Chest Exercises
147 Free Exercise DB records tag the chest as a primary or secondary muscle. Tagged inventory and primary-muscle count are ranked separately.
95 beginner · 45 intermediate · 7 advanced, computed across all tagged exercises.
According to the Free Exercise DB corpus on PlainExercise, Chest ranks #8 of 18 by tagged inventory (147) and #4 by primary-muscle count (84). Shoulders is #1 of 18 by tagged inventory (335 records) at primary-count #2 (127) ≠ Quadriceps #1 primary (148 records, tagged #4 at 227).
- Chest ranks #8 of 18 by tagged inventory (147) and #4 by primary-muscle count (84). Shoulders is #1 of 18 by tagged inventory (335 records) at primary-count #2 (127) ≠ Quadriceps #1 primary (148 records, tagged #4 at 227).
- 147 tagged records · 84 primary-field records
- Free Exercise DB (CC0) live extract
Catalog lens
Tagged inventory is not primary-muscle count
According to the Free Exercise DB corpus on PlainExercise, Chest ranks #8 of 18 by tagged inventory (147) and #4 by primary-muscle count (84). Shoulders is #1 of 18 by tagged inventory (335 records) at primary-count #2 (127) ≠ Quadriceps #1 primary (148 records, tagged #4 at 227).
Tagged inventory
#8 of 18
Typical exercise variety
147 tagged records. Shoulders leads tagged.
Primary-muscle count
#4 of 15
More variety than most
84 primary-field records. Quadriceps leads primary.
Chest vs all muscles by tagged exercise inventory
Where this muscle's Free Exercise DB tagged-record count sits among every muscle with at least one tag (catalog density, not training priority)
147 Top 44% more tagged exercises than 56% of 18 muscles
Muscles, banded by tagged Free Exercise DB record count
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more muscles. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source Free Exercise DB · 2026-07-10
- 147
- Exercises
- 95
- Beginner-friendly
- 118
- Compound lifts
- 22
- Equipment-free
Chest exercises by equipment
According to the open Free Exercise DB datasets, the 147 chest tagged records split across equipment types as below - other leads the listed set, and 22 listed records are labeled body only.
Chest movements by equipment
Chest vs. every other tracked muscle group
Chest plotted against 14 other muscle groups by exercise count (x) and distinct equipment types (y). The crosshair sits at this set's own median on each axis. A deep library does not automatically mean varied equipment options, some muscle groups are well-covered on one axis but narrow on the other.
Chest among tracked muscle groups
How to read this
Each dot is one tracked muscle group; the highlighted dot is Chest. A muscle group to the right has a deeper exercise library; one higher up spans more distinct equipment types.
Read the chart as a table (15 muscle groups)
- Shoulders: 335 exercises, 9 equipment types
- Hamstrings: 277 exercises, 9 equipment types
- Glutes: 242 exercises, 6 equipment types
- Quadriceps: 227 exercises, 10 equipment types
- Triceps: 218 exercises, 9 equipment types
- Calves: 209 exercises, 7 equipment types
- Abdominals: 149 exercises, 9 equipment types
- Chest: 147 exercises, 11 equipment types
- Biceps: 128 exercises, 8 equipment types
- Forearms: 119 exercises, 6 equipment types
- Traps: 97 exercises, 6 equipment types
- Lats: 93 exercises, 7 equipment types
- Adductors: 54 exercises, 5 equipment types
- Abductors: 43 exercises, 5 equipment types
- Neck: 9 exercises, 2 equipment types
What the Chest Exercise Data Reveals
The PlainExercise database catalogues 147 records that tag the chest as a primary or secondary muscle. That tagged inventory is not the primary-muscle map: According to the Free Exercise DB corpus on PlainExercise, Chest ranks #8 of 18 by tagged inventory (147) and #4 by primary-muscle count (84). Shoulders is #1 of 18 by tagged inventory (335 records) at primary-count #2 (127) ≠ Quadriceps #1 primary (148 records, tagged #4 at 227).. Within the listed set, 95 are tagged beginner, 45 intermediate, 7 advanced, and 0 carry no explicit level classification. Every record is sourced from the public-domain Free Exercise DB.
