by James - This article may contain affiliate links.
You want to do your chest workouts, but you have no time to go to the gym? Pick up your dumbbells now and do your chest workouts in the comforts of your home.
Here is the 10 best chest workouts collection using dumbbells:
Contents
1. Dumbbell Chest Fly
Dumbbell Chest Fly is one of the most basic exercises for the chest.
Here is how it is done:
- Lie down on a bench and make sure your shoulders are dialed in, you engaged your core and glutes, and your feet are secured on the floor.
- Hold one dumbbell in each hand and extend your arms. Position the dumbbells over the center of your chest. Keep in mind that your palms should be facing each other.
- Take a breath while you lower the dumbbells to your sides. Make an arc with your arms so that they’re extended on either side of the chest and your elbows are only slightly bent.
- Exhale and bring the dumbbells back to your starting position.
2. Dumbbell Crossover Shrug
This exercise is great if you only have one dumbbell. It will activate the clavicular fibers with a short, contracted rotation of the shoulders.
Here is how it is done:
- Hold the dumbbell at your side with an overhand grip and slightly bend your elbow.
- Keep your back straight and feet shoulder-width apart while you rotate your shoulder and wrist toward the pecs so that the dumbbell’s bar is horizontal over your thigh.
- You will then bring your shoulder up with a shrugging motion and bring your bicep across your pec until the dumbbell is right in the middle of your body.
- Return to your starting position and repeat. Since this is a single-dumbbell exercise, make sure you do the same amount of reps on each side of your body.
3. Close Grip Dumbbell Bench Press
This exercise works perfectly to activate all of the 3 pushing muscle groups: the chest, shoulders, and triceps.
Here is how it is done:
- Take a dumbbell of your desired weight and lie down on the horizontal bench press.
- Hold the dumbbell with both hands, keeping it above your chest. Then, slowly bend your elbows and puff up your chest.
- Allow the dumbbell to go down to your lower chest without letting it rest at the bottom.
- Push it back up while contracting the chest up top.
This chest workout only works if you do it slowly and take time to feel the muscles working. Keep in mind that you should avoid hyperextending the elbow at the top of the exercise. This will prevent you from placing extra stress on these joints and taking the tension off the muscles.
4. Dumbbell Squeeze Press
You can do this exercise on both an incline and decline bench. That way you can adjust the angles in which you’re hitting the muscles and really focus on squeezing your hands together.
Here is how it is done:
- Set up your incline bench to 45-degrees. Get a pair of dumbbells and lie down on the bench.
- Hold the dumbbells above your chest, with palms facing each other and your elbows slightly bent.
- Slowly allow the dumbbells to go down to the chest but do not rest the dumbbells completely on your chest. Push up explosively, and the chest up top.
5. Dumbbell Fly Into A Hex Press
Dumbbell flys are the most popular chest workouts. This exercise is even more intense than usual flys because you also do a hex press.
Here is how it is done:
- Get a pair of dumbbells and lie down on a bench.
- Keep your arms above your chest with your palms facing each other. Slightly bend your elbows and puff up your chest. Open your arms without letting your elbows move. Make sure you stretch your chest well.
- Go back up and contract your chest right before the dumbbells touch. Hold the dumbbells together for a second, then let them go down to the chest. Press up and contract your chest.
6. Squat Thrusts/Up-Downs
This is a great full-body exercise that helps you target your chest.
Here is how it is done:
- Hold a dumbbell in each hand and squat down until you reach a crouching position. Then, put the dumbbells on the ground. Keep your arms extended under you, then extend your legs behind you.
- Breath in, lower yourself by bending at your elbows until your chest is close to the ground.
- Exhale, press until your arms are almost extended, and then bring your knees to your chest while rotating your torso upright so that your feet are under you.
- Keeping a dumbbell in each hand, do an upward squat and return to a standing position.
7. Dumbbell Incline Flys
This chest workout is similar to dumbbell flys, but you do it on an incline bench.
Here is how it is done:
- Set your bench between 45 and 60-degrees.
- Hold a dumbbell in each hand and sit on the bench and place the dumbbells on your knees.
- Lie down on the bench and move the dumbbells from your knees to a supported position at your sides and press them up until your arms are almost extended.
- Slowly lower the dumbbells outwards to your sides until your arms are parallel with the ground. Make sure you keep your elbows slightly bent.
- Raise the dumbbells above your face.
8. Crush Press
Crush press is a great exercise to do when you want to target your chest. This chest workout forces your pecs to contract hard in a shortened position.
Crush press provides a good contrast to flys and other similar pressing movements. During these movements, you lower the weights past your chest, which emphasizes a stretch on the muscles.
This exercise is a good alternative to cable crossovers as it gives you a similar effect without needing any cable stations to do it.
Here is how it is done:
- Lie back on a flat exercise bench.
- Take two dumbbells and hold them on your chest, palms facing one another.
- Press the two dumbbells together in the center of your chest.
- Slowly push the dumbbells to arm’s length over your chest while keeping them pressed together.
- Pause for a second and squeeze your chest muscles. Slowly reverse the motion and return to the starting point.
9. Dumbbell Pullover
This chest workout targets both your chest and your back. You need to have a certain amount of flexibility to do this workout. Otherwise, it might feel uncomfortable.
Here is how it is done:
- Lie on a bench with your upper back, keeping your head and neck supported, and your feet flat on the floor.
- Take a dumbbell and hold it with your arms extended above your face.
- Keep your elbows slightly bent, and slowly lower the dumbbell backward, letting your elbows come to a point at which they align with your ears.
- When you’ve stretched as far as you can without bending your elbows, flex through your chest and lats to reverse direction to bring the dumbbell back overhead.
10. Dumbbell Bench Press
The Dumbbell Bench Press is a great chest workout exercise because it offers you a full range of motion. One benefit of doing bench presses with dumbbells instead of a barbell is that dumbbells don’t let your weaker pec compensate for a stronger one during the push phase. You will also be able to do this exercise with different hand positions.
Here is how it is done:
- To start this exercise, lie on a bench with your feet flat on the floor, and hold a dumbbell in each hand just outside your shoulders.
- Then press the dumbbells upward toward the ceiling, and stop when they come to an inch or so away from each other above your upper-middle chest.
- Slowly bend your elbows to lower the weights back down to a point even with your torso.
So, which of these chest workouts do you like best? For me, I think it doesn’t really matter which one of these exercises you do. What is important is that you can perform your chest workouts in the comforts of your home using only dumbbells.
You don’t have dumbbells yet to perform these exercises?
Take a look at some dumbbells suggestions below to help you decide what type of dumbbells to get.
Happy working out!
Last update on 2023-01-27 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
