The Upper region of the chest is by far the hardest area of the chest to build. The Middle and Lower chest are somewhat ‘easier’ to develop, due to being involved in more exercises – such as a Flat Bench Press or a Decline Press. You are more likely to be stronger in these exercises, due to the majority of the Chest muscle fibres being oriented in this direction.
There are much less muscle fibres of the Chest inserting into the Clavicle. Whilst these muscle fibres are also involved in humerus adduction, it is the angle at which the humerus is brought across the body that targets the Upper Chest.
Having a well-developed Upper chest not only contributes to the ‘fullness’ of the upper body, it also has functional benefits. Sufficient size and strength will contribute to greater strength in the Barbell Bench Press and Barbell Overhead Press.
Warming up
The ideal goal is to build a bigger chest, but picking up a pair of weights without preparing your muscles for a vigorous Chest workout just won't deliver the results you're imagining will instantly happen.
Try a short warm-up routine:
- 1 x wide-grip flat push-ups
- 1 x neutral grip pushups
- (If possible) 1 x decline push ups to hit your chest from all angles:
