11 Best Compound, Isolation, and Bodyweight Chest Exercises

A broad and chiseled chest can enhance your physique’s aesthetics and make you look masculine and strong. For this reason, pecs are usually among the top three favorite muscle groups to train for most bodybuilders. 

Building a broad and thick chest is easier said than done. You need a balance of compound, isolation, and bodyweight exercises in your training regimen to get the best bang for your buck. 

No two exercises hit the muscle the same way, so it is important to include a variety of pectoral movements in your training regimen to ensure optimal stimulation. As a personal trainer with over seven years in the industry, I’ve helped numerous people build a Superman-like chest. 

In this article, I share the 11 exercises to help you transform your physique. Bookmark this page and return to it whenever you enter the weight room to destroy your pecs. 

Related: Bad Chest Genetics and How To Build a Barrel Chest

11 Best Compound, Isolation, and Bodyweight Chest Exercises 

Below are 11 of the best pectoral exercises to build muscle size and strength. Plus, each exercise carries a few pro tips to maximize muscle fiber recruitment and engagement and is linked to its dedicated guide page. Feel free to check them out to delve deeper into a particular movement. 

1. Barbell Bench Press
2. Dumbbell Bench Press
3. Machine Chest Press
4. Guillotine Press
5. Dumbbell Fly
6. Incline Dumbbell Fly
7. Pec Deck Fly
8. Cable Crossover
9. Push-Up
10. Dips
11. Double Bar Roll-Out Chest Fly

4 Best Compound Chest Exercises

Compound chest exercises work multiple muscles simultaneously. These movements can help build a solid foundation, size, and strength.

Most people like to perform these exercises at the beginning of a workout — before fatigue sets in. Here are some of the best compound chest movements that should be a part of your exercise arsenal:

1. Barbell Bench Press

Sets & Reps	3 x 6-8 (strength) or 3 x 8-12 (hypertrophy)
Equipment Needed	Barbell, Bench
Target Muscles	Pectoralis major, Anterior deltoids, Triceps

Coach Tips:

• Most people overlook their feet placement during the bench press. Your heels should be directly under the knees to optimize power generation.
• Maintain a slight arc in your back while performing the bench press. There should be a big enough gap between your lower back and the pad so that your hand could pass through it. 
• Grabbing the bar as hard as possible can help lift heavier. 
• Do not flare your elbows too wide as it can put unnecessary tension on your shoulder rotator cuffs. 
• Keep your shoulders pulled back to better target your pecs. 

Difficulty	Progression	Regression
Intermediate	Pause reps, use a closer grip	Dumbbell Bench Press, Machine Chest Press

Check out the complete barbell bench press guide here!

2. Dumbbell Bench Press

Sets & Reps	3 x 6-8 (strength) or 3 x 8-12 (hypertrophy)
Equipment Needed	Dumbbells, Bench
Target Muscles	Pectoralis major, Anterior deltoids, Triceps

Coach Tips:

• Flaring out your elbows can put unnecessary tension on your shoulder rotator cuffs. 
• The dumbbells should be at your chest level at the bottom of the movement. 
• Rotating your wrists slightly inwards will reduce the tension on your shoulders and wrists. 

Difficulty	Progression	Regression
Beginner	Single-arm Dumbbell Bench Press	Machine Chest Press, Push-Up

Check out the complete dumbbell bench press guide here!

3. Machine Chest Press

Sets & Reps	3 x 8-12 (hypertrophy) or 3 x 12-15 (endurance)
Equipment Needed	Chest Press Machine
Target Muscles	Pectoralis major, Anterior deltoids, Triceps

Coach Tips:

• Due to the use of a machine, many people mistake this exercise for an isolation exercise. 
• The machine chest press primarily targets your pecs but also works your anterior delts and triceps. 
• Maintain constant tension on your pecs while performing this exercise by not locking out your elbows at the top. 
• Use a full range of motion (ROM) to maximize target muscle activation. 

Difficulty	Progression	Regression
Beginner	Superset with Pec Deck Flyes	Push-Up

Check out the complete machine chest press guide here!

4. Guillotine Press

Sets & Reps	3 x 6-8
Equipment Needed	Barbell, Bench
Target Muscles	Lower Pectoralis major, Triceps

Coach Tips:

• It is one of the more advanced exercises on this list. 
• The Guillotine press involves bringing the barbell towards your neck, making it inherently risky. Always have a spotter while you perform this exercise.
• This exercise works the entire chest with a focus on the upper pecs. 
• Use slow eccentrics to maximize the time under tension and promote hypertrophy. 

Difficulty	Progression	Regression
Advanced	Slower tempo	Dumbbell Bench Press, Close-grip Bench

Check out the complete Guillotine press guide here!

4 Best Isolation Chest Exercises

Isolation exercises are single-joint movements that target a specific muscle group. The best chest isolation exercises will help you achieve a nasty pump and improve muscle definition.

5. Dumbbell Fly

Sets & Reps	3 x 10-15
Equipment Needed	Dumbbells, Bench
Target Muscles	Pectoralis major (sternal head)

Coach Tips:

• Keep your elbows slightly bent throughout the exercise. However, try extending your arms at the top and bringing the front of your elbows as close as possible to each other. 
• Maintain a natural arc in your back while performing the exercise.
• For maximum inner chest stimulation, your elbows should be slightly below your torso at the bottom of the movement.

Difficulty	Progression	Regression
Beginner	Cable Flyes	Pec Deck Fly, Push-Up

Check out the complete dumbbell fly guide here!

