Do you want to achieve a more balanced and defined chest? Look no further than the power of inner chest exercises.
The greatest technique for strengthening your inner chest is to do exercises that encourage you to move your arms towards your chests’ midline.
In this blog, we’ll blog we will discuss the following topics:
- Know muscle inner chest muscle
- How To train your inner chest?
- Benefits of doing it
- How to do it, and pro-tips.
- Common mistakes to be avoided.
Know Muscle Inner Chest Muscles (Anatomy)
The muscles of the chest consist of the pectoralis major and the pectoralis minor.
The chest muscles, or pectoral muscles, are divided into two main parts:
The pectoralis major itself comprises two heads: the upper head (or clavicular) and lower head (or sternal) portions.
- The clavicular head, which originates from the collarbone (clavicle)
- The sternal head, which originates from the breastbone (sternum) and the upper six costal cartilages.
- The inner chest muscles are mainly comprised of the sternal fibers of the pectoralis major muscle.
The pectoralis minor is the triangle-shaped muscle located under the pectoralis major, a layer deeper, and draws the shoulder blades down and forward.
So, to really hit the inner part of your pecs, you need to perform exercises where the arms don’t just extend out in front of you, but where they come together (or even cross) the midline of the body.
How To Build Inner Chest?
The inner chest can be a stubborn area to build, since it has bigger and stronger fibers that require a lot more work to grow.
A well-developed inner chest makes the chest look bigger and more complete, showing that you are a serious lifter who has worked hard at the gym.
There are ways to target the inner pec fibers, but it is not possible to separate one part of a muscle.
1. Focus on mind-muscle connection
Mind-muscle connection refers to the ability to mentally focus on the muscles you’re working during an exercise.
This technique can help you isolate and activate your inner chest muscles more effectively.
Focus on feeling the contraction in your inner chest muscles during each repetition.
2. Focus on exercises that target the inner chest
To train your inner chest, you need to focus on exercises that emphasize this area.
Examples of such exercises include dumbbell flyes, dumbbell pullovers, cable crossovers, close-grip bench press, and push-ups with hands close together.
3. Use different rep ranges
Add different rep ranges into your workouts can help you target different muscle fibers and promote muscle growth.
Try doing both low-rep sets (4-8 reps) and high-rep sets (15-20 reps) into your chest workouts.
4. Add Variations
To train the chest from different angles, try using different types of equipment, such as a dumbbell, barbell, or plates, for performing exercises.
10 Best Inner Chest Exercises To Build Strong Chest
Now let’s explore the best inner chest exercises for strengthening your chest and improving posture using various types of fitness equipment, as well as some bodyweight workouts that you can do at home.
We have created the Inner pec workout with many sections such as:
- Bodyweight Inner chest exercises at Home (No Equipments).
- Inner chest exercises with Dumbbells.
- Barbell & Machine Inner chest Exercises
- Inner Pec Exercises with cables.
Here is the list of the 10 best exercises that focus more on the inner chest and helps to build a well-developed chest.
Bodyweight Inner Chest Exercises At Home
Use can simply and effectively train your inner pec muscle by using these bodyweight chest exercises at home.
There are many other benefits of training at home, such as:
- No gym members required,
- Provide more flexibility as you can train as per your schedule,
- Required limited space.
1. Narrow Grip Push-Ups
Narrow grip push-ups are the best bodyweight workout for building your entire upper body, including shoulders, chest, and triceps.
Close grip push ups focus on building the inner part of your chest. Take a narrower push-ups stance than you normally do.
Narrow grip push-ups can be challenging, so it’s important to start with a modified version (knee push ups) if needed.
How To Do Narrow Grip Push-Ups
- Begin in a plank position with your hands directly under your shoulders and your feet hip-width apart.
- Move your hands closer together so that they are directly under your chest, with your fingers pointing forward.
- Lower your body towards the ground, keeping your elbows close to your sides.
- Pause at the bottom of the movement, then push back up to the starting position, focusing on contracting your inner chest muscles.
