There’s a continuous debate in bodybuilding about which exercises are the most effective for building muscle. On March 11, 2024, bodybuilding coach and fitness content creator Jeff Nippard published a video on his YouTube channel wherein he rated the 20 most popular chest exercises based on their effectiveness for hypertrophy.
Nippard’s Key Factors For Analyzing Chest Exercises
Nippard rated each movement based on three factors:
- Stretch and Tension: The intensity of the stretch at the bottom of the range of motion (ROM).
- It Needs To Feel Good: How well you can feel the target muscle working. It shouldn’t cause pain and must have a smooth resistance profile for better muscle pump and mind-muscle connection.
- Simple Progression: The ease with which weight or reps can be increased to progressively overload the chest.
Check out the video below:
[Related: Opinion: Stop Doing Deadlifts if You Want to Build Muscle]
6 Tier System To Rank Chest Exercises (Best To Worst)
Nippard employed a tier system to rank the 20 exercises. Here is the breakdown, ranging from the most effective (S tier) to the least effective (F tier) exercises for chest hypertrophy:
S Tier (Super)
Per Nippard, exercises in the S-tier are the gold standard for promoting chest growth.
- Machine Chest Presses
- Seated Cable Flyes
These movements deliver a deep chest stretch in the lengthened position, keep constant tension on the target muscles throughout the movement, and allow for easy and gradual progressive overload. The movement mechanics allow for focus on contracting the target muscles in the fully shortened position.
Nippard crowned the machine chest press as the overall best chest-building exercise.
A Tier (Great)
Since the S-tier only has two exercises, Nippard opined that the bulk of a hypertrophy-focused chest workout should consist of the following A-tier movements:
- Barbell Bench Press
- Incline Barbell Bench Press
- Flat Dumbbell Bench Press
- Incline Dumbbell Bench Press
- Dips
- Dumbbell Guillotine Press
- Smith Machine Bench Press
- Incline Smith Machine Bench Press
- Standing Cable Flyes
- Pec Deck Flyes
- Dumbbell Flyes
- Cable Press-Around
Although Nippard credits the barbell bench press for his chest development, he believes a barbell doesn’t provide as deep of a stretch at the bottom as dumbbells, which can significantly limit growth potential. This prompted Nippard to put the barbell bench press on the A-tier instead of the S-tier. The incline bench press has all the same upsides as the flat bench press, except it slightly emphasizes the upper pecs.
Since dumbbells can move past the rib cage on eccentrics, dumbbell bench presses can lead to a deeper chest fiber stretch at the bottom versus a barbell variation.
B Tier (Good)
While B-tier exercises have some advantages for chest growth, they also have limitations. These can be included in a hypertrophy workout but shouldn’t be the primary focus. Exercises that fall into Nippard’s B-tier include:
- Decline Barbell Bench Press
- Decline Dumbbell Bench Press
- Banded Push-Ups
Since decline bench presses have a limited ROM compared to the flat and incline variants, Nippard put them in the B-tier. The Canadian bodybuilder uses banded push-ups as a superset exercise to exhaust the chest.
C Tier (Okay)
Push-ups are a convenient bodyweight exercise that can be performed anywhere. However, progressive overload for bodyweight exercises isn’t as easy as weighted exercises.
Floor presses can build strength but aren’t the most effective at promoting chest hypertrophy. Nippard’s C-tier exercise list comprises:
- Bodyweight Push-Ups
- Barbell Floor Presses
D Tier (Unsatisfactory)
Plyometric push-ups might help build explosive pushing power but are not great for maximizing chest tension during eccentrics. They are the only exercise on Nippard’s D-tier.
- Plyometric Push-Ups
F Tier (Fail)
Nippard discourages including F-tier exercises in a chest workout. These exercises are not effective for chest hypertrophy or can potentially lead to injury. The exercises on Nippard’s F-tier list include:
- Hex Press
- Plate Press
- Dumbbell Pullover
- Crossbody Standing Dumbbell Flyes
- Guillotine Press
- Single-Arm Dumbbell Press
Nippard opined that hex presses limit the stretch at the bottom and can transfer the tension to the triceps.
The plate press is a hex press that feels even more awkward with even less overload potential.
Although scientific evidence shows that dumbbell pullovers activate the chest, Nippard believes they are a much better lat exercise. The inherent risk associated with lowering a barbell to the neck prompted Nippard to put the Guillotine press in the bottom tier.
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Featured image: @jeffnippard on Instagram
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