bottom. With that said, let’s talk about lengthened partials. Lengthened partials are partial repetitions. The focus is on the part of the range of motion where the muscle is stretched. For barbell, unless you have a spotter, you will not be able to do lengthened partials. Well, I guess you could. But you’d inevitably drop the weight and be screwed until someone comes over to help your foolish looking self. I’ll sum it up by saying the smith machine is easier to push to failure than traditional barbell bench. One last thing to note is that there is less of a learning curve here. I can pretty much take anyone, throw them on a smith machine, and get them a killer pump. 

Ah my sweet, my sweet sweet machine chest press. How I adore you? I wish I had you all to myself forever and always…  

This is about as perfect as a chest exercise as chest exercises can get. What’s not to like? You can get a deep stretch. Like the smith machine, you don’t have to worry about the barbell/dumbbell path. The machine does it for you. This should give you a better mind/muscle connection. Aka better gains. Also, like the smith machine, it is safer to push to failure. 

So what gives? If the exercise is perfect, why isn’t it in a tier of its own? Well, these positives are assuming you have a good chest press machine. There are many different ones out there. And let me tell you, some are better than others. Like a lot better. I made the distinction here with “plate loaded” (vs cables) as I find these to be consistently better. Enough to split them up into two categories anyways. Again, not all are perfect. But if your gym does have a good one, congratulations on the gains my friend. 

There is definitely less overload potential with flys when compared to pressing movements, you’re likely going to benefit from pressing movements more. With that said, I have to still include flys in S-Tier. They feel amazing and I think it is important to include them as to make sure your entire pec is being cooked.  

Now, seated cable flys are superior. Let’s be clear. You are more stable and you will be able to go a lot heavier than when standing. The issue is that seated aren’t as convenient. Standing flys are quick to set up and you can just go. With seated, you have to find a bench, drag it over, and take 30 minutes trying to line it up properly. My time is valuable. Sometimes, (a lot of the times) I can’t be bothered. Now your gym may have a seated machine with cables. If so, great. I applaud you. Now take your cookie and move on.

A-Tier chest exercises (These Exercises are also Bill Approved) 

• Deficit Push Ups
• Dips
• Machine Flys (Pec Deck)

Ah yes, the A-tier. So close yet so far. If only every exercise could go into S-tier. Unfortunately, that is not the case. So what’s the deal with these? Remember my three criteria for ranking the exercises? Well the A-tier exercises are slightly lacking in one of the three. Let’s discuss. 

I want to put these in S-tier. I really do. And it pains me that I cannot. Deficit push ups are the upgraded form of regular pushups. The modification allows you to go deeper into the push up. Hence we are able to get a deeper stretch. As you may know by now that means more gains. So they get a check mark from Bill in the effectiveness department. This is especially true for beginners. Now the effectiveness begins to taper off as you become more advanced and get stronger. This is where the fall short. The deficit isn’t enough. You’ll have to bang out 20-30 of them before you begin to feel something.  

Progression is also an issue.  You can elevate your feet and turn them into decline push ups for some added difficulty. Besides that, maybe a weight vest. Something I’d say is far from convenient. Still, I love deficit push ups. I often use them as a finisher for myself and my clients. 

These are great too. I very much wanted to throw these in S-tier as well. The amount of stretch you can get in your pecs performing them is unmatched. They are also easy to progress in. Just grab a weight belt and start loading up. You can see what life is like for Bill everyday (if you know what I mean). Our issue lies in the comfort department. Now me, my shoulders are made of reinforced steel. Some of you though aren’t so lucky. It’s just the card you were dealt. Your shoulders may or may not be in contact with your body’s HR department following the completion of said dips.  

Again, dips may be great for you. But also again, dips may not be great for you. You’ll have to be the judge of that. 

I must admit that these being here is a bit of a personal choice. Many of you might include it in S-tier and have it being better than traditional cable flys. My issue with them is that the machine locks you into a specific range of motion. I often find them a bit awkward to perform. Sometimes not though. Honestly just depends on the day I guess. They are great for building the chest. You should definitely include them in your workouts from time to time.

B-Tier chest exercises (Eh)

• Push Ups
• Incline Push Ups
• Decline Push Ups
• Machine Chest Press (Cables)

Good grief I am getting tired of writing. Let’s try to wrap this up quickly so I can go to the gym. 

Okay I pretty much discussed the issues with traditional push ups already. To recap, you can’t go as deep into the movement as you can when you are doing deficit push ups. I don’t know. That sounds like grounds for being demoted down to B-tier to me. 

Again, I pretty much covered these earlier. They can be good. More often than not though, I find these cable chest press machines to not be the best (for me anyway). They are usually way more awkward than their plate loaded counter parts. Don’t ask me why. Every now and then you’ll find a good one. But don’t hold your breath. 

C-Tier chest exercises (Do I really have to talk about these?) 

• Banded Push Ups 
• Dumbbell Flys
• Incline Dumbbell Flys
• Decline Bench Press
• Guillotine Dumbbell Press
• Floor Press
• Dumbbell Floor Press

I mean, sure banded push ups. Do them if you must. All of the tension is going to be at the top of the push up when doing then banded. Remember we want max tension at the bottom (when the pecs are stretched). They do make regular push ups more difficult. So if you are hell bent on push ups, have at it. There are just way better options (see any exercise above). 

The only way to do these to any effect is by performing half reps (lengthened partials). Once you get past a certain part of the range of motion. Tension comes completely off the pecs. This is no bueno.  They are also a bit dangerous as it’s easy to go past your body’s range of motion while doing them. Again, why are you doing these when you have the other fly exercises mentioned above. Go do those. 

