You might be wondering how to work on your chest without a bench. But, there are several chest exercises to do without a bench. These workouts are better than working out with a bench, and the muscle engagement will be good. In this article, we have mentioned 10 dumbbell workouts for the chest without a bench and step-by-step instructions on how to do them.
Dumbbell Floor Chest Press
This exercise resembles the barbell bench press with the same push motion. Here, the range of motion will be less because the triceps and elbows will touch the ground. We must concentrate more on the muscles due to the lower range of motion. By focusing on the eccentric contraction, perform this exercise slowly and controlled. This exercise is shoulder-friendly and reduces the strain on shoulders.
Targeted Muscles: Upper and Mid chest, Front delts, Triceps, Biceps
How To
- Find a flat surface on the ground and 2 medium-weight dumbells
- Take the dumbbells and put them on your hips in a seated position
- Lay on the ground with arms in a vertical position along with weights
- Keep your knees bent and feet flat on the ground
- Bend your knees and flatten your feet on the ground
- Maintain your elbows at a 45-degree angle concerning your shoulders, just as you would for a bench press
- Press the dumbells away from your chest without letting them collide in a controlled manner until your arms touch the ground
Standing Dumbbell Upward Fly
A great variation is to activate the chest during the beginning of the workout. This looks the same as the delt raises, but the grip and angle enable us to target the mid and upper chest. The exercise should be performed in a controlled manner, with wrists rotated internally for major activation and muscle pump.
Targeted Muscles: Upper and Mid chest, Front delts, Biceps, Triceps.
How To
- Stand with feet hip-width
- Hold the dumbbells with underhand grip
- Lift the dumbbells at the height of your shoulders by contracting your chest
- Slowly lower the dumbells to the starting position and perform the desired reps in a controlled manner
Standing Dumbbell Svend Chest Press
This exercise is easy and doesn’t need any heavy weights to perform. Press your hands together as much as possible by concentrating on the chest. It is a perfect exercise for the contraction of pec muscles. It was introduced by the world’s strongest man, Svend Karlsen.
Targeted Muscles: Chest, front delts, Serratus Anterior, Triceps
How To
- Stand with feet hip-width
- Hold a dumbbell in a vertical position with both hands gripped around it
- Keep your shoulder blades inside and squeezed
- Press your hands together firmly
- Press the dumbbell inside and outside slowly until your arms appear straight and your elbows are locked
- Return the dumbbell to the previous position
Dumbbell Single Arm Floor Fly
This exercise helps you to focus on one pec muscle contraction. This variation helps you to fly without applying any stress on the shoulder due to the limited range of motion. Use your inactive arm out on the other side to be intact with the ground for extra stability.
Targeted Muscles: Chest, Front delts, Serratus Anterior, Biceps
How To
- Lie on your back with legs extended out
- Hold a dumbbell with a neutral grip
- Start by raising your working arm vertically, triceps against the floor, and elbow slightly bent
- Contract your chest with the dumbbell up until the weight is above your shoulder
- Slowly return to the previous position
Dumbbell Floor Hammer Press
The hammer press is a chest workout that works the chest and triceps while putting less strain on the shoulders. In addition, this exercise will effectively target the triceps than a standard chest press. Throughout the exercise, keep your elbows tucked at your sides.
Targeted Muscles: Chest, Triceps, Front Delts, Biceps
How To
- Lie on your back with bent knees and flatten your feet on the ground
- Hold dumbbells with a neutral grip
- Your elbows should be tucked to your sides at a 90-degree angle, with the weights directly above your elbows
- Press and extend your arms by contracting your chest and triceps
- Slowly return to the starting position
Dumbbell Floor Alternating Chest Press
Performing alternating chest presses has many advantages because you can work on one side at a time. A dumbbell in one hand will cause an uneven weight distribution, which works the smaller Stabilizer muscles. Make sure you push your head, shoulders, and hips. If you wish to do a decline bench variation, place a foam roller under your upper back or be in a glute bridge posture.
Targeted Muscles: Chest, Triceps, Rhomboids, Serratus Anterior
How To
- Lie on the ground with extended legs
- Hold the dumbbells using overhand grip
- start with your elbows bent at 90 degrees and position your elbows perpendicular to the ground
- Push the dumbbell up at a time with a fully extended arm
- Return to the previous position in a controlled way
Dumbbell Pullover On Exercise Ball
Use a gym ball to perform this exercise. Keep your hips lower than your shoulders, and do not arch your back. In this variation, you need to stabilize both body and weight in a controlled manner. This workout engages the chest, triceps, back, shoulder, and abs.
