Written by Sam Coleman | Co-founder
Fact checked by Kirsten Yovino, CPT Brookbush Institute
FACT CHECKED
If you want broad, muscular, and well-defined pecs, dumbbell chest exercises are a must. Don't get me wrong - I've got nothing against the barbell bench press, as it certainly has its place, but dumbbells are more versatile and reign supreme when it comes to hypertrophy and sculpting the pecs.
And you've got a huge selection of movements to choose from. I'm about to go over the 15 best dumbbell chest exercises, in addition to 3 muscle-building dumbbell chest workouts, while answering any questions you may have along the way.
Table of Contents:
- Chest Anatomy & Functions
- 15 Best Chest Exercises With Dumbbells
- Best Chest Workouts Using Dumbbells
- FAQs
CHEST ANATOMY & FUNCTION
We're briefly explaining the chest anatomy because it will help you understand how different movements and the positioning of your body and arms affect how your pec muscles are activated. If you want to skip this and get right to the exercises, keep scrolling.
Your chest is made up of two muscles on both sides - the pectoralis major and pectoralis minor, called the pecs.
In addition to the pecs, the best dumbbell chest exercises also target the serratus anterior. This muscle is not actually part of your chest, but it does play a key role during pec exercises as its function is to move the shoulder blades forward and upward.
Pectoralis Major:
The pec major is the larger of the two pec muscles, making up most of the chest. The large fan shaped-muscle has two heads, the sternocostal head, known as the lower chest, and the calvicular head, referred to as the upper chest.
So, any movement that involves bringing the arm up, reaching or pressing forward, or bringing your arms across your body will activate the pectoralis major.
Pectoralis Minor:
The pec minor is a small triangular muscle that rests under the pec major. While the pec minor is located on the front side of your body, due to its attachment point on the shoulder blade, it controls structures on the backside and provides stability for your shoulders.
Note: The triceps and front deltoids are also working as secondary muscles in the exercises we're about to discuss.
15 BEST DUMBBELL EXERCISES FOR CHEST
You've arrived at our list of best dumbbell chest exercises! We're going to list the top 15 and following the list will discuss each individually.
The 15 best dumbbell chest exercises are:
- Dumbbell Flat Bench Press
- Deep Push Up
- Dumbbell Twisted Fly
- Dumbbell One Arm Chest Press
- Dumbbell Incline Around The World
- Dumbbell Incline Fly
- Dumbbell Pullover
- Hyght Dumbbell Fly
- Dumbbell Standing Low Fly
- Dumbbell Reverse Bench Press
- Dumbbell Lying Hammer Press
- Dumbbell Svend Press
- Dumbbell Squeeze Press
- Dumbbell Decline Bench Press
- Dumbbell Decline Chest Fly
These moves will help you build strength, power, and a well-defined chest. Let's dive in and transform your upper body with these effective DB chest exercises!
Ready to get right to the workouts? Scroll down past the exercises.
1. Dumbbell Flat Bench Press:
The dumbbell chest press should be a staple in everyone’s chest day workout plan. It is an effective, all-around compound dumbbell exercise that activates the entire chest (with emphasis on the sternocostal head), and it allows for the heaviest load and greatest range of motion, all of which are great for building up impressive pecs of steel.
Be sure to keep the movement balanced by moving your arms with equal space and speed. Use a weight that you can control well so you can get a deep stretch and full contraction at the top.
2. Deep Push Up:
The deep push up takes a regular push up to the next level by allowing for a greater range of motion on the eccentric phase. Essentially, you can go deep, maximizing the stretching tension in your chest.
The nice thing about this move is that if you alter your foot/body/hand positioning, you can change how the push up hits your pecs. For example, if you put your feet up on a platform, you can target your upper chest more. If you bring your hands closer together, you can target the inner chest more.
If you experience pain when going deep into the push up, limit your range of motion. Over time you can work on increasing your range of motion by getting lower and lower.
3. Dumbbell Twisted Fly:
The dumbbell fly is a classic accessory exercise for opening up the entire chest, improving range of motion, and building solid definition of your inner chest. The dumbbell twisted fly is the same exact concept but it allows for even more muscle fiber activation.
By rotating your arms slightly so that as you reach the top, your palms are in an underhand grip, you will get a stronger contraction. As you lower back down, you rotate your hands back so that they are facing each other like a traditional dumbbell fly during the stretching phase.
This exercise will be a little more difficult than the traditional dumbbell fly. Be sure to use an appropriate weight and keep your elbows fixed throughout and don’t overextend at the shoulder joint.
Note: This exercise can be done from an incline and decline position as well. The incline will hit the upper-inner chest more and the decline for the lower-inner chest.
