If you’re looking to build more thickness, muscle, and strength in your upper pecs, here are the best upper chest dumbbell exercises that you need to add to your training regime. Having a well-developed upper chest contributes to the fullness of the upper body and has functional benefits.
To effectively train the upper chest, first, we will understand the chest anatomy, and then we will look at the execution technique and the best upper chest dumbbell exercises and pro-tips.
Know About Chest Muscles
The chest muscle is commonly known as the pectoralis (pecs) muscle, which is divided into upper and lower sections. The upper region of the chest is the hardest area of the chest to build.
The pectoralis major has two functional subdivisions –the upper and lower regions.
- The upper region is referred to as the sternoclavicular head because of its attachment to the clavicle.
- The lower regions are sometimes referred to as the sternocostal head because of their attachment to the ribs.
How To Train Upper Chest With Dumbbell
If you want to develop the upper chest to get more defined pecs, you need to read this whole blog. Here I’m going to show you the only way you can effectively improve the visual appearance of this portion of the chest muscle.
Here’s a twist, you cannot directly improve only this portion of the pecs, but because of the contrast this area provides, you can make it start looking better quickly if you do the right things.
One of the most important things you can do if you want to build a bigger upper chest with dumbbell is to remember to not just focus on strength-building exercises, but also need to focus on isolation exercises.
When you are trying to build the upper chest or any portion of your chest, really, you have to make sure you don’t forget to include some exercises that allow your hands the freedom of motion.
Advantage of Doing Upper Chest Dumbbell exercises
There are multiple reasons that motivate you to do Dumbbell upper chest exercises, and below I’ve mentioned the seven of them.
- Upper Chest Dumbbell exercises require more balance than barbells or machines that can lead to greater muscle fiber recruitment.
- It requires more muscular control than barbells, enhancing kinesthetic awareness.
- When you are doing an upper chest workout with dumbbells, it’s impossible to take compensating movement from your strong side. This reduces the risk of muscle imbalance.
- Dumbbell Upper Chest exercises allows for greater joint safety and stabilization and allows the joints to move naturally within their range of motion.
- It affords a greater level of variety, which prevents physical and mental burnout.
- Dumbbells variations allow for a greater range of movement (ROM), which leads to an increased number of muscle fibers recruited.
- Chest exercises with dumbbell allow unilateral training (training one limb at a time), increase core stability, and improve muscular imbalances.
- Upper chest dumbbell workouts are perfect for the at-home exerciser with the limited space.
How To Train Upper Chest With Dumbbell
Weight training with dumbbells can be beneficial for achieving hypertrophy and putting an increased impact on the specific muscle group.
It is possible to grow the upper portion of the chest, but it can be the hardest part to grow, especially if you are not using an effective approach for training the upper chest.
To strengthen your upper chest, you should try increasing the intensity of your workout. Drop-sets, forced reps, and the pause and go method are some of the methods for intensifying your workouts.
However, with dumbbells, you can easily increase the intensity of your workout on your own. For example, if you want to do drop sets on the barbell bench press, you’ll need a partner to drop the weight from the barbell.
If you’d like to drop sets with dumbbells, you can easily do so by picking up lighter dumbbells.
Can I do upper chest exercises with dumbbells?
Any upper chest move that you can do with a barbell can be done with dumbbells. Below are some of our favorites, many of which are classic moves that you are probably already familiar with, but have been given a clever twist that yields even greater gains.
It’s time to try out the upper chest workout with dumbbells. Some people might think that training with dumbbells is outdated and ineffective.
However, due to the increased range of motion and ability to intensify the workouts, dumbbell chest workouts have shown benefits over other chest exercises.
10 Upper Chest Dumbbell Exercises
Here is the list of the best upper chest dumbbell workouts which help to train the chest at various angles and strengthen and to build a well-developed chest.
1. Incline Dumbbell Press
If you’re looking for a straightforward dumbbell upper chest exercises to add to your routine, the Incline dumbbell press is a great staple exercise to get you started.
Just like the Incline Bench Press, the Incline dumbbell press works mostly on the upper pecs, but dumbbells allow full range of motion, and therefore in some ways better than the bench press. It adds an extra range of motion at the top for complete chest development.
Muscles Worked
Primary: Upper pectoralis [major].
Secondary: Anterior deltoid, triceps.
How To Do Incline Dumbbell Press
- Grab a pair of dumbbells, and lie on an incline bench (30-45 degree inclined).
- Clean the dumbbells and lift them straight overhead. Feel a good chest squeeze at the top.
- Lower the dumbbells and feel a good chest muscle stretch at the bottom.
- Repeat the desired number of reps and sets.
Tips
- Exhale whilst pushing dumbbells upwards and do in a controlled manner.
- Set bench at about 30-45 degrees inclined. Do not go more upright as the stress shifts more to shoulders rather than chest area.
- Vary bench angles to hit different angles of the chest.
2. Dumbbell Incline Alternate Press
The Dumbbell Incline Alternate Press builds size and strength in your chest, specifically targeting the upper chest. Armed with an incline bench and a pair of dumbbells, this exercise can bolster your entire upper body fitness routine.
