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TIERS

Every exercise ranked by research, by lifters and by results. Find what’s S-tier for your goal, then train it.

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Explore/Chest

Best exercises for

Chest

Presses, flyes and dips, ranked for building your chest.

32 exercises · Waiting for the first lifter ratings · Updates live

Chest workout My tier list
S
Cable Fly
Pec Deck
High-to-Low Cable Fly
A
Incline Machine Press
Low-to-High Cable Fly
Machine Chest Press
Plate-Loaded Chest Press
Smith Machine Bench Press
Dumbbell Bench Press
Incline Dumbbell Press
Barbell Bench Press
Single-Arm Cable Chest Press
Smith Machine Incline Press
Dip
Incline Dumbbell Fly
B
Incline Barbell Press
Weighted Push-Up
Dumbbell Floor Press
Dumbbell Fly
Deficit Push-Up
Ring Push-Up
Decline Bench Press
Decline Push-Up
Larsen Press
Push-Up
Dumbbell Pullover
Archer Push-Up
Landmine Press
Spoto Press
Incline Push-Up
C
Dumbbell Squeeze Press
D
—
F
Svend Press

Full ranking

  1. 1S
    Cable Fly
    Cable
    No ratings yet
    94
    Research
    —
    Lifters
  2. 2S
    Pec Deck
    Machine
    No ratings yet
    94
    Research
    —
    Lifters
  3. 3S
    High-to-Low Cable Fly
    Cable
    No ratings yet
    85
    Research
    —
    Lifters
  4. 4A
    Incline Machine Press
    Machine
    No ratings yet
    79
    Research
    —
    Lifters
  5. 5A
    Low-to-High Cable Fly
    Cable
    No ratings yet
    79
    Research
    —
    Lifters
  6. 6A
    Machine Chest Press
    Machine
    No ratings yet
    79
    Research
    —
    Lifters
  7. 7A
    Plate-Loaded Chest Press
    Machine
    No ratings yet
    79
    Research
    —
    Lifters
  8. 8A
    Smith Machine Bench Press
    Machine
    No ratings yet
    79
    Research
    —
    Lifters
  9. 9A
    Dumbbell Bench Press
    Dumbbell
    No ratings yet
    75
    Research
    —
    Lifters
  10. 10A
    Incline Dumbbell Press
    Dumbbell
    No ratings yet
    75
    Research
    —
    Lifters
  11. 11A
    Barbell Bench Press
    Barbell
    No ratings yet
    74
    Research
    —
    Lifters
  12. 12A
    Single-Arm Cable Chest Press
    Cable
    No ratings yet
    74
    Research
    —
    Lifters
  13. 13A
    Smith Machine Incline Press
    Machine
    No ratings yet
    74
    Research
    —
    Lifters
  14. 14A
    Dip
    Bodyweight
    No ratings yet
    71
    Research
    —
    Lifters
  15. 15A
    Incline Dumbbell Fly
    Dumbbell
    No ratings yet
    71
    Research
    —
    Lifters
  16. 16B
    Incline Barbell Press
    Barbell
    No ratings yet
    69
    Research
    —
    Lifters
  17. 17B
    Weighted Push-Up
    Bodyweight
    No ratings yet
    69
    Research
    —
    Lifters
  18. 18B
    Dumbbell Floor Press
    Dumbbell
    No ratings yet
    68
    Research
    —
    Lifters
  19. 19B
    Dumbbell Fly
    Dumbbell
    No ratings yet
    66
    Research
    —
    Lifters
  20. 20B
    Deficit Push-Up
    Bodyweight
    No ratings yet
    65
    Research
    —
    Lifters
  21. 21B
    Ring Push-Up
    Bodyweight
    No ratings yet
    65
    Research
    —
    Lifters
  22. 22B
    Decline Bench Press
    Barbell
    No ratings yet
    64
    Research
    —
    Lifters
  23. 23B
    Decline Push-Up
    Bodyweight
    No ratings yet
    64
    Research
    —
    Lifters
  24. 24B
    Larsen Press
    Barbell
    No ratings yet
    64
    Research
    —
    Lifters
  25. 25B
    Push-Up
    Bodyweight
    No ratings yet
    64
    Research
    —
    Lifters
  26. 26B
    Dumbbell Pullover
    Dumbbell
    No ratings yet
    63
    Research
    —
    Lifters
  27. 27B
    Archer Push-Up
    Bodyweight
    No ratings yet
    59
    Research
    —
    Lifters
  28. 28B
    Landmine Press
    Barbell
    No ratings yet
    59
    Research
    —
    Lifters
  29. 29B
    Spoto Press
    Barbell
    No ratings yet
    58
    Research
    —
    Lifters
  30. 30B
    Incline Push-Up
    Bodyweight
    No ratings yet
    55
    Research
    —
    Lifters
  31. 31C
    Dumbbell Squeeze Press
    Dumbbell
    No ratings yet
    49
    Research
    —
    Lifters
  32. 32F
    Svend Press
    Other
    No ratings yet
    20
    Research
    —
    Lifters

What is the best chest exercise?

Right now Cable Fly ranks first, with an overall score of 94 from the research rubric. It’s followed by Pec Deck and High-to-Low Cable Fly. The best choice for you depends on your equipment and how it feels on your joints, which is why every exercise links to alternatives.

Why it ranks: Constant tension that stays high in the stretch, and almost nothing else limits the set.

How these scores are calculated →