The urge to build a bigger chest is the leading conversation of fellow gym-goers everywhere!
In order to train the various fibers of the chest, including the inner chest, you need to incorporate a variety of movements from different positions and angles.
Here are 11 exercises you could add to a comprehensive inner chest workout:
- Flat bench press
- Dumbbell flat bench press
- Partial incline hex press
- Partial incline hammer squeeze press
- Machine chest fly
- Cable fly press
- Cable pec press around
- Crossbody cable fly
- High cable fly
- Close-grip push-up
- Deficit push-up
Improving your chest density, promoting a muscular balance between the various chest fibers, and improving strength performance are some of the reasons training the inner chest is such a desired concept.
Let’s discuss this, plus other concepts of chest training and how to create the best inner chest workout below.
What Are the Inner Chest Muscles and How Do They Work?
When discussing the chest muscles, we are technically discussing the pectoralis major. The chest also contains a muscle called the pectoralis minor. However, the pectoralis minor is deep below the pectoralis major and does not play a part in pressing motions like the pectoralis major.
The pectoralis major has different fibers located at the top and near the middle of the chest.
The top of the pectoralis major originates from the clavicle (the collar bone) and inserts at the top of the humerus (the upper arm). The middle and inner chest muscle of the pectoralis major originates from the sternum (the chest plate) and inserts into the humerus as well.
This middle region of the chest is our focus in regard to building the inner chest. It is also the most dominant in size and surface area.
So between the top fibers and middle fibers, they all insert into the upper arm, which helps create the chest’s shape and anatomy. This means that when we perform various upper arm exercises, particularly the motions of “pressing” and “pushing,” these chest muscles are used. In return, they grow and build shape.
3 Reasons to Work Out Your Inner Chest
Now that we are familiar with the anatomy of the chest muscle, we should also understand why we want to train this region using the best workouts for the inner chest.
Because the chest muscle has two regions, each region helps perform different types of movements, especially movements with extension and adduction (we will get into these words later). Working the inner chest helps us:
- Perform internal rotation and shoulder adduction
- Strengthen foundational movements of strength
- Improve the muscularity of the chest
1. Perform Internal Rotation and Shoulder Adduction
Exercise can seem so simple until we throw in scientific terminology. The idea that the inner chest helps improve internal rotation and shoulder adduction sound so overwhelming! To simplify, it means moving your upper arms and bringing them toward the midline of your body.
Many foundational exercises we do perform this action, such as a push-up or bench press. Other movements that are not pressing or pushing movements are chest isolation movements such as the “chest fly” that require your upper arms to move towards the midline of your body.
Because these movements require this motion of the upper arm, we can then assume they train the inner chest. So the more we can improve these movements, the more we can improve the strength and/or the size of the chest muscle, especially the inner chest.
2. Strengthen Foundational Movements of Strength
As mentioned earlier, any motion bringing the upper arms towards the midline of the body would train the chest muscle, especially the inner chest muscle. If you think about this motion of the upper arm, that relates to a ton of exercises, especially the foundational movements of strength.
Foundational movements of strength using the inner chest muscles would include the bench press, incline bench press, push-up, and other similar variations. If we focus on targeting these inner chest muscles, we also target traditional movements that are a staple to any training program.
3. Improving the Muscularity of the Chest
If we look at the anatomy of the chest muscle, we notice that the upper region of the chest is not as big as the middle region. The middle region is where the inner chest is located. So if we are focused on training the inner chest muscles, we focus on the biggest region of fibers in the pectoralis major.
This is a major benefit to focusing on the inner chest. But even the movements with internal rotation and shoulder adduction related to foundational movements of strength might not be enough. Plenty of seasoned lifters know how to bench press but still try to target the inner chest fibers to develop them more.
This leads us to the next section, discussing the 11 best inside chest workouts for programming.
We talk more about why powerlifters need to train the chest in How Do Powerlifters Train the Chest?
11 Best Inner Chest Exercises
As mentioned, training the inner chest requires targeting the middle region of the pecs, predominantly through the rotation and adduction of the upper arms towards the midline.
To help you determine which exercises exaggerate this action, below I have listed the movements you should consider for favoring those frustrating inner chest fibers.
1. Flat Bench Press
The flat bench press has been coined as the “king” of upper body lifts. This lift requires merely a barbell and a bench, making it an accessible lift for gym-goers everywhere!
How To Do the Flat Bench Press
- Lie on the bench and get to eye level with the bar.
