Welcome to the House of Hypertrophy. Well-developed upper pecs can take your physique to the next level. We likely need an exercise to preferentially train the upper pecs. How can this be done? There are actually a number of options on the table, including some options you rarely hear about.
Let's start with what the data suggests about the most popular exercise. Well-controlled electromyographic research finds that the ratio of upper-peck to middle-peck activity is better when the force is directed obliquely upward instead of purely horizontally. Inclined bench pressing replicates this, at least insofar as pushing in an upward direction. Indeed, out of the seven studies that have explored this, inclined bench pressing produced greater upper-peck activity compared to the flat-barbell bench press in five of them.
It is also notable that the majority find middle and lower pec activity is reduced with the incline, and front delt activity is higher with the incline. There's occasionally debates on the optimal incline angle for targeting the upper pecs. What does the current literature say? One paper found a 30 degree incline was ideal, another found it was a 44 degree incline, while we even have data finding similar upper pec activity between a 30 and 45 degree incline. Besides the possibility of the limitations with electromyography measures, individual differences could be in play.
People don't have identical muscle architecture or leverages, nor do people have an identical bench press setup, so the ideal incline angle may differ between people. So if you would like to incline bench press, and your bench is adjustable, feel free to experiment around. It's worth noting incline bench pressing can also be done with a smith machine.
dumbbells, and a cambered bar. Moreover, feet-elevated push-ups and certain machine chest presses where you push upwards likely effectively hit the upper pecs. Although, one caveat with feet-elevated push-ups is your head tends to limit how much you can lower yourself, resulting in a reduced pec stretch. Using some boxes or handles to increase depth can go some way to alleviate this shortcoming though.
So all of these options likely preferentially target the upper pecs, but there are actually some more, perhaps underappreciated ways, the upper pecs could be targeted. Out of all the pec regions, the upper pecs have the best leverage for performing shoulder flexion, and well-controlled electromyographic analyses find the upper pecs contribute more to shoulder flexion than the other regions. During horizontal presses, Using a closer grip gets you closer to predominantly performing shoulder flexion.
This is best achieved when keeping the armors near to the side and not flared out. Also, using a reverse grip on a barbell also forces you into performing shoulder flexion, regardless of the grip used. We might speculate these preferentially target the upper pecs, yet the data is somewhat split. Since out of the 8 papers comparing close to moderate and wider grip bench pressing, 4 of them find upper pec activity is better with a closer grip. Out of the 2 papers comparing reverse grip bench pressing to normal grip bench pressing, only 1 finds enhanced upper pec activity.
As an additional note, the majority of data finds closer grips better recruit the triceps. When comparing these variations to an The Incline Bench Press with a Wider Grip We just have this paper that found upper-peck activity was not statistically different between a closer grip bench press and an incline with a wider grip, although the raw numbers lean toward the closer grip. Regardless, this might be tentative evidence closer grips could be as good for the upper pecks as a standard incline. We shouldn't forget that closer grips and reverse grips can even be used with the Smith machine, dumbbells, and even push-ups.
So There is a fair number of potential upper pec options. We'll provide some recommendations in a second. I say this because we're not quite done. It's possible for us to use a closer or reverse grip on an inclined ankle. Could this be the best?
The only analysis from the literature is this paper, that found compared to an inclined bench press with a wider grip, an incline with a closer and reverse grip produce non-statistically different upper pec activity. Also, The raw numbers lean towards using closer and reverse grips on the incline. However, it's worth mentioning this paper was the same one that found flat closer grip bench pressing produced upper pec activity levels that were not statistically different from the incline with a wider grip. Anyhow, we'll add closer and reverse grips with an incline to our already extensive list. The Landmine Press and Lying Svend Press are two final exercises worth mentioning.
The landmine press involves pushing in an upward direction that we know likely preferentially targets the upper pecs. However, the very close hand spacing reduces the overall stretch of the pecs. Thus, I suspect it's not going to be as good as all the other options mentioned. But it's certainly not a bad exercise and it will still build muscle.
So if someone really likes it, that can be enough of a reason to train with it. As for the Lange's Fendt Press, It's essentially a close grip press with an intense chest squeeze against a plate. The size of the plate means the stretch is restricted, and since there's only so heavy of a plate you can lift, it's going to be difficult to progress this exercise in the long term. Dumbbells can be used, but this still suffers from a restricted stretch.
The only scenario where I think someone may want to perform this is simply if they find it a fun and enjoyable addition to their training. So we know there's a ton of upper pec options, what's the recommendation? We've seen there is essentially evidence for all of these variations better targeting the upper pecs and in the limited data that has compared some of these, there are non-significant differences. Thus, For now, I'd simply recommend selecting whatever option you like, although it is possible what works best could differ between people.
For example, Greg Knuckles from Stronger By Science notes his upper pecs get outrageously sore from flat reverse benching, whereas this never happens from his incline experience. Thus, you could experiment with any of the variations and evaluate how they subjectively score for you. Do you perceive more upper pec with him? Is the pump and perhaps the next day's soreness in the upper pecs greater than usual? Now, it's critical to understand subjective sensations are not yet validated proxies for actual muscle activation, and we also know despite popular belief, the intracellular events associated with a pump and soreness do not appear to be strong drivers of hypertrophy.
But having said this, I believe it's still plausible when controlling as much factors. Subjective sensations like the pump and soreness could be indirect insights to the actual tension seen by a muscle region. So in the absence of anything else, I think it's not the end of the world for you to try and use your subjective perception to help determine what you may train with.
Some of you may be wondering about isolation exercises. Well, What you just saw was actually a clip from our Ultimate Chest Guide. Feel free to check that out for extra information. Before wrapping up, navigating all the fitness advice out there can be challenging.
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Thank you for making it to the end. Feel free to check out another one of the videos at the House of Hypertrophy.