6 Effective Dumbbell Chest Workout Without Bench Lifts
Believe it or not, you can accomplish a chest crushing workout with out a bench and just a pair of dumbbells. If necessary, you can build an entire muscle and strength building program with dumbbells and little else, you don’t necessarily need a bench to accomplish your goals.
You can do a dumbbell chest workout without bench to build your chest. Before we dive into the workouts, it is important to understand why dumbbells are effective weights to use for increasing strength and muscle.
Can You Build Chest With Just Dumbbells?
It is possible to build your chest with only dumbbells. Dumbbell training is very effective, particularly for building chest muscles because it allows to exercise a wide range of motion to target your entire chest. It can also be safe as it reduces stress on your joints. With the right technique, time, and supplementation you can build a chest with just dumbbells.
Dumbbell training provides the following benefits for chest gains:
- Dumbbells place minimal stress on your joints.
Surprisingly, the human body tends to look symmetrical, even though it is not. When you force your body to move with perfect symmetry, as when you would ordinarily press an evenly-weighted bar to the middle of your chest, one side of the body tends to absorb more stress than the other.
The more you do this, the more the joints in that part will begin to complain. Dumbbells enable both sides of your body to discover their optimal path when exercising. They allow you to place the stress in your chest muscles and not your joints.
- Dumbbells permit a wide range of motions.
Unfortunately, when bench pressing with a barbell, the bar touches your chest before the pectoral muscles have fully stretched. Ideally, it is not bad if your goal is to press the biggest weight possible. However, for bigger chest sizes, you are better off with dumbbells. Dumbbells allow you to lower the weights past chest level, allowing you to stretch your pecs and activate more fiber muscles.
What is the Best Exercise to Build your Chest?
Building your chest requires a number of lifts that target specific areas of your chest. Combining the following exercises into your chest workout will help ensure a complete workout that effectively utilizes your chest muscles.
There are different exercises you can try out on your chest day to build your chest gradually. These include:
Top 6 Dumbbell Chest Exercises Without A Bench (Plus, How To Do Them!)
Below are six dumbbell chest exercises that can be performed without a bench for a big results and growth!
1. Dumbbell Push-up
Push-ups require no gym equipment and can be the centerpiece of a home gym workout. They are highly versatile and have a wide range of motion that helps to target different parts of the chest.
Adding dumbbells to your push-ups helps you target more muscles simultaneously. This exercise strengthens your core, back, shoulders, arms, and chest.
Besides strengthening muscles, dumbbell push-ups also build muscle mass. It also helps you strengthen your grip and is an exciting, super-effective way to work your chest. The dumbbell push-ups have different variations that include;
- Renegade row push up
- T push up with dumbbells
- Standard dumbbell push-up
- Dumbbell diamond push-up
How to Do the Dumbbell Push up
Regardless of the variations, the most common way to do the dumbbell push up is;
- Grip a dumbbell in each hand.
- Assume a plank position with the palms facing down. You can opt to do the exercise on your toes or knees
- Keep your back flat and bend the elbows to lower your body closer to the floor
- Pause at the bottom of the push-up. Extend your elbows explosively and push your body back to the starting position to complete one rep.
2. Dumbbell Floor Press
It is a variation of the traditional floor press. It is used to strengthen the chest and tricep muscles. To focus on the chest, simply squeeze the pecs at the top of the movement. The dumbbell floor press is simple enough, even for beginners. Moreover, it reduces shoulder joint extension to minimize shoulder strain compared to the ordinary bench press.
How to Do the Dumbbell Floor Press Without A Bench
- Sit on the floor in an upright posture with your legs straight with the dumbbells balanced on the floor vertically.
- Pick up both dumbbells and set them high on your hip crease, ensuring a tight grip.
- Lay back slowly while keeping the dumbbells close to your chest.
- Bend your knees to a rough 45 degree and slightly move your feet up
- Press the dumbbell weight to maximum extension by contracting your chest and triceps
- Lower the weights slowly until your elbows touch the floor.
- Press the dumbbells back to the original position to complete one repetition
3. Sevend Press
This is a lesser-known chest press. It pumps up your chest and improves your Mind-Muscle Connection to the pecs. Moreover, the Sevend press elicits hypertrophy and strength gains.