- Place your grip shoulder-width or slightly shoulder-width apart. Use the rings on the bar to help make sure your grip is balanced on both ends.
- Push the bar off the hooks, bringing the bar over the chest and to a point where your upper arms are perpendicular to the floor.
- Bring the bar downward to a strong “touchpoint” on your chest. This means to not aim too high or too low so that your forearms are not perpendicular to the floor.
- After touching your chest, press the weight upward and repeat this process until you complete each rep.
Pro Tip
If you want to focus on the inner chest muscles, make sure to lock out each rep and squeeze the pecs at the top. The goal of this movement is to trigger growth of the inner chest, not necessarily bench press the house.
Benefits
Initially, many would question the use of a flat bench press in an inner upper chest workout. The limitation of this lift is that you use a barbell that doesn’t allow each arm to truly perform internal rotation and shoulder adduction and elicit fatigue of those inner chest muscles.
However, the barbell flat bench allows you to lift more weight than using dumbbells or cables. This movement can overload the pecs and allow you to build your foundational strength to improve your efforts on other inner chest exercises and exhaust your anatomy even more.
2. Dumbbell Flat Bench Press
The dumbbell flat bench press is a variation of the barbell flat bench that allows your arms to move more freely. Because of this, this type of variation allows you to trigger your inner chest muscles even more to complement your efforts on the barbell flat bench press.
How To Do the Dumbbell Flat Bench Press
- Begin by sitting on a flat bench. If using an incline bench, set it to the flat setting if needed.
- With the dumbbells on top of your lower thigh, lean back and kick back each dumbbell individually towards your chest. Keep leaning back until your back is on the bench.
- Once you are lying flat with dumbbells in each hand, push the dumbbells upward to get yourself in the starting position.
- Bring the dumbbells downward, then push them upward for the number of repetitions prescribed.
- To really engage the inner chest, make sure you bring your upper arms outward and inward when you perform each rep to really exaggerate the motion of rotation and adduction of the shoulder joint.
Pro Tip
Like the flat barbell bench press, make sure to lockout each rep and squeeze the pecs at the top to focus on the inner chest muscles.
Also, with dumbbells, it’s important to bring the upper arms toward the body’s midline to target the inner chest fibers. Doing this requires rotation and adduction of the shoulder joint.
Benefits
Unlike the barbell bench press, the flat dumbbell bench press allows your upper arm to move more freely, meaning you can perform rotation and adduction of the shoulder joint while stretching the movement further below the chest.
The idea of adduction and stretching the movement even further increases the range of motion that will help fatigue the inner chest for massive growth.
3. Partial Incline Dumbbell Hex Press
The dumbbell hex press requires you to perform the pressing motion while keeping the dumbbells together with a neutral grip (palms facing in).
Because you hold the dumbbells together with a narrow grip, this further displaces resistance on the inner chest muscles and favors these fibers more than others.
Performing at a partial incline helps to also fatigue the upper aspect of the chest to help shape a more fulfilled pec muscle.
For these reasons, the partial incline dumbbell hex press should be a part of any inner chest workout with dumbbells.
How To Do the Partial Incline Dumbbell Hex Press
- Begin by setting the bench at a partial incline, which should be about 30 degrees.
- With the dumbbells on top of your lower thigh, lean back and kick back each dumbbell individually towards your chest to set up on your back.
- Once you are positioned on the bench, push the dumbbells upward to get yourself in the starting position.
- Bring the dumbbells downward and upward for the number of repetitions prescribed.
- Hold the dumbbells together with a narrowed, neutral grip as you perform this movement. This, plus the idea of squeezing the dumbbells together, helps make the movement more biased to the inner chest.
Pro Tip
The hex press should be a secondary movement placed after a main compound lift, such as the flat bench or dumbbell flat bench.
I would suggest performing between 3-5 sets of 8-12 reps and maintaining a specific tempo within 3-5 seconds per phase of motion.
For massive growth, use this tempo for the downward and upward phase of movement.
For improving strength, use the 3-5 second tempo on the downward phase and try to be explosive on the upward phase.
Benefits
Because this movement requires you to have a narrowed neutral grip and occurs close to the body’s midline, it puts massive focus on the inner chest muscles.
Also, since the movement occurs near the body’s midline, it helps to not stretch and overwhelm the shoulder joint!
4. Partial Incline Hammer Squeeze Press
The hammer squeeze press is just like the hex press, except you are required to squeeze a light med ball in between both dumbbells to exaggerate the adduction of the upper arms.
