8 Solid Lifts to Target the Lower Chest

The Lower Chest is one of the 4 sections of the chest that you should 

make sure to pay special attention to!

Working out the lower chest will help to create that lower chest line/cup that many look for in their physique and help to get rid of the saggy chest and dad-bod look that many males are plagued with.

 

The lower chest tends to get a little more love than the upper chest, and depending on the person it is sometimes given less attention than the middle or main part of the chest.

 

For other people the lower chest is more developed than the middle part of the chest.

 

It is important to hit all parts of the chest in order to build a well rounded chest that really “pops”. In order to maximize and receive the gains you get from working out, it is essential you know the key elements to getting a bigger chest.

 

If you haven’t read the article talking about the elements, I highly recommend reading it before this one so a foundation can be built and you are put in the right mindset.

How to Workout the Lower Chest

In order to get rid of the saggy chest/dad body you must put more emphasis on the lower part of the chest, and workouts must be done at a decline. (Usually done on a decline bench)

 

 

 

I say “emphasis” because you will still be

hitting other muscle groups like your shoulders, arms, and other muscle groups.

 

You cannot completely isolate the lower chest. It is the exact same for other lifts as well. When you are using a flat bench, doing flyes, or even doing other muscle groups you will be using the lower, upper, and inner chest.

 

But doing things at a decline does target it more than other lifts.

 

For the incline bench, I found through many sources 30-45 degrees is the optimal angle to target the upper chest (check out my upper chest article).

 

For the decline, you simply just add a – sign in front of those angles.

 

45 degrees is quite steep for a decline so around -30 degrees is closer to what is most beneficial. I couldn’t find any research backed papers that found what angle is the best to decline at, but multiple sources, that are not researched backed, said around -30 degrees is best.

 

So when you are setting the bench angle use your best judgement to get it around -30 degrees. If you are off by 5 or 10 degrees it is not the end of the world…or is it?

I imagine if you’re trying to get a more developed lower chest you also would benefit from tips to increase your bench max!

 

I have a 23 page e-book I’m giving away for free and it contains a killer 12 week workout program and 7 tips to increase your bench max!!!

 

I already knew 3 of the tips mentioned in the e-book, but the other 4 surprised me quite a bit!

 

I implemented all 7 of the tips and immediately increased my bench 10 lbs!!!!

 

That’s a lot considering I didn’t even do anything besides change my form a little and implement the tips!!!

 

For you it could increase yours 5, 10, or maybe even 20 pounds!!! Nobody will know unless you try!

 

Again I’m giving this away for FREE!!! You would benefit tremendously from reading this e-book and following the 12 week program! It’s a priceless resource!

The Best Workouts for the Lower Chest and Best Lifts for the Lower Chest

Now that you know the necessary pre-information we can focus on the working out part (specifically working out the lower chest). The majority of the lifts for the lower chest are exercises are similar to lifts you would do to hit the main part of your chest. The only difference is that they are done at a decline.

 

1. Decline Bench Press

 

 

 

The MAIN workout you should go to and

think of when you think lower chest is the decline bench press.

 

This lift is the fountain of youth for the lower chest and for good reasons. This lift is a compound lift that you can go big and heavy on which will build more muscle in the long than other lifts as long as you are following the key elements to getting a bigger chest.

 

Many people usually can go heavier on this lift than they can on a flat bench (sometimes A LOT more)!

 

If you can’t, that is alright. It just means you have work to do!

 

You should always start off with this lift while you are fresh, full of gas, and ready to get mad gainz. I cannot emphasize how good this lift is for the lower chest; it is one of the best lifts on this list!

 

Key Points

 

-Make sure you have the optimal angle

-Go through a full range of motion (touch your chest)

-Use a free weight barbell instead of a smith machine because it will result in more gains!! (1)

-Use a spotter so you can go till failure (if not grab a stranger and make a friend)

 

 

 

2. Decline Dumbbell Press

 

 

 

 

This lift is another good one for the lower chest.