The exercise uses a squeezing motion to really switch on your chest pectoral muscles.
In a nutshell, you will be using an isometric force via the chest as you press weights from a standing position.
How to Do the Sevend Press Without A Bench
- Stand tall with your feet shoulder-width apart and put your chest popping.
- Grip the weights overhand with your palms facing down
- Move to a starting position. Move the dumbbell to make it parallel to the floor by bending your arms at the elbow.
- Push the weights out by extending your arms out. Make sure the elbows fall straight.
- Ensure you engage your chest muscles and pause as you hold the weights out
- Complete the repetition by returning to the starting position
4. Reverse Dumbbell Chest Press
This movement will effectively target your lower chest and help you get a good squeeze on this often under trained part of the chest.
How to Do the Reverse Dumbbell Chest Press Without A Bench
- Lie on your back with knees bent or flat on the floor
- With your elbows bent, grip the dumbbells above your chest with your palms toward you
- Raise the dumbbells away from your body, carefully squeezing your chest while doing so
- Slowly lower the weight back to the starting position
5. Dumbbell Chest Fly
When building your chest, it is helpful to think of pushing movements as a means to develop thickness, while flyes will help develop width to your chest.
How to Do the Dumbbell Flyes Without A Bench
- Lie on your back with knees bent or flat on the floor
- Start with the dumbbells together above your chest
- Slowly release your arms outward, controlling the weight as you lower it to side and downward
- Before lowering the dumbbells completely to the ground, slowly bring them back together, squeezing your chest while doing so
6. Standing Chest Press
The standing chest press improves your balance. It targets the stabilized muscles, such as the erector spinae, rotator cuff, and transversus abdominus.
The exercise targets the arms, the shoulders, and pecs. It builds strength, muscle tissues and elevates muscle power. However, it tends to work fewer chest muscles than the standard chest bench presses.
How to Do the Standing Chest Press
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart
- Hold the dumbbell between your palms on either side, and your arms slightly bent at the elbow. Ensure you hold the dumbbell directly in front of your chest
- Squeeze the dumbbell with your palms to activate the chest muscles
- Push the dumbbell away from your chest by extending your arms until they are straight. Return to the original position to complete a rep.
Best Supplements for Chest Growth
Exercises alone can never be enough to attain a bigger chest. You need a proper diet and muscle growth supplements, especially if you do a dumbbell chest workout without bench. Are you trying to build chest muscles but not seeing any results?
Below are some supplements for chest growth:
Creatine
It is a naturally occurring substance within the muscle cells. It is among the primary cellular energy sources. Hulklab provides one of the highest quality creatine supplements to help you achieve a bigger chest and overall body muscles.
Creatine monohydrate is pure, micronized creatine with zero additives or fillers. Creatine helps to drive periods of short burst power output. The more endurance you face, the more muscles you are building.
Benefits of Hulklab Creatine Monohydrate
- Ensures faster recovery after an intense workout
- Speeds recovery
- It drives explosive muscle power
- It maximizes muscular development
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Whey Protein
Whey protein supplies your body with a high amino acid and protein amount to jump-start the anabolic process. It is mainly consumed after a workout to increase protein synthesis and improve muscle restoration and recovery. It can also be effective before training.
The BlackForce Isolate Premium Whey contains 21g of premium protein restore and supply muscle groups. It helps to rebuild muscle tissues and support lean muscle mass. The protein provides ongoing muscle repair, growth, strength, and continuous recovery.
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BCAA’s
Branched Chain Amino Acids have been proven to stimulate protein synthesis and help regulate protein metabolism. Hulklab BCAA Plus is a muscle-preserving formula that delivers a flow of replenishing BCAAs to counter muscle depletion. It is made up of essential amino acids L-Leucine, L Isoleucine, and L-Valine.
Benefits of Hulklab BCAA Powder
- Reduces energy fatigue
- It maximizes muscle energy
- It jump-starts recovery after training
- It supports lean mass growth
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Dumbbell Chest Workout With Bench Summary
Exercising your chest is one of the vital elements of a full-body workout. If you have access to a gym bench, you can improvise with your dumbbells and any available space. Fitness experts recommend supplementing your training if you want to notice even bigger muscle gains. Addiitionally, Hulklab supplements provide you with the strength and endurance to maximize the most of your home or gym fitness program.