This light med ball might only be 4-8 pounds. However, it needs to be the type of med ball that is made of vinyl or leather to help maintain your grip.
How To Do the Partial Incline Hammer Squeeze Press
- Make sure you have a partner to help set up the med ball for this exercise.
- Set up just as you would with the partial incline dumbbell hex press described above.
- Instead of squeezing the dumbbells together, have your partner place a light med ball in between both dumbbells.
- As you perform the exercise, squeeze the med ball tight to increase rotation and adduction and trigger the inner chest muscles throughout the working set.
Pro Tip
This exercise should be a secondary movement that compliments your initial compound exercise. I would suggest performing between 2-3 sets of 10-12 reps and maintaining a specific tempo within 3-5 seconds per phase of motion.
For massive growth, use this tempo for the downward and upward phase of movement.
I would not be explosive with this lift, as the setup with a med ball might not allow you to do so.
Benefits
Although this movement seems similar to the hex press, holding a med ball and squeezing it between two dumbells evokes an even stronger sensation for the inner chest.
And due to having to maintain the squeeze through numerous reps, it’s quicker to hit the inner chest if you are worried about excessive volume wearing down your joints and anatomy.
If you don’t have access to a bench but still want to work your chest, consider these dumbbell chest exercises that don’t require a bench.
5. Machine Chest Fly
The chest fly is a single-joint exercise that requires movement at only one joint and allows you to focus primarily on the shoulder’s ability to move the upper arm with rotation and adduction.
This upper arm motion is one of the more efficient ways to isolate the chest muscles.
How To Do the Machine Chest Fly
- Sit upright with your back aligned to the machine.
- Adjust the handles so that when you start the machine chest fly, they are level with your chest.
- With your arms partially bent, perform the machine chest fly by bringing the arms together and back to the starting position for as many reps as prescribed.
- Make sure you do not allow the weight stack to rest or touch throughout the working set so that you have constant tension throughout.
Pro Tip
This exercise should be an isolation movement that compliments the second half of your routine. I would suggest performing between 3-5 sets of 12-20 reps.
To trigger the inner chest, pause at the top of the movement when most of the weight is displaced on the inner chest.
Benefits
Pressing motions help to overload the chest muscles and include the shoulder and arm muscles. The chest fly motion helps to focus specifically on the chest muscles to improve the structure of the routine.
6. Cable Fly Press
The cable fly press is a hybrid between a pressing motion and a fly motion. The concept behind this movement is to overload your fly by allowing the elbows to bend and to perform a partial press throughout each rep. Most people already do this, especially if they are trying to perform a chest fly but have loaded too much weight.
How To Do the Cable Chest Fly
- Set up the cables to be just about shoulder height.
- Grab each handle, extend your arms, and prepare to begin the chest fly motion.
- Start off performing the fly motion, but as you stretch your arms outward, allow your elbows to bend more and transition from a fly motion into a pressing motion.
- At the bottom of the lift, press the weight initially and transition into a fly motion by bringing the arms together towards the body’s midline.
- At the end of each rep, squeeze the pecs to put more emphasis on the inner chest muscles
Pro Tip
This exercise should be an isolation movement that compliments the second half of your routine. I would suggest performing between 3-5 sets of 12-20 reps.
Like the machine chest fly, pause at the top of the movement when most of the weight is displaced on the inner chest to trigger the inner chest fibers.
Benefits
The chest fly exercise helps to isolate the chest muscle. However, using this hybrid movement helps to overload the chest muscle more than a normal chest fly due to the use of a pressing motion near the bottom of the movement.
7. Cable Pec Press Around
The cable pec press around is a pressing motion in which you press beyond the body’s midline to further engage the inner chest muscle. It’s a standing exercise that requires the upper arm to perform more rotation and adduction of the shoulder joint, helping to isolate the inner chest muscle more than other pressing variations.
How To Do the Cable Pec Press Around
- Set the cable pulley to shoulder height, but do not face the cable system. You want to be sideways so that resistance corresponds to engaging the inner chest muscles during movement.
- Grab one handle and perform the movement with one arm at a time to press beyond the body’s midline.
- Maintain balance with a strong stance and lean to ensure your body is as still as possible.
- Perform the pressing motion.
- Once you get to the body’s midline, press past this point, so you are going across another 2-3 inches and targeting those inner chest muscles.
Pro Tip
This exercise is a secondary multi-joint movement that should be near the middle of your routine. It should be performed with 2-3 sets of 8-12 reps per arm.
