6 Best Upper Chest Dumbbell Exercises to Gain Muscle

The pectoralis major, or the chest, is made up of three heads: clavicular head (upper chest), sternal head (middle chest), and abdominal head (lower chest).

In this article, I’ll focus on the upper portion of the chest, the clavicular head.

Training the clavicular head helps create a jacked and aesthetic appearance of the chest, provides stability to your shoulder, maximizes your performance during the push workout, and helps scale your bench press.

There are various exercises you can do to hit your upper pecs, but if you want to do it with dumbbells only, you’ve come to the right place.

In this article, I’ve shared the top six dumbbell exercises that primarily engage the upper chest and help build a sturdy, toned, and jacked chest.

Here’s a quick list of those exercises:

• Incline Bench Press
• Incline Dumbbell Fly
• Incline Squeeze Press
• Standing Upward Fly
• Decline Deficit Push-up
• Dumbbell Pullover

Before I share more about these exercises, let’s see if the dumbbells can develop your chest or not.

Can You Develop Your Upper Chest with Dumbbells Only?

Yes, you can grow your upper chest with dumbbells.

Here are reasons why dumbbells are effective and how you can use them to build muscle:

1. The dumbbell workout promotes muscle growth through mechanical and metabolic overload. Performing low-rep sets with heavy dumbbells elicits mechanical overload while training with moderate-weight dumbbells combined with high reps till failure can produce metabolic overload.¹ 5 Benefits of Dumbbell Training – Pete Call, 2015, American Council of Exercise (ACE)
2. With dumbbells, you can do both compound (bench press, pullover, and decline deficit pushup) and isolation (chest fly, squeeze press, and upward fly) exercises to grow your upper chest.
3. Dumbbells allow you to perform single-arm exercises for the chest, also known as unilateral exercises. These exercises allow you to work on each side of the chest individually and help you improve your muscle imbalance, proportion, and definition.
4. Dumbbells are easy to grip, provide a full range of motion, and help you effectively isolate the upper chest.

6 Best Upper Chest Dumbbell Exercises to Build Aesthetic Pecs

1. Incline Chest Press

Difficulty Level	Beginner
Equipment Needed	Dumbbells and Bench
Secondary Engaged Muscles	Shoulder and Triceps
Force Type	Push

The incline dumbbell bench press is a primary exercise for developing the upper chest.² Chaves, Suene & Rocha, Valdinar & Encarnação, Irismar & Martins Costa, Hugo & Freitas, Eduardo & Coelho, Daniel & Franco, Frederico & Loenneke, Jeremy & Bottaro, Martim & Ferreira Júnior, João. (2020). Effects of Horizontal and Incline Bench Press on Neuromuscular Adaptations in Untrained Young Men. International Journal of Exercise Science. 13.

It is performed at a 30-degree incline angle for maximum clavicular head activation.³ Rodríguez-Ridao, David et al. “Effect of Five Bench Inclinations on the Electromyographic Activity of the Pectoralis Major, Anterior Deltoid, and Triceps Brachii during the Bench Press Exercise.” International journal of environmental research and public health vol. 17,19 7339. 8 Oct. 2020, doi:10.3390/ijerph17197339

The incline dumbbell press should be your first exercise when training your upper chest because it allows you to lift heavy and generate mechanical overload.

Steps to Perform:

1. Set the bench to a 30-degree incline height, grab a pair of dumbbells, and lie on the bench with your face up.
2. Hold the dumbbells at your chest levels with your elbows bent and brace your abdominal muscles.
3. Squeezing your pecs, press the dumbbells over your chest until your arms are straight.

I recommend performing four sets with the rep ranges of 6-10 per set.

2. Incline Dumbbell Fly

Difficulty Level	Beginner to Intermediate
Equipment Needed	Dumbbells and Bench
Secondary Engaged Muscles	Shoulder and Biceps
Force Type	Pull

The incline dumbbell fly is an old-school chest workout that provides a deep stretch in your upper pecs while lowering (taking your arms away from the body) the dumbbells.⁴ Reiser, Fernando & Lira, Jumes & Bonfim, Beatriz & Filho, Solival & Durante, Bruno & Cardoso, João & Miotto, Hamilton & Soares, Marcos & Bonuzzi, Giordano & Tavares, Lucas. (2017). Electromyography of Dumbbell Fly Exercise Using Different Planes and Labile Surfaces. Journal of Exercise Physiology Online. 20. 31. This stretching causes more muscle damage, subsequently leading to muscle growth.

I recommend doing it as your second exercise because after the bench press, your muscles are ready, and you can efficiently target your upper pecs with this exercise.

Steps to Perform:

1. Set the bench to a 20-30 degree incline, grab a pair of dumbbells in each hand, and lie on the bench with your face up.
2. Tighten your core and keep your arms out with your elbows slightly bent.
3. Contracting your upper chest, bring the dumbbells toward each other until they are above your chest.
4. Pause for two seconds, and then return your arms to the start.

Perform three sets of 10-12 reps with moderate-weight dumbbells, typically 30-40% lighter than the bench press.

3. Decline Deficit Push-up

Difficulty Level	Intermediate
Equipment Needed	Dumbbells and Bench
Secondary Engaged Muscles	Abs, Shoulder, and Triceps
Force Type	Push

The declined push-up is a compound movement that targets the chest, anterior delt, triceps, and abdominal muscles all at once.

The declined position puts more stress on the clavicular head, and deficit variation provides a deeper stretch.

