Chest muscles

Pectoralis major

Musculus pectoralis major

Your largest chest muscle helps move your arms forward and across your body — for example when pressing.

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Front view of the human muscular system with the chest region highlighted
Front view · chest region

At a glance

Region
Chest
Movement pattern
Pressing movements
Joint
Shoulder joint

Exercises

Exercises for the chest

Athlete performing a dip between stable parallel bars with feet off the floor.

Stable parallel bars or dip station; bodyweight

Parallel-bar dips

Lowering and raising your body between parallel bars trains the chest and triceps. A slight forward lean involves the chest.

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Athlete performing a dip on a machine with both knees supported by the assistance pad.

Assisted dip machine with knee pad

Machine-assisted dips

A counterweighted knee pad supports the body during dips so that chest and triceps work against an adjustable share of bodyweight.

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Feet-elevated push-up with the toes of both feet on a low stable step, hands on the floor and a straight body.

No gym equipment · Low stable step

Feet-elevated push-up

Place your feet on a low step and your hands on the floor. This demanding push-up variation emphasizes the upper chest alongside the front delts and triceps.

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Incline chest press machine with a reclined supported torso, planted feet and handles pressed above the upper chest.

Machine · Inclined backrest

Incline chest press machine

Press upward and forward from a supported inclined position. This machine variation emphasizes the upper chest with help from the front delts and triceps.

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Standing low-to-high cable fly with low pulleys, softly bent elbows and handles meeting in front of the upper chest.

Cable machine · Two low pulleys

Low-to-high cable chest fly

Bring the handles upward and together in a rounded arc. The low-to-high cable path emphasizes the upper chest without turning the movement into a press.

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Illustration of a barbell bench press in the raised position.

Barbell · Flat bench

Bench press

Both hands guide a shared barbell while you press from a bench.

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Illustration of a flat bench press with a separate dumbbell in each hand.

Dumbbells · Flat bench

Dumbbell bench press

Each hand controls its own dumbbell, so both arms work independently.

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Illustration of the raised push-up position with a straight body.

No equipment

Push-ups

Press your own bodyweight away from the floor, without equipment.

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Illustration of a seated chest press with hands pressing forward.

Machine

Chest press

The machine guides the pressing path while the backrest supports your torso.

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Knee push-up with hands on the floor and head, hips and knees aligned.

No equipment

Knee push-ups

A lighter push-up variation with your knees supporting part of your bodyweight.

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Barbell press on an inclined bench with feet planted and the bar above the upper chest.

Barbell · Incline bench · Rack

Incline barbell bench press

An inclined backrest changes the pressing angle and emphasizes the upper chest.

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Incline dumbbell press with the back supported and two separate dumbbells above the upper chest.

Dumbbells · Adjustable bench

Incline dumbbell bench press

Press two separate dumbbells from an inclined bench to emphasize the upper chest.

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Dumbbell fly starting position on a flat bench, weights above the chest and elbows slightly bent.

Dumbbells · Flat bench

Dumbbell chest fly

Bring your arms together in a wide arc while keeping a small elbow bend.

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Front view of the open pec deck position with upper arms to the sides and upright forearms against the pads.

Machine · Forearm pads

Pec deck / Butterfly

Bring the padded machine arms together in front of your chest with your back supported.

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Standing cable fly in a staggered stance, hands together in front of the chest and cables attached behind on both sides.

Machine · Dual cable pulleys

Standing cable chest fly

Bring two cable handles together in front of your chest while standing in a stable stance.

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Understand the muscle

Anatomical regions

The pectoralis major can be described functionally through its clavicular and sternocostal parts.

The listed exercises involve this region alongside other parts of the muscle. A muscle head or deep portion is not necessarily trained in isolation.

Simply explained

What does the muscle do?

In simple terms, the pectoralis major helps move your upper arm forward, inward, and across your body.

Front view of a man: the gray dashed arm starts out to the side at marker 1. A curved arrow points down to the lowered hand beside the body at marker 2.
Front view

Bring your arm toward your body

Adduction

Move an arm held out to the side back toward your torso.

Side view of a man: the gray dashed arm hangs beside the body at marker 1. An arrow points forward and up to the straight arm at shoulder height, marked 2.
Side view

Raise your arm forward

Shoulder flexion

Lift your arm in front of your body. The clavicular part helps with this movement.

Overhead view of a man with the elbow bent and fixed beside the body. The gray dashed forearm points forward at marker 1; an arrow leads inward toward the abdomen at marker 2.
Top view · elbow bent

Rotate your upper arm inward

Internal rotation

With your elbow bent beside your body, the forearm turns toward your abdomen. The rotation happens at the shoulder.

Often works with
Sources & illustrations

Anatomy and technique: the references below. Region boundaries and motion overlays are schematic. Exercise and movement illustrations on this page are AI-generated.