Context matters: this database tracks exercise taxonomy. "Primary muscle" is a source field, not a claim that a listed movement isolates the chest. Compound lifts tagged here may recruit this muscle as a secondary mover. This page is a catalog extract, not medical or personal-training advice.
Beginner (95)
Foundational movements to learn the pattern.
- Alternating Floor Presskettlebells · compound
- Barbell Bench Press - Medium Gripbarbell · compound
- Barbell Incline Bench Press - Medium Gripbarbell · compound
- Barbell Incline Shoulder Raisebarbell · compound
- Battling Ropesother · compound
- Bench Dipsbody only · compound
- Bench Press - With Bandsbands · compound
- Butterflymachine · isolation
- Cable Chest Presscable · compound
- Cable Crossovercable · isolation
- Cable Iron Crosscable · isolation
- Catch and Overhead Throwmedicine ball · compound
- Chair Upper Body Stretchother
- Chest And Front Of Shoulder Stretchother · isolation
- Chest Push (multiple response)medicine ball · compound
- Chest Push (single response)medicine ball · compound
- Chest Push from 3 point stancemedicine ball · compound
- Chest Push with Run Releasemedicine ball · compound
- Chest Stretch on Stability Ballexercise ball · isolation
- Close-Grip Barbell Bench Pressbarbell · compound
- Close-Grip Dumbbell Pressdumbbell · compound
- Close-Grip EZ-Bar Presse-z curl bar · compound
- Cross Over - With Bandsbands · compound
- Decline Barbell Bench Pressbarbell · compound
- Decline Dumbbell Bench Pressdumbbell · compound
- Decline Dumbbell Flyesdumbbell · compound
- Decline Push-Upcompound
- Decline Smith Pressmachine · compound
- Dip Machinemachine · compound
- Dips - Triceps Versionbody only · compound
- Dumbbell Bench Pressdumbbell · compound
- Dumbbell Bench Press with Neutral Gripdumbbell · compound
- Dumbbell Flyesdumbbell · isolation
- Dynamic Chest Stretch
- Elbows Backisolation
- Extended Range One-Arm Kettlebell Floor Presskettlebells · compound
- Front Raise And Pulloverbarbell · compound
- Hammer Grip Incline DB Bench Pressdumbbell · compound
- Heavy Bag Thrustother · compound
- Incline Cable Chest Presscable · compound
- Incline Dumbbell Bench With Palms Facing Indumbbell · compound
- Incline Dumbbell Flyesdumbbell · compound
- Incline Dumbbell Flyes - With A Twistdumbbell · compound
- Incline Dumbbell Pressdumbbell · compound
- Incline Push-Upbody only · compound
- Incline Push-Up Close-Gripbody only · compound
- Incline Push-Up Depth Jumpother · compound
- Incline Push-Up Mediumbody only · compound
- Incline Push-Up Reverse Gripbody only · compound
- Incline Push-Up Widebody only · compound
- Isometric Chest Squeezesbody only · compound
- Isometric Wipersbody only · compound
- JM Pressbarbell · compound
- Leverage Chest Pressmachine · compound
- Leverage Decline Chest Pressmachine · compound
- Leverage Incline Chest Pressmachine · compound
- Low Cable Crossovercable · isolation
- Machine Bench Pressmachine · compound
- Medicine Ball Chest Passmedicine ball · compound
- Mountain Climbersnone (bodyweight exercise) · compound
- One Arm Dumbbell Bench Pressdumbbell · compound
- One Half Locust
- One-Arm Flat Bench Dumbbell Flyedumbbell · isolation
- Otis-Upother · compound
- Overhead Stretchcompound
- Pallof Presscable · isolation
- Pallof Press With Rotationcable · compound
- Parallel Bar Dipother · compound
- Plyo Push-upbody only · compound
- Prowler Sprintother · compound
- Push Up to Side Plankbody only · compound
- Push-Up Widebody only · compound
- Push-Ups With Feet Elevatedbody only · compound
