Muscle That Stretches Across the Front Upper Chest

Whether it's in the locker room or in the pages of a fitness magazine, some muscles seem to get more attention than others. Alongside the abs, biceps and glutes, you'll hear the word “pecs” ad nauseam as you journey into the world of exercise. The phrase is short for pectoralis major, the muscle group that makes up the upper and lower regions of your chest. The upper part is a muscle group called the clavicular head of the pectoralis major.

Description

• The clavicular head of the pectoralis major, also known as the upper chest or upper pecs, appears to stretch from armpit to armpit across the area just below your collarbone at the very top of your chest. However, this muscle is actually broken into two tendon groups separated by a small gap at the indentation of your collarbone, right in your upper-middle chest. These muscles take on a triangular or thin “V” shape, narrowing near the armpit and widening as they meet the collarbone.

Utility

• In conjunction with the sternal head of the pectoralis major, the clavicular head helps rotate the humerus, the bone of your upper arm. Specifically, the upper fibers of the clavicular portion enable you to move your arm horizontally toward the opposite shoulder. To a lesser degree, the upper pecs also help you rotate the humerus.

Upper Pecs Exercises

• Many chest exercises engage the upper pecs, particularly weight-lifting exercises done on an incline of about 30 to 45 degrees. Examples of this type of exercise include the incline bench press -- which can be done on a bench, lever or cable machine -- and incline dumbbell flies. Get comfortable with flat bench presses and flat-bench flies before attempting an incline. In the realm of body-weight exercises, decline push-ups and pike push-ups offer a effective workout for this muscle group.

Pectoralis Major (Sternal Head)

• When most people refer to the pectorals, they mean the sternal head of the pectoralis major. The lower portion of your pecs make up the bulk of your chest muscles -- stretching from armpit to armpit, these muscles span from just below the clavicular head of the pectoralis major down the the very top of your abs. Most exercises that work the upper pecs also work the lower pecs; in fact, most chest exercises focus on this region and engage the the upper pecs as secondary muscles.