When it comes to sculpting the upper chest, bodybuilder Erin Stern has the golden ticket. She recently walked her audience through three of her top chest-lifting exercises that require only a bench and a set of dumbbells.
“Now, when we are looking at the anatomy of the pectoral muscles, typically when you want to lift something, you want to build the upper part. So, we are going to focus primarily on lifting the upper pectorals. This is going to give the appearance of a lifted chest because we’re adding volume specifically to this area.”
In a world saturated with fitness influencers, Erin Stern is a throwback athlete whose knowledge is grounded in experience competing at a high level. As an IFBB Pro, Stern managed to win the sport’s most prestigious title at the Figure Olympia twice — first in 2010, and then again in 2012.
Although she has found success in the Bikini category, Stern has a passion for inspiring others with training advice. Whether aiming for rounder glutes or a superhero X-frame, she breaks down exercises so her fans can easily apply what they learn. The chest certainly ties a physique together, and Stern explains how you can improve the body part with three movements.
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“You’re going to help to tie the whole physique in together because many of us don’t train chest and it becomes apparent when you have these beautifully developed shoulders and nothing here. It can kind of look disjointed.”
Elevate Your Workout With Erin Stern’s Top 3 ‘Chest-Lifting’ Exercises
Find Stern’s three exercises below:
- High incline pause-rep bench press
- Seated squeeze press
- Incline flies with a wrist twist
Exercise #1 – High incline pause-rep bench press
Erin Stern offered setup tips and urged new lifters to start this exercise with light weight.
“Now, we’re going high on this incline because the goal again is to train the upper chest. So, you’re looking for between a 65 and 75 percent incline, a little bit higher than your normal incline. What this is going to do is it’s going to help hit the muscles on the upper chest.”
“You’re going to get into proper pressing position, and if you’ve never done this exercise before, I recommend going super light or even using body weight and keeping tension on the muscles. You’re going to lie back on to the bench, making sure your feet are flat on the floor and that your back is flat on the bench.”
As for execution, Stern says to place the elbows underneath the dumbbells and to think about creating a triangle as you press.
“You’ll place your elbows underneath the dumbbells so you have a proper pressing position and think about kind of creating a triangle as you press.
So, you’re going to do press upwards and inwards just slightly. Then, you’re going to do slowly lower that weight, and the best part here is you’re going to give a pause mid-rep.”
Exercise #2 – Seated squeeze press
Stern gave guidance on how to interlock your fingers with the dumbbell, emphasizing that the starting position is right below the clavicle.
“For this exercise, you’re going to use a single dumbbell and you are going to use interlocking fingers on this. So you’re going to go ahead and lock your fingers around the dumbbell. You’re using a half bench here or if you got an adjustable bench, you want to go ahead and adjust it to where the back of the seat is just about perpendicular to the floor.”
She also underscored the importance of the feet being firmly on the floor.
“Make sure your feet are firmly on the floor,” adds Stern. “You’re going to start with that dumbbell right at about that chest position just below the clavicle and I want you to focus on squeezing your elbows together and press that dumbbell upwards and outwards at the same time.”
Exercise #3 – Incline flies with a wrist twist
With the bench adjusted to an incline position (roughly 65-65 degrees), Stern demonstrates how to extend the dumbbells upward while keeping the elbows ‘nice and soft.’
“Now, if you’re used to doing incline flies, you’ll know this really hits the upper chest but adding the wrist twist is that icing on the cake. It’s going to further hit the upper chest so you’re going to go ahead and make sure that your bench is in an incline position, right around that 65 to 75 degrees and you’re going to extend those dumbbells upwards and then kind of think about keeping your elbows nice and soft.”
Flexibility could determine your range of motion in this exercise.
“How low you go depends on your flexibility but you want to make sure you get a nice stretch here. As you bring the dumbbells back up, a soft bend in the elbow. I want you to kind of think about hugging a barrel. You want to make a semi-circle range of motion here.”
To properly perform incline flies with a wrist twist, Stern says your pinky fingers should almost touch toward the top of the rep.
“Think about rotating your hands towards your face and pinkies should almost touch and you want the edges or the ends of the dumbbells to almost touch at the top,” explains Stern.
Making physical progress and transforming physiques is what Erin Stern lives for. She recently offered her nutrition and training principles that have helped tone her body. While she says this process can take time, she believes enhanced muscle definition can be achieved with determination, exercise, and making healthier dieting choices.
If you’re after a more impressive upper shelf, Erin Stern’s chest-lifting exercise might suit you. Feel free to give these three movements a try during your next workout.
RELATED: Erin Stern Discusses How Heavy You Should Lift In Order To See Results
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