10 Best Inner Chest Exercises to Carve Your Pecs

Quick answer: You cannot truly isolate your “inner chest” because it is not a separate muscle. But you can bias the mid-pec fibers by using movements that create strong adduction (bringing your arms toward the midline) and a hard peak squeeze under tension, especially with cables and squeeze-press variations.

Cavernous pecs don’t come easily.

If you want that “filled-in” look, you need more than just benching heavy once a week. You need smart exercise selection, great reps, and a little patience. This guide gives you the best inner-chest-biased movements, a solid workout, plus the anatomy and training cues that actually make a difference.

Table of Contents:

• 10 Best Inner Chest Exercises
• Best Inner Chest Workouts
• Chest Anatomy
• Tips For Training The Inner Chest

10 BEST EXERCISES FOR THE INNER CHEST

These exercises were chosen because they build the full chest while giving you the best chance to emphasize the fibers closest to the midline. You can’t build an impressive “inner chest” without building an impressive chest overall.

The 10 best inner chest exercises are:

1. Close Grip Push Up
2. Bench Press
3. Cable Fly
4. Dumbbell Fly
5. Close Grip Bench Press
6. Hex Press
7. High-to-Low Cable Fly
8. Single Arm Cable Fly
9. Dumbbell Pullover
10. Svend Press

Ideally, you’ll rotate several of these into your chest training. Variety helps you progress, keeps joints happier, and prevents the classic plateau where your bench goes up but your pecs still look “flat.”

1. Close Grip Push-Up

The push-up is the foundation of chest development, and a close grip is one of the simplest ways to bias the “in” portion of the press. Think: elbows closer, hands closer, harder squeeze up top.

It won’t replace heavy pressing for mass, but it’s a great way to build clean reps, reinforce shoulder position, and smoke the chest with minimal equipment.

For more great push up exercises, check out the 33 Best Push Up Variations!

How to do close grip push ups:

• Assume the push up position, but bring your hands together about 2” apart; you can drop your knees to the ground for support or to rest.
• Keep your back straight and lower your chest a few inches above your hands.
• Push your chest back up to the starting position by contracting the inner chest and triceps.
• Repeat.

2. Bench Press

Bench press is your “base layer” for chest size and strength. It loads the pec major hard, which sets you up to get more out of fly and squeeze-style work later. No, it does not isolate the inner chest, but it builds the horsepower that makes inner-chest-focused finishers effective.

You can also include this move in a home chest workout by switching to dumbbells and using the floor in place of a bench.

How to do bench presses:

• Lie on your back on a flat bench and grab the bar with your hands slightly more than shoulder width apart, palms forward and thumb wrapped around the bar.
• Unrack the bar and slowly lower the it about 3-4 inches from middle of your chest; do not let the bar touch your chest.
• Contract your chest to push the bar back to the start position.
• Repeat and rerack at the end of the set.

Note: Rotate between barbell and dumbbell bench press. Barbells usually allow heavier loads, while dumbbells allow a bigger range of motion and often a stronger stretch and squeeze.

3. Cable Fly

Cable flys are one of the best choices for inner-chest emphasis because cables keep tension on the pecs through the full range, especially near the top where the dumbbells often “lose” tension.

Best cue: bring your biceps toward each other and squeeze like you’re trying to hold a credit card between your pecs.

How to do cable flys:

• Set up: Select the weight and adjust the cable handles slightly lower than shoulder width. Stand in the middle of the rack and step forward so your arms are pulled back, but bent forward slightly at the elbow.
• Start by pressing your arms together, maintaining the bend. It’s important to really focus on squeezing the inside of the pecs.
• Stop when your hands meet in front of you but maintain tension on the pecs.
• Slowly return your arms to your sides; you’ll still feel a bit of a stretch while resting between reps.

4. Dumbbell Fly

The dumbbell fly is a classic for a reason. The big benefit here is stretch and range of motion. Control the bottom, then finish by squeezing the bells “in” above your chest.

How to do dumbbell flys:

• Find a good position on the bench with your feet planted and shoulders engaged with the bench and lie back with weights held against your chest.
• Extend your arms outward with elbows pointing downward and lower arms angled slightly up toward the sky.
• Maintain this position and push the arms together above the chest in a wide arc.
• Peak tension is at the top of the lift as the weights come together so be sure to maintain tension throughout.
• Lower the weights back toward the ground; stop when the elbows are just slightly lower than the bench.

