Trying to build upper chest

[Ripped2153]

No matter what I do I can’t fill in my upper chest enough...I hit it 4 times a week minimum just can’t seem to gain the size I’m looking for....any suggestions ?

[Montego1]

No matter what I do I can’t fill in my upper chest enough...I hit it 4 times a week minimum just can’t seem to gain the size I’m looking for....any suggestions ?

Do something different with training and diet.

Whatever you've been doing, do the opposite

[Packman84]

Make sure you're hitting your upper chest. For a long time, I did incline presses that worked great with dumbbells, but with barbells, focused too much on delts and tris. By contrast, a standard military press with good form definitely hits my upper chest, along with delts, tris, traps, etc., and it hits my chest from a different, almost more direct angle. Using different angles is important in stimulating the optimal fibers so that a particular muscle grows. Upper chest can be hit in a number of ways, but a lot of people rely too much on presses to build it up because they don't want to be seen using light weights with their chest. I like using Dumbbell presses at about a 45 degree angle. I also think my body responds well to volume and TUT (or frequency and TUT withc some groups), so I do like 2 sets, 12-15 and 10-12 (or 12-15 again), then a drop set that looks like 6,4 or 6,6 and finally another drop set that looks like 4,4,4, or 4,6,4, or 4, 6, 8.
Barbell presses I use with lighter weights and shoot for high reps. My goal is to fill my upper pecs with blood and stimulate those fibers, not recruit other muscle groups by going to heavy. Some days I'll do 2 sets of 20 with maybe a rest pause around 15-16, then do about three sets with dumbbells, two of them drop-sets ideally. Don't be afraid to let people see you going light on your chest, even with barbells, focus on building a mind-muscle connection. I think you should maybe skip the barbell presses if you do those and focus on dumbbells. Alter the set and rep scheme, as well as the tempo at which you lower the weights.

Incline push-ups also hit upper chest and can help fill the area with blood for a great pump by using at the end or beginning, or even throughout the day. Dips hit other areas aside from the chest as well, but they might hit your pecs at just the right angle, or at least confuse them a little. Go slow and see where in the process you feel the most tension, work on isometric holds in that position.

Another option you may want to incorporate into your routine is cables and machines. Incline cable crossovers can really help develop the upper pecs and help define the line dividing the two pectorals. Try similar movements with dumbbells and barbells and see how your body reacts. Smith machine presses can help you isolate where the bar comes down to on your chest if you do a straight up and down rep (I know that's not optimal technique for max performance). There's also incline flies with or without a machine to try to keep a solid pump and hopefully develop some striations in that area.

I'd also suggest incline hammer strength presses. In general, aim for higher reps (or drop sets / rest pause sets). I'm not talking crazy high reps, maybe between 12-20 on cable crossovers and 8-15 for incline hammer strength presses. Try to keep the reps at 8 or higher, try not to fall below 6, but keep most of your sets in the 12 rep range.

These are just some ideas based on workouts I used to try to bring my upper pecs up to par with the rest of my chest. Again, using my experience, I'd suggest hitting incline dumbbell presses 2x a week, incline push-ups 2x a week, Incline flies 2x a week, military press (with delts) 1 x a week, hammer strength incline press 1x a week, dips 3x a week, and, very important, incline cable crossovers 3 x a week. Also, in addition to military presses, go heavy and use use Arnold presses for shoulders, close grip upright rows, and use plates, Dumbbells, or kettle balls for front raises while trying to grip the weight so that your hand is facing inward to the side, or even slightly upward. Going heavy on lifts that focus on the front delts might cause your body to recruit the upper pecs for help. Just make sure you go hard on the middle, top, side, and rear delts as well as back.

[ArgonCoagulator]

I have a really flat upper chest but the single exercise that has really started to make a difference that I never used to do is Incline Flyes. Yes, that single exercise is a game changer for me atleast and now I totally understand why all the pros do them so much. I don't do a deep stretch bc that is bad for my shoulders, but even so my chest gets stimulated and I can really squeeze my inner/upper pec on the positive. 3-4 sets for 10-12 reps

[Wardamn]

Stop training it 4 times a week. Less frequency and more intensity. You have to recover.

[samgraves82]

I have a really flat upper chest but the single exercise that has really started to make a difference that I never used to do is Incline Flyes. Yes, that single exercise is a game changer for me atleast and now I totally understand why all the pros do them so much. I don't do a deep stretch bc that is bad for my shoulders, but even so my chest gets stimulated and I can really squeeze my inner/upper pec on the positive. 3-4 sets for 10-12 reps

This i concur. I like cable flyes better tho cause easier on my shit shoulders. I assume it's the line of pull difference.

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[Durro]

I see people all the time with no upper chest so for some years now I’ve been starting my chest workout with an incline movement always. And it’s made a big difference in my upper chest.
And finish with incline flys is good.

[maxmuscle1]

I see people all the time with no upper chest so for some years now I’ve been starting my chest workout with an incline movement always. And it’s made a big difference in my upper chest.
And finish with incline flys is good.

Barbell Bench to neck is another good one to add to Arsenal.

Max

[303055622lr]

I kept reading incline press incline press for upper chest. So that's what i did always toast my delts. Finally I discovered a Ben pakulski video wheres he's discussing flat pressing hits upper pecs instead of delts for alot of dudes. So I switched and it made a huge difference. I save incline for cable and dumbel flies. Try it out.

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[cmpody]

Stop training it 4 times a week. Less frequency and more intensity. You have to recover.

This ☝️

[ArgonCoagulator]

This i concur. I like cable flyes better tho cause easier on my shit shoulders. I assume it's the line of pull difference.

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Cable Flyes would probably be even better with the constant tension. I know Jay Cutler likes those.

[samgraves82]

Cable Flyes would probably be even better with the constant tension. I know Jay Cutler likes those.

That too

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[ArgonCoagulator]

I kept reading incline press incline press for upper chest. So that's what i did always toast my delts. Finally I discovered a Ben pakulski video wheres he's discussing flat pressing hits upper pecs instead of delts for alot of dudes. So I switched and it made a huge difference. I save incline for cable and dumbel flies. Try it out.

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Yeah it's weird like that for me too, inclines barbell never give me a pump in my chest. Besides the outer chest by the armpit which I have enough of and for me flat bench or Flyes/pec deck works that part enough. So far for me incline flyes are valuable because I can really squeeze my upper chest at the top of the movement. I think the chest really needs that squeeze to get that full look.

[303055622lr]

Yeah it's weird like that for me too, inclines barbell never give me a pump in my chest. Besides the outer chest by the armpit which I have enough of and for me flat bench or Flyes/pec deck works that part enough. So far for me incline flyes are valuable because I can really squeeze my upper chest at the top of the movement. I think the chest really needs that squeeze to get that full look.

I agree I shoulda mentioned focus on that muscle contraction. Dropping weight and realy focusing on theind muscle contraction helped me alot as welll.

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[Ripped2153]

Thanks everyone been busy so took a minute for me to respond ...a lot of good input - def planning on putting some of these into action !