If your lower chest area isn’t as defined as you’d like it to be, you don’t need to panic. Even hard gaining bodybuilders have struggled with finding the best lower chest workout routines that match their fitness goals.
Building a well-defined lower chest requires consistency and the right exercises. Unlike gym routines that rely on heavy equipment, home workouts focus on bodyweight and minimal equipment to effectively target the lower pecs. These exercises not only help improve chest strength but also contribute to overall upper body development. Whether you’re new to working out or have some experience, these home-friendly workouts allow you to progressively challenge your muscles, ensuring steady growth without needing a gym membership.
In this article, you’ll learn how to workout lower chest at home. We’ve also included a lower chest workout plan that you can customize to suit your level of training experience. Aim to do as many reps as possible of this home workout until you reach failure.
Best Lower Chest Exercises to Build Chest Muscle Quickly
1) Explosive Incline Push-up
This is one of the best bodyweight exercises to build your lower chest. It’s a variation of the standard incline push-up. The main difference between both is that in this one, the explosive push forces your muscles to work harder in a shorter amount of time, recruiting more fast-twitch muscle fibers. These fibers are responsible for power and size. When you do this workout in the proper form and at the correct angle, the fibers will work fast to develop your lower chest. Check out the video below. The explosive incline push-up begins at 0:56.
Step-by-step Guide
- Place both palms flat on the edge of a low table, chair, or other elevated surface. The object that you use should be between 16 and 18 inches or 40 and 46 centimeters tall. This is the standard height of weight benches. If the surface is too high, you risk overarching your back and being unable to plant your feet firmly on the floor. On the other hand, using a surface that’s too low will force your elbows to have a limited range of motion, which reduces the activation of your chest muscles during the workout.Â
- Extend your legs completely, using the balls of your feet to support your body weight.Â
- Incline your upper arms at an angle of 45° from your torso. This is your starting position.
- Push upwards and let go of the surface completely for a brief period.
- Placing both arms on the surface again, lower your chest back towards the surface until you resume proper form.Â
2) Chest Dip
One of the best exercises that target the lower chest is the chest dip. The main focus of the chest dip is the pectoralis major. The pec major has two heads; the clavicular head, sited in the upper chest area, and the sternal head, located in the lower chest region.
When you do a chest dip, you work the lower part of the pec major, that is, the sternal head. You also shift the emphasis from your triceps to your chest muscles as you lean forward. This forward angle increases the stretch and contraction of the pectoralis major, especially the lower fibers. The chest dip in this video starts at 4:56.
Step-by-step Guide
- Turn your back to the edge of the table that you’re using.Â
- Grasp the edge of the table using supinated or underhand grips.
- Move your upper arms to a 45° angle positioning away from your upper body. Beware of flaring out your arms too much or keeping them too close to your torso.
- Extend your legs in front of you, resting your weight on your heels.
- Slowly lower your body as if you’re trying to sit on the floor but don’t complete the full range of motion required to sit. Stop lowering your body when your elbows are bent at about 90° and your shoulders are slightly below your elbows.Â
- Raise your body till your butt is almost at the same level as the table surface.
3) Decline Dumbbell Fly
If you don’t have a cable machine at home and, thus, can’t do a cable crossover, do the decline dumbbell fly instead. In a decline dumbbell fly, gravity pulls the dumbbells in a direction that requires the lower chest fibers to work harder. As you move the dumbbells downward and slightly away from your lower chest, you automatically increase the demand on your lower chest muscles to control and reverse the movement.
The standard equipment for performing a decline dumbbell fly is a decline bench or a decline weight bench. If you have this at home, then you’re all set. What if you don’t have it? You can still do this exercise with an adjustable bench or an exercise ball.
If you’re using an adjustable bench, set it to a decline angle of 15° to 30° and lock it in place securely. If you have an exercise ball, sit on it and walk your feet forward, allowing the ball to roll under your back until it supports your upper back and shoulders. Your hips should be slightly lower than your shoulders when your body forms the decline angle.