Notes:

• For an extra challenge, add a resistance band that passes under your back and wraps at the thumbs while holding the dumbbells.
• You can also shift emphasis by rotating your wrists slightly inward as you come to the top.

5. Close Grip Bench Press

The close grip bench press shifts more work to your triceps and keeps your arms closer to the body, which many lifters feel more in the “inner” portion of the pecs. It is also a great strength builder that carries over to heavier pressing.

Drop the load compared to your normal bench press and keep reps controlled.

How to do the close grip bench press:

• Similar to a flat bench, lie on your back under the bar and grab the bar with a neutral grip.
• The difference: bring your hands together on the bar, about 6” apart, or just above and outside the nipples.
• Unrack the bar and slowly lower it toward your chest until your hands are just a couple inches above your chest; keep your elbow to your sides and pointing forward about 45-70 degrees.
• Push the bar back up until your arms fully extend; concentrate on keeping tension on your inner chest.
• Repeat.

6. Hex Press

The hex press is a “squeeze press.” Pressing the dumbbells together forces continuous adduction, which is exactly the sensation most people want when they say “inner chest.”

How to do hex presses:

• Lie flat on a bench with two dumbbells, similar to a dumbbell press.
• Keep both weights pressed against each other right on top of the middle of the chest (hex-shaped dumbbells make this a bit easier, hence the name).
• While pushing the weights in, squeeze the inner chest and push the weights straight up.
• You’ll want to maintain a lot of tension on the inner chest.
• Slowly draw the weights back down to the chest; don’t bounce them off the chest or rest too long here.
• Repeat.

7. Cable Fly (high to low)

This high-to-low line of pull tends to hit the lower-inner portion of the pecs, especially if you keep your shoulders down and finish with a strong squeeze near your navel.

Training Tip: Stagger your feet and lean forward slightly for stability.

How to perform cable flys high to low:

• Set up: adjust the cable handles at or near the top of the cable towers and step forward slightly ahead of the towers.
• Engage the inner chest and push your arms downward toward your navel; keep your arms angled slightly at the elbow.
• Stop when the handles are about to make contact in front of you (it’s not crucial that they do). Maintain tension on the inner and lower chest.
• Return the handles back up to the start.
• Repeat.

8. Single Arm (isolateral) Cable Fly

Single-arm flys let you dial in your range of motion and clean up side-to-side imbalances. If one pec always “wins” your flys, this is how you fix it.

How to do single arm cable flys:

• Position a bench laterally to the pulley set on the lowest position.
• Lie on the bench with a cable in one hand pulled away from the cable machine. If you don't feel a good stretch in your chest from the starting position, stop and reposition the bench a little further away from the pulley tower.
• Push the cable inward so your arm is straight up over your chest with your palm facing in.
• Return to the start position and repeat.

9. Dumbbell Pullover

The dumbbell pullover trains chest and lats and can add thickness through the upper-inner region when performed with control and a strong pec squeeze at the finish.

How to do dumbbell pullovers:

• Lie across a bench perpendicular to it, with your legs planted firmly and your shoulders on the bench with your head hanging over.
• Hold a dumbbell above your chest between your hands and extend your arms up.
• Slowly bring the weight backward over your head and stop when your arms are parallel to the bench.
• Bring the weight up and forward while squeezing your pecs and your lats.
• Return the weight to the starting position.
• Repeat.

10. Svend Press

This is a simple finisher that forces a constant squeeze. Use it for higher reps, burnouts, or as a last exercise when you want the pecs to feel like they’re trying to crawl off your ribcage.

How to do plate presses:

• Standing, or upright on your knees, squeeze a plate (light) in between your hands at the middle of the chest.
• While squeezing the plate, extend your arms outward completely and don’t let them drop.
• Return your arms back to your chest.
• Repeat (good luck!).

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BEST INNER CHEST WORKOUT

This is a chest session that balances heavy pressing with high-tension “squeeze” work. Run it 1-2 times per week with at least 48 hours between hard chest sessions. Rest about 2 minutes on presses and 60-90 seconds on fly variations.

Note: Always warm up with light weights or bodyweight and stop any set if you feel sharp shoulder pain.

