Add these chest exercises to your weekly routine to tone and tighten your upper body!
Alright ladies, it’s time to lift those ta tas! Haha 😂 No, but seriously. Today I’m taking you through the 10 best chest exercises for women, so you can incorporate them into your gym routine and strengthen your upper body! By targeting muscles in your chest, you also work your back and shoulders, and who doesn’t want a sexy upper body just in time for summer?!
Try incorporating a few of these lifts into your routine each week and I promise you’ll notice a difference!
Hey gang! Alright we are on muscle group #3 – Chest! I know a lot of ladies probably don’t worry about or focus on strengthening their chest muscles, but it’s actually considered one of the core muscle groups (along with legs and back, which luckily for you I already have a guide on!)
Here’s why incorporating chest lifts is important for women:
- It helps with functional strength, particularly with the pushing motion, which is used in everyday life (mom’s this one’s for you!)
- It adds definition to your upper body. Chest lifts tap into many different muscle groups, so you really get a full body workout (minus the legs!)
So, let’s get down to it!
I lift chest once a week (on Saturdays usually 😊), but also perform chest exercises in my HIIT and Tabata workouts throughout the week too.
You can incorporate these moves into your workout routine as many times as you like, just leave a day or two in between to give your muscles time to recover. And even more importantly, remember to lift heavy weights. The exercises should be challenging, if it’s not, then you won’t see the results you’re looking for!
I generally only do 3 – 4 lifts on chest day, but mix it up every week. Pick a few exercises each week and I promise that upper body will be looking fine 😉
10 Best Chest Exercises for Women
Pick 3 – 4 chest exercises to incorporate into your workout routine, performing 3 sets of 10 reps each.
Bench Press 💪🏼
Bench press is the only lift I do every week and I always start with it because it’s the biggest lift. I start with just the bar and then add weight in 5 pound increments until I max out.
Reps: 8 – 10
Sets: 5 – 6
Form: Lay your back on the bench and place your feet on the ground or bench (depending on your height and what feels comfortable to you). Place your hands slightly wider than shoulder width apart and grip the bar. Lift the bar so its over your chest (not your neck) and slowly lower the bar down toward your chest, bringing elbows wide and squeezing your shoulder blades together. Stop lowering the bar when it gets about an inch from your chest. Squeeze your chest to lift the bar.
Incline Dumbbell Press
Reps: 8 – 10
Sets: 3 (I use the same weight for all 3 sets)
Form: sitting in an incline bench, lift dumbbells to chest/shoulder height with palms facing out. Press dumbbells straight up over chest and then slowly lower arms so elbows come out and arms create a 90 degree angle at the bottom. Squeeze chest to lift dumbbells back up.
Machine Fly
Reps: 8 – 10
Sets: 3 (use the same weight for all 3 sets)
Form: Place adjustable bars around the 5 – 6 slot. Sit with your arms slightly bent holding the bars, palms facing out. Keeping arms mostly straight, squeeze the chest and bring arms out and around until knuckles almost touch at the center. Slowly bring arms back to starting position by squeezing shoulder blades together
Cable Press
Reps: 8 – 10 reps
Sets: 3 (I use the same weight for all 3 sets)
Form: Sit and hold handles, bringing hands next to chest. With the ropes over your hands, press your arms forward and squeeze your chest. Bring arms back to chest with elbows wide.
Cable Fly
Reps: 8 – 10 reps
Sets: 3 (I use the same weight for all 3 sets)
Form: Sit and hold handles, bringing hands so palms face out and arms are mostly straight. Pull arms together by squeezing chest. Keeping arms staright bring back to starting position.
Seated Machine Press
Reps: 8 – 10 reps
Sets: 3 (I add 5 lbs each set)
Form: Sit and hold handles with knuckles facing out. Squeeze chest and press arms out straight. Bring elbows wide and draw arms back in in.
Lying Dumbbell Fly
Reps: 8 – 10 reps
Sets: 3 (I use the same weight for all 3 sets)
Form: Lay on bench and bring dumbbells over chest with palms facing. With arms straight (slight bend in the elbows) bring arms out wide until they are at chest height. Squeeze chest and lift dumbbells back over chest (like a big bear hug :))
Lying Dumbbell Together Presses
Reps: 8 – 10 reps
Sets: 3 (I use the same weight for all 3 sets)
Form: Lay on bench and bring dumbbells together over chest. Keeping dumbbells together, slowly lower them down to your chest and bringing elbows wide. Press dumbbells up by squeezing chest.
Decline Pushup
Reps: 8 – 10 reps
Sets: 3 (I use the same weight for all 3 sets)
Form: Place feet on bench or elevated surface and get into pushup position – hands slightly wider than shoulders and core tight. Lower upper body toward ground by bending elbows and squeezing shoulder blades together. Once chest gets down to elbow height, press body back up by squeezing the chest.
Standing Decline Cable Fly
Reps: 8 – 10 reps
Sets: 3 (I use the same weight for all 3 sets)
Form: Standing, grab the handles and straighten your arms. Squeeze your chest and lift arm across your body, slowly lower back to starting position and repeat with the other.
If you’re looking for strength-based exercises, but not ready to hit the weight room, here are a few other chest workouts you might like!
10-Minute Thigh and Tri Workout
10-Minute Butt & Gut Workout
Banded Upper Body Burnout