Targeted Muscles: Lower chest, Triceps, Rear Delts, Lats, Teres Major
How To
- Set up an exercise ball and sit on it with dumbells on your thighs
- Roll your butt and make the ball position behind your upper back with feet flattened on the ground
- Holding the dumbbell on your chest with both hands in a diamond shape
- Bring the dumbbell over your chest with your arms slightly bent
- lower the weight slowly and back behind your head until your elbows come straight to the ears
- Hold and contract your chest, and bring it back to the previous position
Dumbbell Incline Press On Exercise Ball
You can concentrate on the upper chest muscles like a regular incline press by doing the exercise ball incline press. Tuck in the elbows to lower the pressure on the shoulders; it is recommended not to use heavy weights. The upper chest and triceps are more engaged in this variation. Another benefit of this workout is that you can engage your core and make it strong.
Targeted Muscles: Upper Chest, Front Delts, Triceps, Biceps, Core
How To
- Sit on an exercise ball with weights on your thighs
- Lower your butt at a 45-degree angle on the exercise ball with flattened feet on the ground
- Hold the dumbells with your elbows bent at 90 degrees using an underhand grip
- Directly press the dumbbells until your arms are fully extended
- Press the dumbells and extend your arms straightly
- Lower to the previous position by engaging the pec muscles
Dumbbell Single Arm Incline Press On Exercise Ball
Because of the exercise ball, your stabilizing muscles will make it more challenging to use a dumbbell with a single arm correctly. To relieve pressure on your shoulders, tuck your elbows in a little.
Targeted Muscles: Upper Chest, Triceps, Front Delts, Core
How To
- Sit on the exercise ball
- Roll out until the ball is behind your back
- Bend your knees and flatten your feet in front of you
- Your elbows should be bent at a 90-degree angle while you hold the dumbbell in an overhand grip
- Press the dumbbells up and contract your chest muscles until your arms extended straight
- Gradually lower to the previous position
Dumbbell Fly On Exercise Ball
Maximum range of motion can be obtained by doing dumbbell flys on an exercise ball. This amazing opener workout will stretch all the muscle fibers of your chest. Slow and concentrated reps are advised with less weight. Rotate your wrists inward to get more contraction of the pec muscles.
Targeted Muscles: Upper and Mid Chest, Triceps, Front Delts, Biceps, Core
How To
- Sit on an exercise ball with dumbbells using a neutral grip
- Roll on the ball so that the ball will be behind your back with torso parallel to the floor
Flatten your feet on the floor - Press the dumbbells above your chest with slightly bent arms and elbows pointed outside
- Lower the dumbbells gradually to your sides until shoulder level
- Contract your chest muscles and bring the dumbbells back to the previous position
Benefits Of Dumbbell Chest Exercises
Compared to barbell chest exercises, dumbbell workouts help build stronger and bigger chest muscles and reduce the risk of injuries that might happen during barbell chest workouts. Below, we have mentioned some of the benefits of dumbbell chest workouts.
Builds and Engages Muscles: Your body has to stabilize and adjust the weight while using a dumbbell for a chest workout. Shoulder muscles are required to stabilize the weights; pecs and triceps control and prevent weights from moving away.
More Range of Motion: The bar will not go lower than your chest in barbell chest workouts. But, in a dumbbell chest workout, the weights can be lowered from the chest, thus providing more range of motion. While doing certain exercises like chest fly’s, we can rotate the wrists and provide more contraction and greater pump to the chest muscles.
Targets the Pec Muscles: As the weight will be under control in dumbbell chest workouts, the chest muscles will work harder and target the pectoral muscles much better.
Less Space Required: Dumbbell workouts for the chest can be performed without big, heavy equipment like a bench or barbell. This is ideal for those who wish to workout at home but only have a little space for gym equipment.
Minimal Stress on Joints: With dumbbells, your joints are not forced to move in a specific direction. Our joints can be slightly different from one another. The force is evenly distributed when a straight bar is used, although this can add unnecessary stress to the joints on one side. With dumbbells, you can move your wrists, elbows, and shoulders, whichever best suits each unique area of your body.
Even Strength: If one side of your body is stronger or weaker than the other, dumbbells will show you that immediately. Exercises with a barbell on the chest can hide muscle imbalances where one side tries to make up for the other. When performing chest dumbbell exercises, you can tell if one side reaches failure before the other, allowing you to concentrate more on that side until it is nearly equal.
Conclusion
These dumbbell chest workouts can be performed at any time, don’t require a bench, and are appropriate for beginners and advanced exercisers. If you regularly strength train, incorporate these efficient dumbbell chest exercises to notice excellent growth in your upper body muscles. They can be done separately or combined with other chest exercises.