An Evidence-based Approach to Training the Chest

“How much do you bench?” is a cliché for a reason, as you’ll see below. Strong chest muscles are essential to a wide variety of everyday activities and sports-related movements, from pushing a lawnmower or shopping cart to throwing a baseball and making a block on the offensive line. Additionally, strength training the chest muscles may protect the shoulder from injury by optimizing stability of the shoulder joint and improving muscular coordination of the upper limbs.

Back in 2012, an ACE-sponsored study sought to find the most effective exercises for strengthening and toning the chest muscles. The researchers chose nine of the most commonly used resistance-training exercises for the chest. To find how effectively each exercise targeted the chest, researchers placed electromyography (EMG) electrodes on the pectoralis major muscles of each participant and had them perform the following exercises in random order:

Anatomy of the Chest Muscles

What they found was that the barbell bench press elicited the most muscle activation, making it the gold standard for chest exercises. The researchers then compared all the other exercises to the barbell bench press, which they assigned a score of 100. The pec deck machine scored a 98 and the bent-forward cable crossover scored a 93 (meaning those two exercises were 98% and 93% as effective, respectively). All other exercises fell below the 80% threshold.

Expert Advice

If your clients are worried about time-efficiency—and who isn’t?—then those three exercises are their best options. That said, exercise selection isn’t always about maximizing results in the least amount of time. Sometimes, clients need variety to stay interested or simply desire to change things up and learn new movements.

With that in mind, we reached out to two experienced ACE Certified Pros to help us add some variety to our program. Here’s what they had to say:

Cindy Sullivan, ACE Certified Personal Trainer, Group Fitness Instructor and Health Coach, says that two of her favorite chest exercises, particularly for midlife and senior clients, are the incline push-up and the standing chest press with resistance bands.

The incline push-up, she says, is “perfect for beginner to intermediate clients who want to build upper–body and core strength but aren’t comfortable getting on the floor. It’s also ideal for clients working on posture, shoulder stability, or preparing for more challenging movements.” To make this exercise easier, clients can use a higher surface like a wall or kitchen counter to decrease the angle and reduce resistance. To make it more difficult, lower the incline or add a pause at the bottom of the movement for more control and time under tension.

The standing chest press with resistance bands is especially helpful for clients who have limited mobility or are working out at home with minimal equipment. To make this exercise easier, use a lighter resistance band or perform the movement with one arm at a time to reduce the coordination challenge. To make it harder, step farther away from the anchor point or add a staggered stance to engage the core and challenge balance.

Greg Coleman, ACE Certified Personal Trainer, recommends the dumbbell bench press and incline dumbbell bench press for all clients, but especially those who are looking to improve their general fitness.

“The dumbbell bench press,” Coleman explains, “is representative of one of the functional movement patterns (horizontal push) and allows you to train both sides of the body with the same amount of weight. This will help to address and correct any imbalances you have in the chest.” He goes on to explain that getting better at the bench press will benefit clients not only while they’re in the gym but also when performing activities of daily living.

The incline dumbbell bench press works the upper part of the chest and also helps to address imbalances.

“Using lighter dumbbells or adjusting the angle on the bench are two modifications that could help make these exercises easier to perform,” says Coleman. If a client has shoulder issues, floor presses are a great alternative to the dumbbell bench press that allows them to target the chest while protecting the shoulders.

Final Thoughts

According to the ACE-sponsored research, the barbell bench press, pec deck machine and bent-forward cable crossover exercises can be used somewhat interchangeably in a workout targeting the muscles of the chest. Those three exercises can be mainstays in your exercise programming, but consider adding our expert recommendations to your repertoire. Check out these links to learn how to perform each movement or share them with your clients:

	Corrective Exercise (worth 2.5 ACE CECs): As an ACE Corrective Exercise Specialist, you will design programs for clients affected by chronic conditions or injuries, empowering them to regain daily function and move with confidence.
	Pain-Free Movement (worth 1.2 ACE CECs): As a Pain-Free Movement Specialist, you will better understand how pain affects movement and how to create new strategies to help people move without pain.