10 Best Inner Chest Exercises for Getting Sculpted.

When you are an intermediate or beginner individual at the gym, you may be observed that the innermost section of the chest is somewhere lacking – where the muscle fibers join the breastbone known as the inner chest.

However, it is believed that the development of strong pec fibers, pump, size, and definition of the chest is genetically determined – either you have the potential for it or you don’t. Some trainers suggest that achieving a well-defined chest is a result of steroid use and that “natty” lifters simply can’t isolate their pecs well enough to achieve that level of definition.

But the truth is that anyone can chisel out a deeper inner-pec grove with determined, regular effort. Mastering three inner pec-focused movements and adding one chest workout each week to your routine are the keys to getting there.

Anatomy of Chest

Your chest is made up of two muscles: the Pectoralis major and pectoralis minor. These muscles are interlinked to each other.

Pectoralis major

The pectoralis major is a thick, fan-shaped, or triangular convergent muscle, situated at the chest of the human body. It makes up the bulk of the chest muscles and lies under the breast.

Your pec major runs from your sternum (breastbone) up to the clavicle (collarbone), and to the side of your humerus (upper arm bone).

While the pec major is one muscle, anatomically speaking it has two distinct sets of muscle fibers. The upper chest connects to the collarbone, whereas the lower chest connects to the latter.

Pectoralis minor

Your pec minor is a thin, small triangular muscle situated at the upper part of the chest and under your pec major. The pec major muscles arise from your rib cage (3-5 ribs) and insert into your coracoid (a small hook-like profusion at the top of your scapular). It provides you with stabilization, depression, protraction, internal rotation, and downward rotation of the scapula.

10 Best Inner-Chest Exercises to Build a Massive Chest.

To develop your inner chest more shape and sculpt, you need to do exercises that encourage you to move your arms towards your chest midline (sternum). Below are some of them, pick two or three inner chest exercise and install it on your chest day.

1. Dumbbell Flyes

Muscles Target: Mid chest or inner chest.

Lie with your head and shoulders supported by the bench and your feet flat on the floor. Hold the dumbbells directly above your chest, palms facing each other, then lower the weights in an arc out to the sides as far as is comfortable. Use your pectoral muscles to reverse the movement back to the start. Keep a slight bend in your elbows throughout and don’t arch your back.

Tips:-

• Slow eccentric and feel the stretch that is created during eccentric.
• When both dumbbells are coming together feel the pressure that generates above the chest.

2. Diamond Pushup

Muscle Target: Inner chest and tricep.

1. Begin in a push-up position with a narrow grip, and make a diamond shape of your hands
2. Lower your body by tucking your elbows back until your elbows and shoulders make a straight line
3. Pause and push yourself back to the beginning position with a hard contraction

3. Smith Machine Hex Press

Muscle Target: Inner chest.

1. Take a bench, set it to flat, and take a barbell with handles attached to a smith machine.
2. Lie back on the bench with the handles held together and resting on your chest.
3. Keeping the grip firmly together, press them straight out in front of your chest.
4. Lower the weights under control. Then repeat the desired number of reps.

Tips

• Focus on powerful contractions and slow eccentric.
• Perform press in a controlled manner.

4. Svend Press

Muscle Target: Triceps, Inner chest, Front deltoids.

The svend press can isolate the chest muscles and add additional training volume to increase muscle gain. This is the best exercise that pumps your inner chest and develops your inner pecs very well. This is the most important exercise that should include in your chest workout.

1. Grab a lightweight plate, raise it in the mid of the chest with both hands parallel to each other, and between them place a plate.
2. With slowly or control, push the plate and straighten your arm with a pause. Here feel the pressure that was created and then come it to its original position.
3. Making sure the center of your chest is exactly aligned.
4. Squeeze hard to keep your chest contracted. The goal is to use slow, controlled movements with a lot of repetitions.

5. Landmine Chest Press

Muscle Target: Upper chest and inner chest.

1. Place a barbell in a landmine holder or set up a barbell in a corner. Then add weight plates to the free end of the barbell.
2. Assume a half-kneeling position with the knee under your hip, toes tucked, and rib cage down.
3. Press the barbell up straight in front of you until your arms are extended, avoiding hyperextension at the elbows.
4. Hold the weight for a second and focus on contracting your chest muscles.
5. Slowly lower the weight back towards your chest and then repeat for the recommended reps

6. Hex Press

Muscle Target: Inner chest and triceps.