Benefits
Using this single-arm movement is necessary to ensure your program has balance as a form of unilateral training (training each side independently of the other to help prevent strength and physique imbalances).
It is also a great way to alter a simple movement to benefit the inner chest muscles.
8. Crossbody Cable Fly
The cross body cable fly is similar to the pec press around, requiring you to move your arms beyond the body’s midline.
Since it’s a single-joint movement, you cannot lift as much as a pec around press. But it is still a helpful movement to isolate the inner chest muscle. And just like the pec press around, it can help you balance out your training with a unilateral movement.
How To Do the Crossbody Cable Fly
- Set up the cables to be just about shoulder height.
- Grab the cable and move your body so that you are facing sideways to the pulley.
- Step back so that the cable aligns with the front of your chest during the chest fly motion.
- Perform the cable chest fly exercise with one arm, and continue to perform the fly motion 2-3 inches past the midline of your body.
- Maintain balance with a strong stance and lean to ensure your body is as still as possible.
Pro Tip
This exercise is an isolation movement that should be in the second half of your routine. It should be performed with 2-3 sets of 8-12 reps per arm.
Benefits
The chest fly is an exercise that helps isolate the chest muscles by incorporating the shoulder joint. The upper arm internally rotates and adducts, but what helps this movement work more for the inner chest is that you perform the fly beyond the midline of the body to engage this section of the body.
9. High Cable Fly
Just as with the other chest fly motions, the rotation and adduction of the shoulder joint in the high cable fly put a major emphasis on the chest muscles for providing massive growth.
This movement requires a double pulley system inside a cable rack machine. Limitations could occur due to the availability of equipment. If so, do a single-arm variation or perform any other movement in this article.
How To Do the High Cable Fly
- Set the cables above your shoulders.
- Grab each handle, extend your arms, and prepare to begin the chest fly motion.
- Because the handles are anchored high, you need to lean forward and have an aiming point that allows the fly motion to still reach the middle to the bottom part of your chest.
- With a partial bend in your arms, rotate and adduct your arms and perform the chest fly for the reps prescribed.
- At the end of each rep, squeeze the pecs to emphasize the inner chest muscles more.
Pro Tip
This exercise is an isolation movement that should be in the second half of your routine. It should be performed with 2-3 sets of 8-12 reps per arm.
Benefits
Using this type of cable fly helps to benefit not just the inner chest muscles but also the lower fibers of the chest muscle. Earlier, I provided movements from a flat angle and an inclined angle. Performing movements from different positions will help fill your anatomy appropriately.
10. Close-Grip Push-Ups
One of the most undermined types of resistance training is calisthenics (bodyweight movements).
You’re typically on a bench and stabilizing resistance with your hands when doing a traditional chest press. With a push-up, the characteristics of this pressing motion are switched so that the hands are motionless.
This inner chest push-up variation should be added to your routine for a balanced approach.
How To Do Close-Grip Push-Ups
- Set your hands on the floor as if you are about to do a normal push-up.
- Measure the distance between your hands, then divide it in half to use for your close-grip position.
- If that seems too close, open your grip slightly.
- Bend your elbows and lower your body until your chest is as close to touching the floor as possible.
- Straighten your arms to push yourself back up. If possible, squeeze at the top of each rep.
Pro Tip
This exercise should be near the end of your routine. You should perform this for 2-3 sets of 12-20 reps or even failure.
Make note of how many reps it takes to hit failure, and try to beat that number each week. Make sure to emphasize the lockout of each rep and squeeze your chest at the top.
Benefits
This pressing variation is very simple compared to other types of pressing motions. It doesn’t require any equipment, so you can do it anywhere.
The further you can squeeze and focus on the end of the lift, the more you can improve isolating the inner chest muscles.
11. Deficit Push-Ups
The deficit push-up requires you to do push-ups from an elevated position. Because your hands are elevated, the movement has you stretching the muscle further to reach the floor.
Although this variation might fatigue the muscle more near the insertion point (the upper arm), it’s important to do the movement a certain way to favor the inner chest muscles instead.
How To Do Deficit Push Ups
- Set your hands elevated 2-4 inches, perhaps on top of a bumper plate or anything relatable.
- Bring your chest down to the floor until you feel a stretch in the chest muscles.
- Squeeze the chest at the top of each lift to continue to fatigue the inner chest.
- As long as you focus on the upper aspect of the lift, that inner chest fatigue should carry over into all aspects of the exercise.