This is one of the best two-arm upper chest exercises that you can do with a dumbbell during your upper chest workout.
Muscles Worked
Primary: Upper pectoralis major.
Secondary: Anterior deltoid, triceps brachii
How To Do Dumbbell Incline Alternate Press
- Grab a pair of dumbbells, and lie on an incline bench (30-45 degree inclined).
- Hold a pair of dumbbells directly above your chest with your arms fully extended and your palms facing outward.
- Pull your shoulder blades together, slightly stick out your chest, and lower both dumbbells to the sides of your chest.
- Now, press one dumbbell upward, keeping the other at your side. Then, as you lower the dumbbell, press the other one upward.
Tips
- Make sure to utilize a full range of motion throughout the exercise.
- Keep both keep firmly placed on the floor throughout the exercise.
- Vary bench angles to hit different angles of the chest.
3. Dumbbell Incline Around the World
Dumbbell Incline Around the World is another great exercise for your upper chest dumbbell workout. To do this exercise, you can still use an incline bench, but you’ll need to adjust the bench so that get the good contraction.
Muscles Worked
Primary: Pectoralis major, Anterior deltoid
Secondary: Lateral Deltoid, posterior Deltoid, Lats, serratus anterior
How To Do Dumbbell Incline Around the World
- Lie on an incline bench holding a dumbbell in each hand next to your thighs with palms facing up.
- Take the dumbbells and create a semicircle by rotating them up over your head with the motion staying parallel.
- All the movement should happen with the arms parallel to the bench at all times. Breathe in as you perform this portion of the movement.
- Reverse the movement to return the weight to the starting position as you exhale. Repeat this exercise for as many repetitions as needed.
Tips
- Perform press in a controlled manner.
- Make sure to utilize a full range of motion throughout the exercise.
4. Dumbbell Incline Reverse grip Bench Press
The incline reverse-grip dumbbell bench press is a very effective compound exercise which targets the upper chest muscles for maximum muscle and strength gains.
Now, it’s an unconventional movement compared to the regular dumbbell press with an overhand grip, but it’s beneficial for emphasizing the upper chest muscles due to the reverse hand position. Must add, this exercise in your upper chest dumbbell workout.
Muscles Worked
Primary: Pectoralis major,
Secondary: Biceps Brachii, Anterior deltoids, Tríceps brachii
How To Do Dumbbell Incline Reverse grip Bench Press
- Grab a pair of dumbbells, and lie on an incline bench (30-45 degree inclined).
- Extend the dumbbell above your chest. Keeping your elbow slightly bent, lower the weight down until it is about chest level and hold.
- Bring your arm back toward the midline of your body, focusing on using your upper pec muscles to draw them back together.
- Repeat for the desired number of reps.
Tips
- Beginners should start light and practice good form before training heavy.
- Keep both keep firmly placed on the floor throughout the exercise.
5. Dumbbell Incline One Arm Fly
When doing an upper chest workout with a dumbbell, there are plenty of single-arm exercises you can add to correct potential imbalances.
The Dumbbell Incline one arm fly is a unilateral variation of the incline dumbbell fly. This exercise is best used on upper hypertrophy days and/or chest workouts in more traditional bodybuilding splits.
Muscles Worked
Primary: Pectoralis major,
Secondary: Anterior deltoid, Tricep brachii
How To Do Dumbbell Incline One Arm Fly
- Grab a pair of dumbbells, and lie on an incline bench (30-45 degree inclined).
- Extend the dumbbell above your chest. Keeping your elbow slightly bent, lower the weight down until it is about chest level and hold.
- Bring your arm back toward the midline of your body, focusing on using your upper pec muscles to draw them back together.
- Repeat for the desired number of reps.
Tips
- Perform press in a controlled manner.
- Set the bench at about 30-45 degrees inclined. Do not go more upright as the stress shifts more to shoulders rather than chest area.
6. Dumbbell Incline Press on Exercise Ball
If you’re looking for a way to get more creative with your dumbbell upper chest exercises, why not try dumbbell Incline Press on an exercise ball. It is a variation of the incline dumbbell bench press and an exercise used to build the muscles of the chest. The shoulders and triceps will be indirectly involved as well.
The purpose of using a stability ball instead of an inclined bench is to add instability to the exercise, which forces the recruitment of many stabilizer muscles, especially in your core.
Muscles Worked
Primary: Pectoralis major.
Secondary: Anterior deltoid, triceps brachii
How To Do Dumbbell Incline Press on Exercise Ball
- Grab a pair of dumbbells and sit down on a Swiss ball. Slowly, step forward until your torso forms a 45-degree angle to the ground. The Swiss ball will be positioned under your upper back and shoulders.
- Raise dumbbells until dumbbells are straight above your chin with arms straight. This is the starting position. Be sure feet are firmly planted on the ground.
- Begin exercise by lowering dumbbells down until they are just outside your upper chest. Pause, then push dumbbells straight back up to starting position as quickly as possible. This completes one rep.
- Repeat the press for the desired number of repetitions.
Tips
- Be sure to keep core tight and feet planted into the ground to keep balance and strengthen the core.