- Pushupsbody only · compound
- Pushups (Close and Wide Hand Positions)body only · compound
- Return Push from Stancemedicine ball · compound
- Round The World Shoulder Stretchother
- Single-Arm Cable Crossovercable · isolation
- Sled Pushother · compound
- Smith Incline Shoulder Raisebarbell · isolation
- Smith Machine Bench Pressmachine · compound
- Smith Machine Close-Grip Bench Pressmachine · compound
- Smith Machine Decline Pressmachine · compound
- Smith Machine Incline Bench Pressmachine · compound
- Spider Crawlbody only · compound
- Standing Biceps Stretchother · isolation
- Standing Cable Chest Presscable · compound
- Standing One-Arm Dumbbell Triceps Extensiondumbbell · isolation
- Standing Two-Arm Overhead Throwmedicine ball · compound
- Supine Chest Throwmedicine ball · compound
- Supine One-Arm Overhead Throwmedicine ball · compound
- Supine Two-Arm Overhead Throwmedicine ball · compound
- Suspended Push-Upother · compound
- Svend Pressother · compound
- Upward Stretch
Intermediate (45)
Movements that require basic strength and coordination.
- Around The Worldsdumbbell · compound
- Barbell Guillotine Bench Pressbarbell · compound
- Barbell Shoulder Pressbarbell · compound
- Bench Press - Powerliftingbarbell · compound
- Bent-Arm Barbell Pulloverbarbell · compound
- Bent-Arm Dumbbell Pulloverdumbbell · compound
- Board Pressbarbell · compound
- Bodyweight Flyese-z curl bar · isolation
- Chain Pressother · compound
- Clock Push-Upbody only · compound
- Close-Grip Push-Up off of a Dumbbellbody only · compound
- Decline Close-Grip Bench To Skull Crusherbarbell · compound
- Dips - Chest Versionother · compound
- Drop Pushother · compound
- Dumbbell Floor Pressdumbbell · compound
- Flat Bench Cable Flyescable · isolation
- Floor Pressbarbell · compound
- Floor Press with Chainsbarbell · compound
- Forward Drag with Pressother · compound
- Incline Cable Flyecable · isolation
- Iron Crossdumbbell · compound
- Landmine Linear Jammerbarbell · compound
- Leg-Over Floor Presskettlebells · compound
- Log Liftother · compound
- Lying Dumbbell Tricep Extensiondumbbell · isolation
- Neck Pressbarbell · compound
- One Arm Floor Pressbarbell · compound
- One-Arm Kettlebell Floor Presskettlebells · compound
- Pin Pressesbarbell · compound
- Push-Ups - Close Triceps Positionbody only · compound
- Push-Ups With Feet On An Exercise Ballexercise ball · compound
- Reverse Band Bench Pressbarbell · compound
- Reverse Triceps Bench Pressbarbell · compound
- Ring Dipsother · compound
- Single-Arm Linear Jammerbarbell · compound
- Single-Arm Push-Upbody only · compound
- Standing Low-Pulley One-Arm Triceps Extensioncable · isolation
- Straight-Arm Dumbbell Pulloverdumbbell · compound
- Suspended Falloutother · isolation
- Tate Pressdumbbell · isolation
- Tire Flipother · compound
- Weighted Bench Dipother · compound
- Wide-Grip Barbell Bench Pressbarbell · compound
- Wide-Grip Decline Barbell Bench Pressbarbell · compound
- Wide-Grip Decline Barbell Pulloverbarbell · compound
Advanced (7)
Complex or highly loaded movements for experienced lifters.
Nationwide muscle groups with similar catalog scale
Two Free Exercise DB peer sets for Chest, each excluding this muscle so the neighborhoods are attribute-based, not self-containment (the exercise lists above stay the within-group path).
Similar tagged inventory
Nearest other muscles by primary+secondary tagged records (147 here).
Similar primary-muscle count
Nearest other muscles by exercises where this muscle is the primary field (84 here).