Effective at building the lower/middle portion of the chest. But guess what…so is regular bench press. I find these to be redundant. But that’s not why they are in C-tier. That can be chalked up to the fact that you have a big ass barbell directly over your neck. Queue the “off with her head” quote from Alice in Wonderland. I guess I will also touch base on the fact that decline…may… feel better on your shoulders. But again why? If you are having shoulder pain during bench, you should be trying to find the cause of the pain. I don’t advise throwing a band aid over it with decline. 

Okay so here’s the thing, from a muscle building standpoint, this exercise is S-tier. The pecs are going to get an insane level of stretch. I’ll link a video to THE Dr. Mike Israetel talking about it. 

 Guillotine Press 

Dr. Mike has a Ph. D. in Sport Physiology. Smart guy. Way smarter than ol Bill. Point is that you should probably listen to him. In the video, Dr. Mike isn’t exactly saying “Go do guillotine press.” He is advocating finding a grip width that is right for you. I’ll have to second that. Everyone is different. There is no one correct grip width for pressing.  

Now with that said, I do have to comment in and say I don’t particularly recommend just doing straight up guillotine press. Maybe having your elbows more flared out during bench press is more comfortable for you. If so, great. I just can’t recommend you go out of your way to do guillotine press.  

See that thing called the subacromial space? Well the more you flare your elbows, the more this space is going to begin to close. This in turn is going to leave less space for the rotator cuff tendons and bursa. They become compressed. This CAN (POSSIBLY MAYBE) result in inflammation or tendon generation. And this is going to happen over time (again maybe). The exercise might feel good at first, but over time, not so much. 

Now is this guaranteed to happen? Certainly not. It is going to vary from person to person. Just…why risk it you know?  

Actually, these aren’t bad exercises for all intents and purposes. They are incredibly niche though. Floor press is going to be for those looking to improve the lockout portion of their bench press. Are you a power lifter? If not, probably avoid this one. It is going to shift the focus away from the pecs and towards the triceps. And for that reason, they are C-tier.  

D-Tier chest exercises (What are we doing here?) 

• Guillotine Press (Barbell) 
• Decline Dumbbell Press 
• Pylometric Push Ups 
• Dumbbell PullOver 

Everything I mentioned above holds true here. It’s going in D-tier simply because of the safety issues. Like decline, you’re playing a dangerous game friend. Remember this formula… 

Barbell + Neck = No Bueno 

I literally can’t even do these. Good luck getting set up with any dumbbells heavier that 30lbs. Should consider itself lucky to not be thrown into the hell that is F-tier. 

This is going to be another one of those “why” things. If this was a list for calisthenics, I’d rank it differently. Unfortunately, it is not so down to D-tier it goes. 

Chest exercise? Back exercise? Does anyone actually know what this is for? I guess the right answer is that it can be for either. My issue lies in the fact that both muscle groups are being targeted. If I’m trying to work my chest, I don’t want to recruit my back. The same holds true for when I am working my back, I don’t want my chest to feel it. I don’t know. I never do them. If you like them, sure go for it. You just won’t see me doing them.  

F-Tier chest exercises (No) 

• Plate Press 
• Hex Press 
• Standing Dumbbell Fly 

Listen you, yeah you thinking about doing this exercise. Do me a favor. I don’t ask for much. Please…please….please do not do these. They are the pinnacle of social media brain rot. I don’t know who started them or who made them popular. I can only assume that they did them as a joke (I feel the same about Arnold Press). They hit the chest in about the worst way possible. And by that, I mean they pretty much don’t. During the movement, your elbows are tucked by your side. You know what that makes this? If you guessed “tricep movement”, well then you’d be correct. Not only that, but there is barely any stretch of the pecs at the bottom of the movement. Overload potential? What are you going to do once you get to a 45lb plate, add a 10lb plate with it? Yeah good luck friend. Hex press is just as bad. I can’t be bothered talking about these any more. Don’t do these for chest. Ever. 

Soooo yeeaaah… this isn’t a chest exercise. But I am still seeing people doing them trying to work their chest. Try as much as they like, it will never work their pecs. Not now not ever. No reality exists.  I would give a crash course on physics and how gravity works but I am really not in the mood. I’ll just leave it with you are working your shoulders. Stop it. 

CONCLUSION (Praise be the gym gods we’ve made it to the end) 

Alright readers, you have my list. Do with it what you will. Need a template on how to use it? Fine I will give you one. During your next chest day, just take 3 to 4 exercises from the S-tier. Take those exercises and do 3 to 4 sets of each. Your rep range is (most likely) going to fall between 6 to 12 reps. Last rep of each set should be impossible. Hell, let me just give you sample workout. 

Exercise 1: Incline Dumbbell Bench (3 sets x 6-12 reps) 

Exercise 2: Flat Machine Chest Press (3 sets x 6-12 reps) 

Exercise 3: Seated Cable Flys (3 sets x 6-12 reps) 

*Note the 6-12 rep range is synonymous with failure. Think of it as (3 sets x failure) 

Now, you future meat heads have what you need. Comment below if you have any questions. Now go away.

about this self proclaimed best midtown trainer

I am a certified personal trainer based in the heart of Midtown Atlanta. Keeping it simple, I like to get people in shape. It makes me happy and allows me to pay my bills. I am the least serious person you know and I promise I am easy to talk to. Oh yeah I also like anime and video games. If you want to get in to fitness, I’m probably your guy. Just send an email my way and I’ll get back to you.