The lower chest is one of the harder areas to train because of the lack of variations available and the limited motion range. That is why it is so important to include these best lower chest exercises into your routine.
People who want to develop their lower chest muscles can try doing a range of exercises that strengthen the pectoral muscles. These best lower chest exercises and workouts definitely help to build the lower chest muscles.
When we talk about chest muscles, there are three separate sections you can focus on: upper, middle, and lower. To get the most thickness and power from a muscle, you should develop it from all sides.
But specific workouts, like lower chest workouts, work on specific muscles, which in turn improve the aesthetics. Building the lower or sternal portion of the chest creates a defined muscle that distinguishes it from the abdomen.
How to Train Lower Chest
Training your lower chest isn’t as straightforward as targeting other muscles, like your biceps. You won’t find one exercise that directly isolates that exact area of the muscle group, like curls do for your arms.
Chest exercises will engage the whole muscle group more broadly, so you’ll also be training the other parts of your pectorals as you aim to hit the lower portion.
What you can do is focus on training your chest muscles as a whole unit. You can change up the angles on some of these exercises to give your muscles a different stimulus to better activate the lower chest—some studies do suggest this method might be effective.
The pecs are large fan-like muscles with two heads — the clavicle and the sternal head.
To isolate the lower chest (sternal) requires you to change the angle of your press to emphasize this neglected part of the chest. You do this by either performing exercises on a decline bench or leaning forward with traditional exercises like dips and push downs.
10 Best Lower Chest Exercises
These 10 Best Lower chest exercises guide and covers everything you need to start sculpting a more refined and aesthetic chest. We have aligned the best lower chest workouts for you to get astounding results quick.
1. Decline Press
If you’re looking for straightforward lower chest exercises to add to your routine, the decline press is a great staple exercise to get you started.
Although the flat version works the lower chest, the decline variation really focuses on the lower chest because the angle changes the pressing path.
Decline Press is an excellent exercise for building lower chest muscles.
Muscles Worked
Primary: Lower pectoralis.
Secondary: Triceps, anterior deltoid, and Lats.
How To Do Decline Press
1. Lie on a decline bench and take a shoulder-width overhand grip on the bar.
2. Lower the weight slowly down to touch your lower chest.
3. Push the bar straight up until your elbows lock out.
Tips
- Exhale while you exert.
- Perform them before triceps in any workout.
- Keep a controlled motion and avoid jerky movements.
- For heavyweights, use a spotter.
2. Decline Dumbbell Press
If your are looking lower chest exercises that you can do with dumbbells than decline dumbbell Press is good choice.
It is also an excellent exercise to build lower chest muscles. This dumbbell press is done on a decline bench with a pair of heavy dumbbells.
Muscles Worked
Primary: Lower pectoralis.
Secondary: Triceps, anterior deltoid, and Lats.
How To Do Decline Dumbbell Press
- Grab a dumbbell in each hand and lie on a decline bench.
- Hold the weights above you at shoulder height.
- Now extend the weights to the top overhead feeling a good chest muscle contraction.
- Lower the dumbbells to the starting position and feel a good stretch in your pecs.
Tips
- Exhale while you exert.
- Perform them before triceps in any workout.
3. Decline Dumbbell Fly
The decline dumbbell fly is a fly variation performed on a slight decline, which targets the lower chest muscles slightly more than the flat and incline variations.
Because the triceps and shoulders are less involved, this isolates the lower chest muscles even further.
Muscles Worked
Primary: Lower pectoralis.
Secondary: Anterior deltoid, triceps.
How To Do Decline Dumbbell Fly
- Grab a dumbbell in each hand and lie on your back on a decline bench. Hook your feet into the footpad or roller.
- Extend the dumbbells above your chest. Turn the palms to face each other 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 midline of your body, focusing on using your lower pec muscles to draw them back together.
Tips
- Keep the movement slow and controlled.
- Use a slight decline such as 30 degrees. Extremes are never the best option.
- If you’re using very heavyweights, have a spotter to handle dumbbells to you once your body is in position.
4. Parallel Bar Dip (Chest Dip)
Bar Dip is an excellent exercise to build lower Chest muscles. The long range of motion of the dip puts a greater stretch on the lower chest and triceps for more strength and hypertrophy potential.
This exercise is done on a pair of Parallel bars.
Muscles Worked
Primary: Lower pectoralis.
Secondary: Triceps, anterior deltoid, and Lats.
How To Do Parallel Bar Dip
- Hold onto the parallel bars and raise yourself at arm’s length.
- Using your arms, lower yourself as low as possible, feeling a good stretch in your chest muscles.
- Press back up and feel a good chest contraction in addition to your triceps, which are obviously contracting hard now.
Tips
- Hold a dumbbell between your legs if you need additional resistance.
- A little forward body bend will hit the chest muscles harder.
5. High Cable Fly (High to Low Cable Fly)
The High To Low Cable Fly is a variation of the chest fly is a great exercise to target the lower portion of your chest.
High to low cable fly is a machine exercise that primarily targets the lower chest and to a lesser degree also targets the shoulders and triceps.
Cable provides constant resistance and helps develop the lower and the central chest muscles by providing the much-needed stress in the lower and the inner pecs.
Muscles Worked
Primary: Lower pectoralis
Secondary: Anterior deltoid, latissimus dorsi (back), Biceps Brachii, rhomboids.
How To Do High Cable Fly
- Set both pulleys as High as possible and select the desired weight. In a standing position, grab the handles with a neutral grip.
- Bend slightly forwards, and extend your arms feeling a good stretch in your chest muscles.
- Bend your elbows slightly, Pull your hands (high to low) toward each other in wide arcs in front of you, pausing when your hands touch.