If none of the above options are available, arrange two chairs or sturdy boxes in such a way that one is higher than the other and place a non-slip board or piece of plywood on the chairs or boxes to create a slanted surface. Ensure that the surface is stable before beginning the workout. Watch the video below; the decline dumbbell fly begins at 1:28.
Step-by-step Guide
- Sit on the decline bench and hook your feet under the foot pads to prevent them from sliding downwards and disrupting the workout.Â
- Lie your back on the bench.Â
- Hold one dumbbell in each hand using a neutral grip.Â
- Inhale as you lower the dumbbells sideways. Keep a slight bend in your elbows and retract your shoulder blades as you lower the dumbbells.Â
- Continue to lower the dumbbells until you feel a stretch in your chest muscles.Â
- Exhaling, raise the dumbbells back up in a reverse arc. Bring them directly over your chest.
4) Pseudo Planche Push-up
Pseudo planche push-ups don’t isolate your lower chest muscles like the first three exercises above. This is because the movements involved in this workout increase the demand on your front shoulders and upper chest, thus reducing the workload on your lower chest. In the video below, the workout kicks off at 2:24.
Step-by-step Guide
- Assume a standard plank position.Â
- Slide your hands towards your hips. Your palms should be finally placed about 5 to 15 centimeters or 2 to 6 inches from your waist.Â
- Lean forward so that your shoulders are between 5 to 15 centimeters or 2 to 6 inches from your palms.Â
- Rotate your palms approximately 90° outward, spreading your fingers for more stability.Â
- Push downwards till your chest is almost touching the floor. Keep your elbows close to your torso.
- Push upwards till you’ve fully extended your arms.Â
5) Dumbbell Bench Press
Research has shown that the best variation of the dumbbell bench press for a lower chest workout is the horizontal bench press or the bench press where the bench isn’t inclined at all. In a study of the effects of various bench inclinations on the electromyographic (EMG) activity of the pecs major, it was found that a person’s pecs has the most EMG activity when they do a bench press at an inclination of 0°.
While you don’t need to incline your bench, you should incline your upper arms at a 30° to 60° angle from your torso during the pressing motion. It’s okay to incline your upper arms at a 90° angle from your torso if you can. But then, you’ll be imitating the hand placement during a barbell bench press and essentially losing out on the benefit of hand placement flexibility that a dumbbell bench press offers.
Step-by-step Guide
- Lie flat on a bench and plant your feet firmly on the floor. Keep them wider than shoulder-width apart.
- Grasp the dumbbells with an overhand grip.Â
- Position your arms such that your upper arms are inclined at a 30°-60° angle from your torso while your forearms are perpendicular to the floor.Â
- Press upwards, maintaining a slight bend in your elbows as you go.Â
- At the top of the pressing motion, the weights on opposite sides of the dumbbells should almost touch each other.Â
- Lower your arms until the dumbbells are a little above your shoulders.Â
Sample Lower Chest Workout Routine
Thinking of how to combine these exercises into a workout routine that boosts the growth of your lower pecs? Here’s a table detailing a sample arrangement of these exercises. If you reach failure before completing the recommended number of reps, it’s okay to stop, rest, and move on to the next workout.
Workout | Reps | Rest Period |
Explosive incline pushup | 10-12 | 60 seconds |
Decline dumbbell fly | 6-8 | 60 seconds |
Pseudo planche pushup | 6-8 | 90 seconds |
Dumbbell Bench Press | 8-10 | 60 seconds |
Chest dip | 8-10 | 60-90 seconds |
Before starting the main workout session, do a short warm-up routine that engages the main muscle groups that’ll participate in the lower chest workout. Some effective exercises targeting areas of the chest and nearby regions are shoulder shrugs, chest stretches, wall pushups.
Conclusion
The 5 exercises recommended in this article all place significant emphasis on the lower chest. By performing them regularly, you’ll define your lower chest in no time. After your lower chest workout, lean back on a chair with your arms extended out to the sides, allowing your chest to stretch. Then, follow up with a standing chest stretch by clasping your hands behind your back, straightening your arms, and lifting them slightly while pushing your chest forward.