Chest
The broad muscles across the front of the ribcage that push the arms forward and across the body.
Overview
The chest muscles — chiefly the pectoralis major, with the smaller pectoralis minor beneath — form the broad muscular sheet across the front of the ribcage, fanning out to attach to the upper arm.
Their main action is pushing and drawing the arms forward and across the body: think of a press-up, pushing a door or a throwing action. They work closely with the shoulders and triceps in most pushing movements.
Good to know
- The main "pushing" muscle of the upper body
- Works together with the shoulders and triceps
- Involved in throwing, pushing and pressing actions
Where it’s used
Sports this relates to:
Weightlifting
A technical strength sport built around lifting a loaded barbell overhead with speed and control.
Calisthenics
Bodyweight strength training — push-ups, pull-ups, dips and progressions you can do almost anywhere.
Boxing
A striking combat sport built on footwork, timing and conditioning, practised from fitness drills to controlled sparring.
Swimming
A full-body, low-impact endurance sport suitable for almost every age and ability.
Exercises that work the chest
Push-up
A classic upper-body pushing exercise where you lower and press your body up from the floor.
Bench press
A pressing exercise lying on a bench, lowering a weight to the chest and pushing it back up.
Tricep dip
A pushing exercise where you lower and raise your body using your arms on parallel bars or a bench.
Burpee
A full-body exercise combining a squat, a plank, and a jump in one flowing movement.
Explore across the knowledge base
Follow the threads that connect Chest to the rest of SocialSportHub.
Training methods
- Circuit TrainingCircuit training moves you through a series of stations back to back with little rest, blending strength and cardio into one time-efficient session.
- Strength TrainingStrength training uses resistance — bodyweight, bands or weights — to challenge your muscles so they gradually adapt and get stronger over time.
- Hypertrophy TrainingHypertrophy training is resistance work structured to encourage muscle growth, typically using moderate repetitions and a steady, controlled tempo.
- Progressive OverloadProgressive overload is the principle of gradually increasing the demand you place on your body so it keeps adapting and improving over time.
- PlyometricsPlyometrics are jumping and bounding drills that train muscles to produce force quickly, developing power and springiness through explosive movement.
Training plans
- Beginner Full-Body WeekA general example of a simple full-body week that spreads a push, a pull, a lower-body movement and some core evenly across three unhurried sessions.
- Beginner Strength WeekA general example week for someone learning the basic strength movements, built around a few short, technique-focused sessions with plenty of rest.
- Home Bodyweight WeekA general example week of short, equipment-free bodyweight sessions you can do at home, built from simple movements like squats, push-ups and planks.
- Three-Day Split ExampleA general example of a simple three-day training split that divides the week into a few focused sessions with rest built in between.
Training guides
Movement patterns
- PushPressing a load or the body away from the torso — horizontally or overhead — by extending the shoulders and elbows, developing the chest, shoulders and triceps.
- StrikeA ballistic, whole-body hitting action that channels ground-generated force through a proximal-to-distal kinetic chain to deliver momentum to a target via the hand, an implement or a body part at the moment of contact.
- GaitThe cyclic, alternating single-leg pattern of walking and running that carries the body across the ground — the base of most field and endurance sport.
- AccelerationThe athletic pattern of building speed from a standing or slow start by driving large horizontal forces into the ground to project the body forward.
- SquatA knee-dominant pattern: bending the hips, knees and ankles to lower and rise while keeping the torso upright — the foundation of lower-body strength.
Sports science
- Motor controlHow the brain and nervous system organise the muscles to produce coordinated, controlled movement.
- ProprioceptionThe body’s internal sense of where its parts are and how they are moving — the awareness behind balance and coordinated movement.
- SupercompensationA widely taught model of how the body, after a bout of training and enough recovery, can rebuild to a slightly higher level than before.
- SpecificityThe idea that the body adapts specifically to the kind of training it is given — you tend to get good at what you actually practise.
- Training adaptationThe process by which the body changes in response to repeated training — the underlying reason exercise makes you fitter, stronger or more skilful over time.
Skills
- Core stabilityThe skill of engaging the trunk muscles to keep the body strong and controlled through movement.
- ServingThe skill of putting the ball or shuttle into play to start a point or rally.
- BalanceThe skill of keeping the body stable and controlled while still or moving.
- BlockingThe skill of using the hands or body to stop or slow an opponent’s attack.