- Repeat for the desired number of reps.
Tips
- Exhale while you exert.
- Keep flexing the inner pecs as you lower down and then return
Read More: Best Push Ups For Inner Chest To Build Size And Strength
Dumbbell Inner Chest Exercises
There are many advantages of doing inner chest dumbbell exercises, such as:
- Dumbbells require more balance than barbells or machines that can lead to greater muscle fiber recruitment.
- It allows unilateral training and improves muscular imbalances.
- Dumbbell affords a greater level of variety, which prevents physical and mental burnout.
- It allows for a greater range of movement (ROM).
2. Dumbbell Squeeze Press
If you’re looking for a straightforward inner chest dumbbell exercise to add to your routine, dumbbells squeeze press is a great staple workout to get you started.
It is one of the most effective dumbbell chest pressing exercises which target the inner chest.
During the squeeze press, the dumbbells are kept in contact with each other at all times, and you’re actively squeezing them inward (against each other) as hard as possible.
How To Do Dumbbell Squeeze Press
- Take the dumbbells in each of your hands, and lay down on the bench.
- Place the dumbbells together side by side, and lift them up over your chest.
- You’ll want to maintain a lot of tension in the inner chest.
- Lower them down together, touch the chest, and then push the dumbbells back up.
- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Tips
- Breathe out on the way up.
- Maintain more tension through the pecs by not locking out the elbows entirely.
3. Dumbbell fly
The dumbbell fly utilizes a chest fly movement pattern to isolate the muscles of the chest, help the muscles to grow better and become stronger.
The dumbbell fly takes advantage of arm rotation to really target all areas of the pecs, but most significantly the inner chest.
It is often thought of as a classic bodybuilding movement, as the goal of the exercise is to isolate the chest for aesthetic purposes.
Try other variation of chest fly to train inner chest muscles:
How To Do Dumbbell fly
- Lie on the flat bench with your feet flat on the floor.
- Lift your arms straight up from your shoulders and the dumbbells directly over your upper chest.
- Slowly lower your arms out to your sides until your wrists come to about shoulder level or slightly above.
- Bring your arms back toward the center line of your body, focusing on using your pec muscles to draw them back together.
Tips
- Perform press in a controlled manner.
- Keeping the tension on the inner chest during every single rep.
4. Dumbbell Pullover
The dumbbell pullover is an exercise that targets the upper body, including the inner chest muscles, lats, triceps, and shoulders
When performing the dumbbell pullover, it’s important to use a weight that allows you to maintain proper form and control
How To Do Dumbbell Pullover
- Lie flat on a bench with your upper back supported.
- Your feet should be flat on the floor, and your knees bent at a 90-degree angle.
- Hold a dumbbell with both hands, and extend your arms straight above your chest.
- Slowly lower the dumbbell behind your head.
- Pause when the dumbbell is parallel to the bench.
- Slowly lift the dumbbell back up to the starting position and focusing on contracting your inner chest muscles.
- Repeat for the desired number of reps.
Tips
- Keep your arms straight and maintain a slight bend in your elbows.
- Maximum stretching ensures the greatest expansion of the rib cage.
Inner Pec Exercises With Barbell And Machine
Barbells are a valuable tool in the arsenal of a person who wants to gain strength efficiently. Exercise experts also point to several other benefits of barbells.
- Barbell exercises help you strengthen virtually every muscle of the chest with a wider range of resistance.
- The barbell is a very simple tool, so it is easy to learn the basic lifts quickly
There are many benefits to using machines, from a safety standpoint to an output standpoint, to time efficiency.
- Machines move on a fixed path. The handle and lever move from point A to point B without deviating, which reduces the incidence of injury.
- A second benefit is the restraint or support that the machine provides.
- Machines also allow us to control range of motion. Specifically, where to start, where to end, and what range to work within.
5. Landmine Chest Press
If you’re looking for a way to get more creative with your inner chest workout, why not try the landmine chest press?
The landmine press is not a popular exercise yet provides many benefits in regard to progressing your inner and upper chest.