The combination of decline angle and deficit variation helps build a chiseled chest.

Steps to Perform

1. Grab one dumbbell in each hand and get into a decline straight arm plank position by keeping your feet elevated.
2. Keep your arms straight and core tight, and maintain a flat body from top to bottom.
3. Lower your upper trunk deliberately until your chest is fully stretched.
4. Pause for a moment, then return to the start.

Perform three sets of 10 reps. The deficit push-up can fit anywhere in your workout, but make sure your muscles are warm before doing this exercise.

4. Incline Squeeze Press

Difficulty Level	Beginner to Intermediate
Equipment Needed	Dumbbells and Bench
Secondary Engaged Muscles	Triceps
Force Type	Push

The dumbbell squeeze press is an isolation exercise that helps highly activate your pectoral regions, including the clavicular head, giving them a nice and fuller shape.

Steps to Perform

1. Grasp a pair of dumbbells and lie on a 30-degree incline bench with your face up.
2. Keeping your elbows bent, hold the dumbbells above your chest with your palms facing each other.
3. Squeezing your chest, press the dumbbells above your chest until your arms are straight.
4. Contract your pecs for two seconds, feel the work, then return to the start.

Perform three sets of 10-12 reps. I recommend doing it as your last move on your chest day, as it will push your muscles to their limits and ensure maximum muscle growth.

5. Standing Upward Fly

Difficulty Level	Intermediate
Equipment Needed	Dumbbells
Secondary Engaged Muscles	Anterior Deltoid
Force Type	Pull

The dumbbell upward fly targets the pectoral muscles, especially your upper chest.

The best thing about this exercise is that it does not require a workout bench, as you can do it while standing on the floor.

How to do it:

1. Holding a pair of dumbbells, stand upright in the shoulder-width stance.
2. Keep your arms straight at your sides with your palms facing up.
3. Focusing on your chest, raise your arms in front of you until they are at your chest level.
4. Lower them back to the start and repeat for the desired repetitions and sets.

Perform three to four sets of 10 reps. You can also do unilateral fly or alternate fly to work each side of your chest individually and improve symmetry.

Use light dumbbells compare to the other exercises.

6. Incline Dumbbell Pullover

Difficulty Level	Intermediate
Equipment Needed	Dumbbells and Bench
Secondary Engaged Muscles	Latissimus Dorsi
Force Type	Pull

The pullover primarily focuses on the entire chest and the latissimus dorsi (lats), but doing it on an incline bench can put more emphasis on the upper portion of the chest.

Steps to Perform:

1. Grab the inner head of the dumbbell with a neutral grip. Place your upper back on the bench, with your hips and lower back parallel to the floor.
2. Bend your knees and keep your feet flat on the ground.
3. Keeping your elbows straight, extend your arms behind your head, and maintain a tight core.
4. Contracting your pecs, pull the dumbbell until it comes directly over your chest.
5. Pause for a couple of seconds and then return to the start.

Perform three to four sets of 8-10 reps. I recommend doing it once in three sessions.

How to Program These Exercises into Your Chest Workout?

You should start your workout with compound exercises followed by isolation exercises.

In the case of the upper chest, I recommend starting your workout with incline bench presses and decline deficit push-ups, followed by chest fly, standing flyes, and squeeze presses.

Here’s how a 30-minute upper chest dumbbell workout looks:

• Incline Bench Press: 4 sets x 8-10 reps
• Incline Dumbbell Fly: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
• Decline Deficit Push-up: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
• Standing Upward Fly or Incline Squeeze Press: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
• Perform standing chest fly and squeeze press in alternate sessions.

Wrapping It Up

The developed upper chest gives your chest a fuller and more aesthetic shape, helps you perform better during push exercises, improves your shoulder mobility, and enhances your torso appearance.

You can bolster your upper pecs with various equipment, including barbells, machines, and dip bars.

However, if you only have dumbbells for resistance training, do these six exercises: incline bench press, DB fly, squeeze press, standing upward fly, deficit push-up, and pullover.

These exercises effectively hammer the clavicular head and help build a stronger, sculpted, and jacked chest.

References

• 1
  5 Benefits of Dumbbell Training – Pete Call, 2015, American Council of Exercise (ACE)
• 2
  Chaves, Suene & Rocha, Valdinar & Encarnação, Irismar & Martins Costa, Hugo & Freitas, Eduardo & Coelho, Daniel & Franco, Frederico & Loenneke, Jeremy & Bottaro, Martim & Ferreira Júnior, João. (2020). Effects of Horizontal and Incline Bench Press on Neuromuscular Adaptations in Untrained Young Men. International Journal of Exercise Science. 13.
• 3
  Rodríguez-Ridao, David et al. “Effect of Five Bench Inclinations on the Electromyographic Activity of the Pectoralis Major, Anterior Deltoid, and Triceps Brachii during the Bench Press Exercise.” International journal of environmental research and public health vol. 17,19 7339. 8 Oct. 2020, doi:10.3390/ijerph17197339
• 4
  Reiser, Fernando & Lira, Jumes & Bonfim, Beatriz & Filho, Solival & Durante, Bruno & Cardoso, João & Miotto, Hamilton & Soares, Marcos & Bonuzzi, Giordano & Tavares, Lucas. (2017). Electromyography of Dumbbell Fly Exercise Using Different Planes and Labile Surfaces. Journal of Exercise Physiology Online. 20. 31.