- Slowly lower back to the starting position and repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Tip
- Ensure you maintain some tension in your abs and don’t allow your lower back to arch excessively.
- Focus on form before choosing a heavy weight.
- Breathe out as you pull the handles together.
6. Decline Cable Fly
Decline Cable fly is one of the most suitable exercises for isolating the decline chest muscles. Performing this exercise with cables instead of dumbbells allows for constant tension to help in building the lower Chest fibers. This constant tension cannot be achieved with the Dumbbells.
Muscles Worked
Primary: Lower pectoralis.
Secondary: Anterior deltoid, triceps.
How To Do Decline Cable Fly
- Set a Decline bench at a 30-degree angle. Lie on the bench with your feet flat on the foot pad or the roller.
- Lift your arms straight up from your shoulders and hold the cable handle directly over your 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 midline of your body, focusing on using your lower pec muscles to draw them back together.
Tips
- Exhale while you exert.
- Vary the position of the bench to hit different angles of the upper chest.
- Hold and contract the chest muscles when hands are together.
- Set bench at about 30 degrees Decline.
7. Incline Push-Ups
Incline push-ups are one of the best lower chest bodyweight exercises that you can do at home.
Pushups are a great multi-functional exercise because they work the entire upper body and back. Push-Ups can be a real challenge if done from various angles. Performing pushups at an incline angle will put more focus on the lower chest.
As with many push-up variations, you can potentially rep out for added volume. The higher the volume, the better your lower chest muscle-building potential.
Muscles Worked
Primary: Lower Pectoralis.
Secondary: Shoulders, triceps.
How To Do Incline Push-Ups
- Stand in front of the bench. Place the hands shoulder-width apart on the edge of the bench.
- Adopt an incline plank position by extending the legs backward until the legs and back form a straight line.
- Slowly bend the arms to lower the chest toward the bench. Remember to keep the elbows and arms close to the body.
- Slowly push the body away from the bench, extending the arms but maintaining a slight bend in the elbow.
Tips
- Exhale while you exert.
- Stand at a comfortable distance from the bench.
8. Dumbbell Pullover
Dumbbell Pullover is the best exercise to build a strong rib cage and build serratus anterior muscle to build a complete chest and back. Pullovers work directly on the serratus anterior muscle to develop the back. This exercise is done lying across on a bench with a heavy dumbbell.
Muscles Worked
Primary: Lower Pectoralis.
Secondary: Shoulder, triceps, Back
How To Do Dumbbell Pullover
- Lie across on a bench on your shoulders so that your head is hanging.
- Grasp a dumbbell with both hands and get it straight over your chest.
- Lower the dumbbell in an arc, slowly getting a good stretch in your rib cage.
- Lower the dumbbell as far as possible and then raise it back to the starting position.
Tips
- Exhale while you exert.
- Maximum stretching ensures the greatest expansion on the rib cage.
- Relax your hips and let them fall as relaxed hips help in extra expansion.
9. Seated Machine Fly
Machine fly is a machine exercise that primarily targets the chest. You really need the machine fly equipment. There are many different machines fly variations that you can try out, which require different types of machine fly equipment or may even require no equipment at all.
Muscles Worked
Primary: Lower pectoralis.
Secondary: Anterior deltoid, Biceps, and Serratus anterior.
How To Do Seated Machine Fly
- Sit on the machine, taking care to place your back flat against the pad.
- Grab the vertical handles with elbows slightly bent.
- Squeeze the handles together until they touch in front of your chest.
- Let your hands move back to the starting position, keeping your elbows up.
Tips
- Your upper arms should be parallel to the floor.
- Keep your eyes straight ahead while performing the exercise.
10. Smith Machine Decline Bench Press
Finally, if you’re looking for one more effective lower chest exercise, try the smith machine decline bench press.
It is a variation of the decline bench press and is used to target the muscles of the lower chest.
The smith machine decline bench press eliminates some of the need for shoulders stability during the exercise, allowing the lifter to better isolates the chest muscles.
Muscles Worked
Primary: Lower pectoralis.
Secondary: Anterior deltoid, Triceps, and Lats.
How To Do Smith Machine Decline Bench Press
- Lie flat on a decline bench inside the smith machine and set your hands just outside of shoulder width.
- Lower the bar in a straight line to the base of the sternum (breastbone) and touch the chest.
- Push the bar back up in a straight line by pressing yourself into the bench.
- Hold this position for a count and repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Tips
- Exhale while you exert.
- Perform them before triceps in any workout.
- Keep a controlled motion and avoid jerky movements
- For heavyweights, use a spotter.
FAQ
Are lower chest exercises necessary?
Lower chest workouts in your first few days of weight lifting are not necessary. However, once you start to feel your chest muscles growing, you will need to start doing lower chest exercises in your chest training routine in order to achieve well-defined chest muscles.
Do you have to train lower chest?
Yes, To build a well-defined chest that stands out, you have to target the lower chest. The best way to add size and strength to your chest is to press, press, do a fly, and press some more.
How often should you work lower chest?
You should train your lower chest 1 to 2 times per week to build mass and strength. If your goal is muscle hypertrophy, then you should do 8-12 repetitions per set, and if you’re looking to tone your muscles, then 1-3 sets of 12-16 repetitions should be sufficient.
Conclusion
For anyone interested to build upper body strength and gain muscle, this best lower chest exercises and workout plan is highly recommended. It is best to add these exercises to a full-body strength training routine to achieve a well-balanced physique.
It not only allows for targeted muscle development, but also provides an overall body workout. Furthermore, 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 lower chest Training!
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10 Best Lower Chest Exercises To Build Your Pecs | Workout For Lower Chest
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