Pro Tip
This exercise should be near the end of your routine. You should perform this for 2-3 sets of 12-20 reps or even failure.
If possible, you can also use push-up handles to help elevate your body and achieve a deficit without flexing the wrist joint. Push-up handles also allow you to rotate your grip, which can influence upper arm placement to increase rotation and adduction.
Benefits
This exercise is another very simple pressing variation that provides a different range of fatigue due to the elevation. The more you squeeze and focus on the end of the lift, the more you can improve isolating the inner chest muscles.
Training the lower chest is also important for overall strength and a balanced physique. Learn how to target the lower pec muscles in 9 Effective Decline Bench Press Alternatives.
3 Tips for Getting the Best Results When Training Your Inner Chest
To make sure you favor the inner chest when performing the movements above, you must:
1. Manipulate the Tempo of the Movement
When performing inner chest exercises, it is not always about lifting fast and explosive. If you want to grow, you need to fatigue the muscle with more time under tension (i.e., how long the muscle is under stress).
2. Focus on the End of Each Movement
Make sure to focus on the amount of tension at the end of the movement – for example, when the hands are beginning to touch during the machine chest fly. This will allow you to really feel the inner chest muscles working and help them get bigger and stronger.
3. Use Different Forms of Resistance for Leveraging the Chest
Throughout this article, we discussed using barbells, dumbbells, cables, and even body weight. The more you can provide variety of resistance, the better you can learn to exaggerate certain parts of your anatomy.
Sample Inner Chest Workout
I’ve provided two sample workouts to show you how to work the inner chest by combining the movements above. I would suggest doing each workout once a week because both workouts provide some variety from each other.
You’ll notice that many of the movements call for RPE, or rate of perceived exertion. This means you are looking for an intensity level corresponding to the RPE value provided.
If an exercise asks for RPE10, that means you hit the heaviest weight possible and couldn’t do any more reps than prescribed.
If you use RPE9, RPE8, or RPE7, the movement should seem easier. But this can also be biased based on the lifter. This can be a benefit to the lifter, but if he or she is not familiar enough with the system, it can cause issues with selecting exercise load.
Sample Workout 1:
- Barbell flat bench – 2 x 6 starting with 80% of your 1 rep max
- Dumbbell flat bench – 2 x 10 with RPE9
- Partial incline hex press – 5 x 12 with RPE9
- Crossbody cable fly – 3 x 15
- Close-grip push-ups – 3 x failure
Sample Workout 2:
- Dumbbell flat bench – 2 x 6 RPE9 and RPE10
- Barbell flat bench – 2 x 10 starting with 72% of your 1 rep max
- Partial incline hammer squeeze press – 3 x 10 RPE9
- Machine chest fly – 5 x 12
- Deficit push-ups – 3 x failure
Frequently Asked Questions
How Do You Work Your Inner Chest?
Working your inner chest requires movements that favor the midline of your body through internal rotation and shoulder adduction. Movements like a barbell bench press can still improve the size of your chest, but choosing variations that allow your upper arms to move freely can help favor the body’s midline.
What Exercise Works Your Inner Chest?
Most pressing and fly movements, including the barbell bench press and machine chest fly, work the inner chest. The biggest variable is making sure to emphasize resistance as you approach the midline of the body. It’s wise to use a combination of these actions, not purely one or the other.
What Exercises Fix a Sunken Chest?
Picking a balance of movements is best for a sunken chest. Examples of these movements include a pressing motion, a rotation movement, and using different types of resistance (such as barbells, dumbbells, and cable machines). This variety can make a difference because it works the chest muscles from different angles.
Final Thoughts: How to Build the Inner Chest
When training the chest, it is important to train the various fibers of this muscle. The idea is to build a bigger chest; the biggest part of the chest is the middle region that houses the inner muscle fibers.
To do this, we must focus primarily on movements of internal rotation and adduction of the upper arms. Movements like the dumbbell flat bench, incline hex press, and pec push around favor the inner chest muscles the most.
These movements are essential for creating the best workout for the inner chest because they provide a ton of rotation and adduction for building a stronger and bigger chest.
About The Author
Joseph Lucero is a strength and conditioning specialist who owns his online coaching business “Harvesting Strength.” He earned his master’s degree from the University of Texas at San Antonio and has his Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist certification (CSCS) from the NSCA. He coaches all types of strength athletes, including powerlifters and strongmen, and has authored many books on Amazon regarding different topics in strength training!