It can be performed in a kneeling position, which increases core involvement and can improve core stability and strength of the abdominal muscles.
How To Do Landmine Chest Press
- Place a barbell in a landmine holder or set up a barbell in a corner.
- Then add weight plates to the free end of the barbell.
- Assume a half kneeling position with the knee under your hip, toes tucked, and rib cage down.
- Press the barbell up straight in front of you until your arms are extended, avoiding hyperextension at the elbows.
- Hold the weight for a second and focus on contracting your inner chest muscles.
- Slowly lower the weight back towards your chest and then repeat for the recommended reps
Tips
- To secure the barbell, you can interlock your hands around the bar.
- Lean your body forwards slightly and engage your core muscles to help with stabilization.
- Exhale on pushing movement, inhale when returning to the starting position.
- Contract the chest muscle at the top of the movement.
6. Smith Machine Hex Press
The Smith machine hex press allows for greater range of motion and more emphasis on the inner chest muscles compared to a traditional bench press.
Hex press by smith machine gives effective engagement and excellent weight distribution.
However, it is challenging to organize and requires a lot of attention and detail to perform this workout.
How To Do Smith Machine Hex Press
- Set up a Smith machine with the bar at waist height.
- Lie on a bench with your feet flat on the ground, and position yourself underneath the bar.
- Grip the bar with V-Bar handle and slowly lift it off the rack.
- Press them straight out in front of your chest.
- Lower the weights under control. Then repeat the desired number of reps.
Tips
- Focus on powerful contractions and slow eccentric.
- Perform press in a controlled manner.
- Focus on mind-muscle connection
7. Pec Deck Fly
The pec deck fly is an isolation exercise that primarily targets the chest muscles, including the inner chest.
The pec fly is a great exercise for both beginners and experienced athletes to target the chest muscles without worrying about balance.
How To Do Pec Deck Fly
- Sit on the pec deck machine and adjust the seat so that the handles are at chest level.
- Place your forearms on the padding. Keep your body fixed, slowly bring the forearm pads or handles together.
- Focus on contracting your inner chest muscles.
- Hold the contraction for a moment, then slowly release back to the starting position.
- Repeat for the desired number of reps.
Tips
- Your upper arms should be parallel to the floor.
- Keep your eyes straight ahead while performing the exercise.
Cable Inner Chest Exercises
The cable workout offers an effective way to train the inner chest muscles. Let’s take a look at some other benefits:
- For people who experience discomfort in their joints during the bench press, cable workout are a great alternative.
- Cable exercises are more evenly distributed, and you have more of a constant load on your chest muscles throughout the whole range of motion.
- It offers unmatched versatility because you can change up the load, angle, grip positioning, and body positioning easily.
- The cable setup gives your muscles almost uninterrupted time under tension, and a huge pump.
8. Cable Crossover
If you want to train the inner chest with cable, then must try cable crossover.
The cable provides constant resistance, helps to develop the inner pec muscles, and provides the much-needed stress.
How To Do Cable Crossover
- In a standing position, grabs and holds the handles of overhead pulleys on both sides.
- Bend slightly forwards and extend your arms, feeling a good stretch in your chest muscles.
- Now flex your arms with elbows slightly bent and get a good inner chest contraction.
- Unlike chest flies, you can crossover the center to get full Pec contraction.
Tips
- Exhale while you exert.
- Keep a controlled motion and avoid jerky movements.
- The most important part of this exercise for inner chest development is the squeeze once your arms are extended
9. Single Arm Chest Fly
When doing an inner chest workout with a cable machine, there are plenty of single-arm chest exercises you can add to correct potential imbalances.
During exercise, emphasis is placed on bringing the resistance further across the body and past the midline, thus extending the range of motion to force an intense peak contraction in the inner pec.
How To Do Single Arm Chest Fly
- Begin by moving the pulleys to the high position, select the resistance to be used, and take a handle in one hand.
- Extend your arm and make sure to have a slight bend in your elbow.
- Pull your hand to the center line of your chest while keeping your upper body straight.