- Exhale as you push weight up, and inhale as you lower weight down.
- Lower weight down until upper arms are just past parallel to the ground.
7. Incline Dumbbell Twist Fly
The Incline dumbbell twist fly is a slight variation of the incline dumbbell fly to train upper chest.
The incline used in an incline dumbbell twist fly helps you better isolate the muscles of the upper chest, and the contraction produced by twisting the weight is greater than one typically experiences from the traditional incline dumbbell fly.
Muscles Worked
Primary: Pectoralis major,
Secondary: Triceps, anterior deltoid, and Lats.
How To Do Incline Dumbbell Twist Fly
- Grab a dumbbell in each hand in each hand with a neutral grip and lie on an incline bench.
- Hold the weights above you at shoulder height. Slightly retract your shoulder blades, unlock your elbows, and slowly lower the dumbbells laterally while maintaining the angle at your elbow.
- Once the dumbbells reach chest level, reverse the movement by squeezing your pecs together. As the dumbbells are returning to the starting position, twist the handles so that the bottom of the dumbbells almost touch.
- Without allowing the dumbbells to touch, start the next repetition by untwisting the handles back to a neutral position, and continue until the set is completed.
Tips
- Imagine you’re trying to hug a tree while completing the exercise.
- Avoid touching or banging the dumbbells together at the top of each repetition to keep constant tension.
8. Incline Dumbbell Fly
The incline dumbbell fly is a variation of the dumbbell fly. This is one of the best upper chest exercises that you can do during your upper pecs workout.
Do not only perform a basic flat bench fly, but also add incline variation, because the incline bench position allows for the isolation of the harder-to-develop upper pectorals.
Muscles Worked
Primary: Upper pectoralis
Secondary: Anterior deltoid, triceps.
How To Do Incline Dumbbell Fly
- Set an incline bench at a 30-to 45-degree angle. Lie on the 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 midline of your body, focusing on using your pec muscles to draw them back together.
Tips
- Perform press in a controlled manner.
- Set the bench at about 30-45 degrees inclined. Do not go more upright as the stress shifts more to shoulders rather than chest area.
9. Incline-bench Dumbbell Pullover
Incline Bench dumbbell Pullovers is the best exercise to build a strong rib cage and build serratus anterior muscle to build an upper chest and back.
This exercise is similar to a chest dumbbell press, the only difference is that the dumbbells are held close together in this exercise
It allows for a wide range of motion, thus providing a deep pectorals and lats stretch.
Muscle Worked
Primary: Upper Pectoralis major and minor,
Secondary: Deltoid, Back, Serratus, Triceps.
How To Do Incline-bench Dumbbell Pullover
- Set the bench position between 30-45 degrees. Now lie across on an Incline bench.
- 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
- Maximum stretching ensures the greatest expansion of the rib cage.
- Vary the position of the bench to hit different angles of the upper chest.
10. Standing Upward Chest Fly
Standing dumbbell chest fly is a good exercise to target your upper chest. With only a pair of dumbbells, you can make your chest area broader and more developed.
This exercise is like a front raise that you would do for your shoulders, but with a simple twist of the wrists that make it an effective chest exercise. For this one, you will require a dumbbell in each hand.
Muscles Worked
Primary: Upper pectoralis.
Secondary: Anterior deltoid, triceps, Core.
How To Do Standing Upward Chest Fly
- In a standing position, hold a dumbbell in each hand with your palms facing upward.
- Make sure your feet are shoulder-width apart and your arms down straight in front of your center.
- Extend your arms up and out to the sides, keeping your elbows straight and your arms at chest level.
- Bring them back to the center to finish a single rep.
Tips
- Exhale during the concentric (muscle-shortening) part of the motion.
- Your arms and shoulders will work, but most of the work should be done with the pecs.
FAQ
Is upper chest hard to build?
The upper portion of your chest can be one of the hardest muscle groups to grow. You need to approach training for the upper chest in a considered way.
How do you work your upper chest with dumbbells?
There are many good exercises with dumbbells that work your upper chest. The incline dumbbell bench presses are one of the best upper chest exercises. You could also add incline dumbbell flies.
If you really want to improve your upper pecs, this adjustable incline bench is your new best friend.
Should I prioritize upper chest?
Having a well-built upper chest is an important part of having an aesthetic physique. Learn how to maximize your upper chest training.
How do you target a top chest?
“If your upper pecs are really lagging, the best way to bring them out is to always start with incline moves. A few good choices to train the top part of the chest are incline dumbbell press, incline bench press, lower pulleys cable fly, incline-bench cable flyes, and incline-bench dumbbell flyes.
What Is the Best Dumbbell Upper Chest Workout?
If you’re ready to build some serious pressing strength and size in your chest, try one of the workouts above. It’s designed to fit a specific goal and experience level.
Conclusion
Dumbbell upper chest exercises are highly recommended for anyone interested in building upper body strength and gaining muscle size.
It is easy to do and requires no more scientific details and fancy equipment. If you do these dumbbell upper chest exercises consistently, the results will speak for themselves.
Thanks for reading, enjoy Upper Chest Dumbbell exercises !
