skinny chest? 3 Exercises to Pump Up Those Skinny Pectoral Muscles

Having a skinny, bony chest is no laughing matter, especially for a guy. Everywhere we look, we’re bombarded with images of huge pecs and barrel-chested guys, and we’re made to feel like a big muscular chest is the epitome of masculinity.

While much of this is rubbish used by the media to sell products and engineer society, there is an old idea that a muscular chest denotes a more attractive and confident man. Just take a quick look at any ancient Greek or Roman statue and you’ll rarely see a skinny chest.

The benefits of putting some solid muscle on your skinny chest aren’t just skin deep. Having stronger pecs will improve your posture and prevent your shoulders from sagging; this will help you avoid back problems and will also improve your confidence, as posture has a lot to do with how we feel.

Below are 3 great exercises you can use to put some rock-hard muscle on your skinny chest and cover up those bones. I have chosen them because they work the 3 main areas of the pectoral muscles (external, internal and upper pectorals). A lot of skinny guys make the mistake of focusing on just one area and end up under-developing the rest.

3 exercises to get rid of a thin chest:

Bench press

This is the absolute king of chest exercises and without a doubt the most famous. He must perform this regularly to get rid of the skinny chest from him.

Lie down on a weight bench and grip the bar with your hands a little more than shoulder-width apart. Raise the bar from the rack and slowly lower it toward your chest, stopping when the bar is an inch from your chest; don’t let it rest or bounce off your chest, like you see a lot of people do in the gym. ..this is not only dangerous but also reduces the effectiveness of the exercise. Now push the bar up until your arms are almost straight, never lock your elbows.

This is one rep…do 6-10 reps and 3 sets with a weight that means it’s hard to complete the set.

The standard way to perform this exercise above works the entire chest with an emphasis on the outer pecs (if your grip is slightly wider than shoulder-width apart). You can work your upper pecs by tilting the bench up, or your lower pecs by tilting the bench down.

Dumbbell flyes (or cable crunches)

This is a fantastic exercise for the inner pecs and getting that great line down the center of your chest.

Lie down on a weight bench with a dumbbell in each hand. Hold them above your chest with your arms slightly bent. Then slowly lower the dumbbells one on each side in an arc so they’re level with your chest and your arms are out to your sides. From here, arch back up to the starting position, making sure to focus on the inner pecs and trying to “squeeze” them as much as possible.

Perform 6 to 10 reps and 3 sets of these. You again work the upper pecs by inclining the bench. You can also perform this exercise standing up using a Cable Crunch machine. I personally recommend using free weights whenever possible to get rid of a skinny chest as they will help you build muscle and get stronger faster, but the cable crunch is a great alternative.

Overhead dumbbell presses

These are great for the upper pecs and shoulders in particular.

Sit up straight on a bench with back support and take a dumbbell in each hand. Raise them to the starting position, which is on either side of your head, just above your shoulders, palms facing forward.

From here lift the weights by straightening your arms and bringing the weights together above your head. Hold for a second and then slowly lower them back to the starting position. Repeat for 3 sets of 6-10 reps.

Focus the effort on your pecs and not so much on your arms to get the most benefit from this exercise.

Bonus: push-ups

If you can’t access a gym or any weights, I recommend you start doing push-ups for your skinny chest. These are still an extremely versatile exercise and you can work the entire chest area simply by changing the width of your grip, tilting your feet, changing the pace of each rep, using a gym ball to support your feet, and many other techniques.

The key to success with push-ups is consistency and increment. By gradually increasing the number of repetitions each day, you’ll be amazed at how quickly you’ll shed your sagging chest and develop big, muscular pecs.