- Hold for a second, and go back to the starting position to complete one rep.
Tips
- Always keep the elbows slightly bent for full inner pec activation.
- Keep a controlled motion and avoid jerky movements.
Read More: Cable Fly: Muscle Worked, Alternate, Variations
10. Plate Squeeze Press
The plate squeeze press is a great option for adding to your chest workout regimen to increase muscle hypertrophy, and create chiseled and defined pectorals.
It is an alternative and free weight exercise that primarily targets the inner and upper chest, and to a lesser degree that also targets the shoulders and the triceps.
How To Do Plate Squeeze Press
- Grab 2–3 plates and squeeze them together with your palms.
- Bring the plates to the center line of your chest, extend your arms forward and slightly upward.
- Contract your chest as hard as possible. Maintain tension on the inner and upper chest.
- Reverse your arms in the exact same movement pattern.
Tips
- Use a controlled tempo to push your arms up and forward.
- Remember to breathe properly.
Training Volume And Technique To Train The Inner Chest
1. Sets And Reps
Of course, the number of sets and reps will be determined based on your fitness journey, but here is a great starting point.
Here are a few factors to consider when training the inner chest.
Sets
When a certain amount of volume stops being effective and your progress stalls, you can add sets to increase volume and use that as a driver of renewed progress.
- Beginners: ~10 sets per week.
- Intermediate: ~15 sets per week.
- Advanced: ~20 sets per week.
Reps
The best rep ranges and loads to work with.
- 6–8 reps with heavy load
- 8–15 reps with moderate load
- 15-20+ with light load
2. Progressive Overload
This is the principle of increasing resistance across sets and workouts. You can increase the weight from set to set, but keep it minimal to maintain the rep range.
The load should bring you to or near failure within the given rep ranges to be effective.
You’ll find a way to incorporate most of, if not all, into your chest routine. Variety promotes gains in strength and size, and helps to prevent plateaus. The chest responds well to variety.
3. Grip and Hand Position
While training your inner chest, grip and hand positioning is important. To emphasize the inner pec, use a narrow grip.
The inner chest muscles work hard, when you place the hand closer than the shoulder width and squeeze the chest near the top.
Keeping your arms slightly wider than shoulder width is perfect for overall chest development.
Workout Plan To Train Inner Chest
Beginner Workout Plan
The following inner-chest workout is highly effective and would show results if done with proper technique and sequence.
You can do a beginner incest chest workout at home if you have dumbbells. Otherwise, you can perform these exercises at the gym.
- Push-Ups: 4 sets of 8-15 rps.
- Dumbbell Squeeze Press: 3 sets of 8-12 reps.
- Dumbbell Fly: 3 sets of 8-10 reps
Advance Workout Plan
This advance inner pec workout makes it slightly more challenging for a beginner.
Though, it is still based on the same exercises that offer the best inner-pec hit.
- Smith Machine Hex Press: 4 sets of 8-12 reps.
- Cable Crossover : 3 sets of 6-8 reps.
- Plate Squeeze Press: 3 sets of 8-12 reps.
- The Landmine Chest Press: 3 sets of 10-15 reps
People Also Asked
How do I build my inner chest line?
There is no true way to fully isolate only the inner chest without also working the rest.
However, with that said, there are still inner chest-specific exercises that put more tension on that center portion of your chest where your pecs attach to the sternum.
How do you work your inner chest?
The way the muscle is linked to the rib cage, it’s tough to target the inner chest specifically, but some workouts hit the entire chest while focusing on the inner pectoral.
Takeaway
For anyone interested in building inner body strength and gaining muscle, this best Inner Chest Exercises and Workout plan is highly recommended. It not only allows for targeted muscle development, but also provides an overall body workout.
It is easy to do and requires no more scientific details. If done consistently, the results will speak by themselves.
Thanks for reading, enjoy working your inner chest!
Know More About Chest Training
12 Most Effective INNER CHEST Exercises And Workout (BUILD MASSIVE CHEST)
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