 

It is like the decline bench press but with dumbbells instead. This lift is great for the smaller muscles of the chest and shoulder because each arm must stabilize each weight independently!

 

How to do it

 

1. Get a decline bench

2. Set the angle to around 30 degrees

3.Lie down on the bench

4.Grab the set of weights you can do for your set amount of reps and weights or have a partner hand them to you

5.Start Pressing

 

Key Points

 

-Make sure you have the optimal angle

-Go through a full range of motion

-Use a safe amount of weight that you can handle and won’t tear your arms off

 

 

 

3. Twisting Dumbbell Press

 

This variation of the dumbbell press adds a twist to it.

 

For this lift you use a flat bench and set up how you would usually do a set of dumbbell presses.

Have your palms facing towards your feet and press up.

As you are pressing up turn your palms towards each other. Here’s a video to show how it’s done.

4. Decline Dumbbell Flyes

 

 

 

 

To do decline flyes set up how you would usually do normal dumbbell flyes, but instead use the decline bench. That’s it. This one will also hit your inner chest as well.

 

Key points

 

-Make sure you have the optimal angle

-Really squeeze at the end of the rep to get a good pump

-Keep your elbows around a 135 degree angle and keep them locked there

-Use a safe amount of weight that you can handle and won’t tear your arms off

High Cable Flyes for Lower Chest

 

In order to workout the lower chest more effectively with flyes, you must change the angle you are pulling the cables in at.

 

Usually when you do cable flyes you set the cable apparatus so that it is about chest or shoulder height.

 

To target the lower chest you must raise whatever cable thingy you are using so that you are pulling the cables down.

 

Pulling the cables down targets the lower chest more than the regular flyes or low cable flyes because you are pulling using a downward motion which uses the lower muscle fibers more (common theme here with the lower chest?).

 

There are a couple variations when doing high cable flyes.

 

5. Single Arm High to Low Cable Flyes

 

In this variation you are using one arm to pull downward. Here are some key points when doing this lift and how how to do it.

 

1. Set cable above head height or even at head height (change the height around and see where you feel the best pump)

2. Grab the handle

3. Keep your elbow flexed and locked at around a 135 degree angle

4. Engage your core (squeeze your abs so you have a solid base to work with)

5. Pull downward using your chest and try to pull it to the other side of your body

6. SQUEEZE

7. Take 1-2 or even longer if that’s your thing to return to the starting position

6. High to low cable crossover

 

In this variation you will be doing a normal cable crossover except with the cables up higher. This is different from the single arm variation because you are using both arms simultaneously.

 

You can do this lift standing, kneeling, upside down or however you like; just make sure you’re pulling downwards and focusing on each rep.

 

Key points/how to do it

 

1. Set cables above head height or even at head height (change the height around and see where you feel the best pump)

2. Grab the handles

3. Keep your elbows flexed and locked at around a 135 degree angle

4. Engage your core (squeeze your abs so you have a solid base to work with)

5. Pull downwards using your chest and try to pull them to the other sides of your body

6. SQUEEZE

7. Take 1-2 or even longer if that’s your thing to return to the starting position

8. Rinse and repeat until you’re done with your set

 

Here’s a brief video showing how it’s done standing (also shows how to do low to high variation to hit the upper chest)

7. Dips (slight variation)

 

 

 

 

If the bench is the King workout for the chest, we could consider dips as the squire or maybe even the prince or princess.

What I’m trying to get at is that they are a

great workout for the chest as long as they are done right.

 

There is a certain technique you can use to target the lower chest even more! I’ll have a video that shows how to do it down below.

 

8. Straight Bar Dip

 

This dip is a variation of the dip. The difference with this dip is that you use a single straight bar to do the dips instead of the usual two that are parallel or slightly angled. Using a single bar forces you to lean over the bar to keep your balance (try to not lean over the bar I dare you). This forces you to use your lower chest more because it puts your arms at a lower angle similar to how the decline press changes which way you are pressing.

 

My Amigo at Athlean-X made a video demonstrating these certain techniques