• Start in a dumbbell bench press position, keeping the dumbbells together.
• Extend your arms overhead, then return to the starting position (Remember to keep squeezing the dumbbells throughout the rep)

7. Pec Deck Fly

Muscle Target: Inner chest, pec major.

1. Sit up tall and relax your neck and shoulders. Your feet should be flat on the floor.
2. Grab the handles so that your palms are facing forward. Note that some machines have a foot bar that you need to push in order to release the handles and bring them forward.
3. Press your arms together in front of your chest with a slow, controlled movement. Keep a slight, soft bend in the elbows with wrists relaxed.
4. Pause for one second once your arms are fully “closed” in front of your chest.
5. Bring your arms slowly back to the starting position, opening your chest and keeping your posture strong and upright.

8. Cable Pullover

Muscle Target: Upper chest and also focused to build your inner part of the chest..

1. Set the pulley to its lowest position.
2. Grabs the rope handle and lie down on your back with your head towards the cable machine with a neutral grip.
3. Stretch your arms back behind your head with elbows slightly bent, your arms make a parallel position with your ears.
4. Then pull the rope up straight over your head until your arms are up directly above your chest.
5. Slowly return your arms back behind you and feel a stretch that generates from your lats and chest and then repeat the procedure again.

9. Cable Crossover (High To Low)

It is one best cable chest workouts that target your lower chest portion very hard.

Muscle Target: Pec Major (Lower Head), Front Delts, Pec Minortus Anterior, Core.

1. Set both pulleys as high as possible and select the desired weight.
2. Grasp both handles with a neutral grip and take a step forward to spill the stance.
3. Extend both hands with an arc from the elbows at the level of your shoulders. This is your starting position.
4. Now bring your both arms down and in until the fingers of your hands are touched in the front of your lower chest.
5. Take a beat and squeeze your pecs hard, then slowly return both arms back as possible and stretch your chest. Now, again bring both hands in front of you and repeat.
6. Engage your core muscle and outer your chest, when you performing the game.

Tips:-

• When your hands come closer, squeeze the chest very hard and feel the movement.
• Keep your head up and engage your core.
• Remember to breathe out during contractions and when returning to the neutral position.

10. Cable Crossover (Low to High)

One of the best cable workouts for your upper chest. When you push your arms up it targets your upper part of the chest and when you are lowering the arms it generates stretch that you can feel. Also best cable exercise for building your chest fibers, you can really feel your fibers are working.

Muscles Target: Front Delts, Pec Major (Upper Head).

1. Lower both pulleys and grab the handles with both hands. Your palms facing out.
2. Your arms are slightly bent from the elbows and hands at your hip level. Take a step forward, so the plates are hovering in the air.
3. Exhale and bring your arms up and in until they meet at about your neck or upper chest height.
4. Pause for a second and squeeze the pecs very hard, then slowly return your arms back and lower as far as they can comfortably go.
5. When you return the pulleys feel the stretching tension.

Why Inner Chest Exercises Are Important?

When you are growing up in the bodybuilding field, you can easily find out which area is lacking, which needs to be more trained, and so on.

First of all, the inner chest provides you with an amazing and noticeable look that makes your chest more attractive and broad.

A strong and aesthetically developed chest region offers you more strength and support than the other muscle group in your upper body.

Beginner’s Inner Chest Workout

The inner chest looks aggressive when you have a complete pump on your chest with greater strength. The inner chest provides more shape and size with visible pec fibers that look amazing. If you are a beginner (2-3 months) at the gym, you are at that stage where you need to carry more strength and size on your chest. So, pick 1-2 inner chest exercises and do it on chest day once a week with other chest workouts.

Instead of training for power and strength, this workout focuses on hypertrophy or muscle gain. So, we are going to implement higher reps on the inner-chest exercises and more total volume to deliver a good pump. You’ll definitely feel the pump in your pecs.

Advance Inner Chest Workout

This advanced inner-chest workout should be done once per week to prevent fatigue and cramps (caused by muscle contraction). The extra volume or increased set variation makes it slightly more challenging than the beginner’s routine above. Though, it is still based on the same exercises that offer the best inner-pec hit.   

Note: This is an example of an inner chest workout that gives you an idea of how you select your training volume and frequency.

Summary

One or two inner-chest exercises are very important to include in your chest workout. It helps to provide complete pecs development that creates greater pump and strength.

You can add one inner-chest exercise to your chest workout once a week or twice depending on your training. But keep in mind that “the muscle recovery period should be 48-72 hours to train the same muscle.” Or you can also do the only inner-chest workout with shoulder or triceps workout (How to schedule a perfect weekly workout from beginners to advanced).