6. Incline Dumbbell Fly

Sets & Reps	3 x 10-15
Equipment Needed	Dumbbells, Incline Bench
Target Muscles	Pectoralis major (clavicular head – upper chest)

Coach Tips:

• The upper pecs are a lagging muscle group for most people and are harder to isolate during the incline dumbbell fly. Keep the weight light and focus on contracting your muscles throughout the lift. 
• Set the incline between 40 and 60 degrees for best muscle fiber recruitment. 
• If you cannot feel a pump in your upper pecs, slow down the eccentric part of the lift. 

Difficulty	Progression	Regression
Beginner	Incline Cable Flyes	Incline Dumbbell Press

Check out the complete incline dumbbell fly guide here!

7. Pec Deck Fly

Sets & Reps	3 x 10-15
Equipment Needed	Pec Deck Machine
Target Muscles	Pectoralis major (sternal head)

Coach Tips:

• The pec deck fly is a staple isolation movement in most chest training routines.
• It helps focus on your chest without having you worry about balancing the weight. 
• You could also use the butterfly machine if you do not have access to the pec deck fly machine.

Difficulty	Progression	Regression
Beginner	Increase weight	Dumbbell Fly, Cable Fly

Check out the complete pec deck fly guide here!

8. Cable Crossover

Sets & Reps	3 x 10-15
Equipment Needed	Cable Machine with High Pulleys
Target Muscles	Pectoralis major (sternal head)

Coach Tips:

• The cable crossover is one of the exercises that most people love to perform, but only a few do it correctly. 
• At the contraction point, your wrists should be stacked on top of each other. 
• To target your middle chest, adjust the pulleys so they are at your chest height. 
• You could also perform the incline and decline variations of the cable crossover with a bench. 

Difficulty	Progression	Regression
Beginner	Pec Deck Fly	Dumbbell Fly, Cable Fly

Check out the complete cable crossover guide here!

3 Best Bodyweight Chest Exercises

Although resistance exercises might be a hit amongst gym-goers, they aren’t absolutely necessary for building chiseled pecs. The following bodyweight exercises can help you build a shapely chest:

9. Push-Up

Sets & Reps	3 x Max Reps (to near failure)
Equipment Needed	None
Target Muscles	Pectoralis major, Anterior deltoids, Triceps

Coach Tips:

• Make sure your body is in a straight line throughout the exercise. Letting your hips slump or forming a bridge can take tension off your pecs.
• Controlling your rep tempo by slowing down the eccentric part of the lift can put more tension on your chest.
• Pause and contract your pecs at the top of every rep. 

Push-ups are arguably the most effective bodyweight chest exercises. There are several push-up variations that you can do to add variety to your workouts and make them more exciting. 

Similarly, you could perform variations for most of the exercises in this article to avoid monotony. For instance, you could do an incline or decline bench press instead of the conventional flat barbell press.

Difficulty	Progression	Regression
Beginner	Incline Push-Up, Decline Push-Up, Diamond Push-Up, Clapping Push-Up	Wall Push-Up, Knee Push-Up, Band-assisted Push-Up

Check out the complete push-up guide here!

10. Dips

Sets & Reps	3 x 6-8 (strength) or 3 x 8-12 (hypertrophy)
Equipment Needed	Dip Bars or Parallel Bars
Target Muscles	Pectoralis major (sternal head), Triceps

Coach Tips:

• While performing dips on parallel bars, flare your elbows to focus on your chest and bend forward slightly.
• Furthermore, your upper arms should at least be parallel to the floor at the bottom of your ROM. 
• You could also perform this exercise on a flat bench but make sure you don’t lock out your elbows at the top. Doing so will primarily target your triceps.

Difficulty	Progression	Regression
Intermediate	Weighted Dips	Bench Dip, Band-assisted Dips

Check out the chest dips vs. triceps dips

11. Double Bar Roll-Out Chest Fly

Sets & Reps	3 x 10-15
Equipment Needed	Ab Wheel or Double Bar Ab Wheel Attachment
Target Muscles	Pectoralis major, Serratus anterior, Core

Coach Tips:

• Place the non-working ends of the barbell in a corner to ensure they stay together. 
• Grab the barbells a few inches below the collars so your shoulders do not touch the weight plates at the bottom of the push-up. 
• Ensure you maintain your body in a straight line throughout the exercise. Avoid dipping your hips, as it takes away tension from the pecs and transfers it to the shoulders.
• Pause and contract your pecs at the top and bottom.

Difficulty	Progression	Regression
Intermediate	Increase range of motion, Weighted Ab Wheel Roll-Outs	Dumbbell Flyes

Check out the complete barbell roll-out chest fly guide here!

Best Balanced Chest Workout

Perform this workout once or twice weekly for the best results:

Exercise	Sets	Reps	Rest (minutes)
Barbell Bench Press	3	6-8	1-2
Incline Dumbbell Fly	3	10-12	1
Dips	3	To near failure	1-2
Cable Crossover	3	12-15	1
Push-Ups	3	To near failure	1-2

Chest Exercise Programming Tips

Following a vanilla chest training routines is one of the biggest reasons why most people are never successful in building a barrel chest. 

Although compound exercises help build size and strength and isolation exercises help improve conditioning and balance, you shouldn’t overly rely on either. 

An ideal chest workout should maintain a balance between compound and isolation exercises. For example, you could perform three compound and two isolation in the first week and two compound and three isolation in the next. 

Furthermore, you could perform a bodyweight chest exercise at the beginning of a workout to warm up your pecs and joints and one at the end to finish the session with a pec-ripping pump. 

Lastly, alternate between starting your chest workouts with compound and isolation exercises to ensure your body doesn’t get used to your training style. 

Wrapping Up

Use the workout listed in this article for at least 12 weeks and you’ll be on your way to build your dream physique. 

This exercise wiki gives you 11 chest training ideas that you can mix and match into hundreds, if not thousands, of combinations. Try all these exercises and find out which works best for you. Cycle through these exercises regularly so you never hit a plateau. Best of luck!

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