1. Flat Bench Press: 3 sets x 8-12 reps
2. Cable Fly: 5 sets x 12 reps
3. Hex Press: 4 sets x 6-10 reps (can sub with close grip bench)
4. Dips: 4 sets to failure
5. Close push-ups: 4 sets x 40 sec, 30 sec, 20 sec, 10 sec (rest 30 sec in between)

BEST AT HOME WORKOUT FOR INNER CHEST

This is your “no bench, no excuses” option. Keep reps clean and slow on the way down.

1. Banded Close Push-Ups: 4 sets x 15 reps
2. Push-Up Grab Bag: 3 sets x 10 reps – in a single set you’ll do 10 of each w/o stopping – close, normal, wide, normal, close; rest 1 minute in between
3. Decline Push-Ups (elevate feet ~20”): 3 sets x 45 seconds

STRETCHES AND WARM-UPS

A few minutes of dynamic work can make your pressing feel better and keep shoulders happier over time. Do not force a deep stretch if your shoulders feel cranky.

Some good stretches before a chest workout are:

• Band pull aparts
• Band up and overs
• Bent arm wall stretch
• Above the head chest stretch

You can find more in 10 Best Chest Stretches.

Warm up/ramp up sets: Do a few lighter sets before your working weight and gradually build up.

HOW THE CHEST WORKS

The pec major is a large fan-shaped muscle that primarily performs horizontal adduction (bringing the arm across the body), shoulder flexion (raising the arm), and internal rotation. The “inner chest” look is mostly about building thickness in the sternocostal fibers and learning to contract hard near the midline.

The chest muscles include:

• Sternocostal head: Often called the lower chest. This is the biggest portion for most lifters, and it’s the area people usually mean when they say “inner chest.”
• Clavicular head: Often called the upper chest. Inclines, certain fly angles, and shoulder-friendly pressing variations bias this region.
• Pectoralis minor: A smaller muscle under the pec major. You can’t truly isolate it, but you can train it through movements that control the shoulder blades, like dips and decline presses.
• Serratus Anterior: Not part of the chest, but it contributes to the “chest pops off the ribcage” look. Pullovers are a great add-on here. See serratus anterior exercises.

TIPS FOR TRAINING THE INNER CHEST

Use these tips to get more out of the same exercises. Small tweaks add up fast.

• Stop chasing “perfect inner chest isolation”: You are building fibers of the pec major. Your goal is more thickness and a stronger peak squeeze, not a magic movement.
• Win the top of the rep: Most inner-chest-biased work happens near the top when your hands come together. Pause 1 second and squeeze on flys, hex presses, and Svend presses.
• Use a mix of rep ranges: Heavy pressing (5-10 reps) plus higher-rep fly/crossover work (10-20 reps) is a reliable combo for growth.
• Grip matters, but do not overdo it: A narrower grip can emphasize triceps and change pec recruitment ¹. Drop the weight and keep shoulders packed.
• Progressive overload: Add small amounts of load, reps, or improved form over time. For most fly and squeeze movements, live in the 10-15 rep range and finish each set 0-2 reps shy of failure.
• Common mistakes: bouncing reps, letting shoulders roll forward on flys, cutting range of motion short, and “throwing” weight instead of controlling it.

Building Your Inner Chest: Final Takeaways

You’re not “targeting a separate inner chest muscle.” You’re building a bigger pec major and using smart movements to emphasize the squeeze near the midline. Train the full chest, recover like an adult, and let time do its thing.

Key things to remember for inner chest development:

• Prioritize a press (bench) plus a fly/crossover pattern each session.
• Use cables or squeeze presses for strong peak contraction.
• Train chest 1-2 times per week with 10-20 hard sets weekly, depending on recovery.
• Progress slowly and consistently. Small weekly wins beat random max-outs.

Interested in more great chest moves? Check out Best Upper Chest Exercises, Best Lower Chest Exercises, and Best Outer Chest Exercises.

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Prepare to maximize your gains with our exclusive 12-week hypertrophy training program. Choose between a 4 or 5 day training split and gain 2-12 pounds of muscle over 90 days...

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References:

1. Lockie R, Callaghan S, Moreno M, et al. An Investigation of the Mechanics and Sticking Region of a One-Repetition Maximum Close-Grip Bench Press versus the Traditional Bench Press. Sports. doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/sports5030046

Disclaimer: This article is for educational purposes and does not replace medical advice. If you have shoulder pain or a prior injury, consult a qualified healthcare professional.