4. Dumbbell One Arm Chest Press:
The one arm chest press is the same as the flat bench press but you will only be using one dumbbell and targeting one side at a time. By doing this, you are forcing yourself to use more core and hip stability, which is great for core strength.
Also, you can use an even greater range of motion on the concentric phase, and you can further improve muscle imbalances and movement patterning.
When doing one arm dumbbell presses, focus on keeping your core and hips down and squared straight up. Get a good stretch each rep and fully contract at the top (even slightly exaggerating the range of motion by moving the dumbbell up higher and toward your centerline).
5. Dumbbell Incline Around the World:
The dumbbell around the world is not a well-known exercise, but it doesn’t mean it’s not effective. This exercise is great for the chest and shoulders, but you should have healthy shoulders to perform it as it moves your shoulder blades through a large range of motion.
To start, sit on the incline bench and hold the dumbbells at your sides near your thighs with your palms up and elbows slightly bent. From there, rotate your arms up. When the dumbbells are overhead and nearly touching, squeeze your chest and return them to the starting position through that same path of motion, then repeat.
This exercise can be done using a flat bench too. The incline emphasizes your upper chest.
6. Dumbbell Incline Fly:
The dumbbell incline fly is great for building the upper-inner area of your chest. Focus on squeezing your chest to raise the dumbbell rather than using just your arms. Get a deep stretch if your shoulder mobility allows for it, but there’s no need to go down too low to where the stress starts to be placed on your shoulders rather than your chest muscles.
If you can't get a good stretch in your chest due to shoulder mobility, work on improving your mobility as this exercise is best when you can get a full pectoral stretch on the eccentric phase.
Note: You can add a twist at the top by rotating your arms so your palms face up for even more contraction.
7. Dumbbell Pullover:
The dumbbell pullover is a hypertrophy accessory exercise that became popular in the Arnold era. It works your arms, back, and chest at the same time, more specifically your upper chest and lats.
The variation of placing just your upper back on the bench adds an element of core strength to the exercise.
It is also a good exercise for posture and improving mind-muscle connection. To make this exercise effective for your upper chest, you need to really focus on that area. As the dumbbell comes up past your head, you will need to squeeze the heck out of your upper chest. Keep a slight bend in your elbows at all times.
Note: Another variation involves using two light weight dumbbells held side-by-side with palms facing up. This will put a little more tension on the outer part of your chest, whereas the single dumbbell pullover puts more emphasis on your upper-middle chest as your hands are closer together.
8. Hyght Dumbbell Fly:
This is another good dumbbell accessory exercise for chest hypertrophy. However, you will need good motor control to perform it correctly and effectively. It is very similar to a standing low to high cable fly, but you will be sitting on a bench in an incline position.
To do this exercise, put the bench at about 45˚ (which is slightly higher than normal for incline flys/presses). Hold the dumbbells at your sides with an underhand grip and a slight bend in your elbow. Your arms should be at about a 45˚ angle away from your body.
Contract your chest and raise the dumbbells up, keeping your elbows and wrists fixed. Stop when the bells of both dumbbells are just about to touch each other, then return slowly back to the starting position through the same path of motion.
9. Dumbbell Standing Low Fly:
The dumbbell standing low fly allows you to target your upper and inner chest. It is just like a cable pulley low to high fly. The dumbbells will be held with an underhand grip.
Your elbows should be slightly bent and about 30˚ away from your body. Raise your arms up to your centerline at about chin level. Squeeze your chest, slowly lower back down, and repeat.
10. Dumbbell Reverse Bench Press:
The dumbbell reverse bench press is like a regular bench press except you are holding the dumbbells in reverse (underhand grip) and your arm positioning is a little closer to the body.
By simply changing your grip, you are placing more emphasis on your upper chest and you are taking pressure and tension off your shoulders. It also hits the triceps to a greater degree than the standard bench press.
A lot of trainers use this exercise for people who have shoulder issues and bodybuilders use it because it is very effective at hitting the upper chest and triceps without the shoulders doing too much work.
11. Dumbbell Lying Hammer Press:
The hammer press is a good alternative to the standard dumbbell bench press for those who want to take a little stress off their shoulders.
Like the standard bench press, the exercise emphasizes the sternocostal head, but as you hold the dumbbells in a hammer grip (neutral position), you can get them a little closer together at the top, which allows for an even greater contraction of the inner chest.
12. Dumbbell Svend Press:
If you’ve been in the gym for some time, you’ve probably seen this exercise being done with a weight plate. The Svend press is a standing chest exercise where you press the weight straight forward with your hands in a prayer-like position.
When using a dumbbell, you simply hold it in vertically with both hands on the handle. Your arms will be at about sternum level and from there you slowly press forward until your arms are extended then slowly bring it back to your chest.
Note: You can also hold it by the top of the bell if you are using a light hex dumbbell.
The exercise is simple but it will require some good mind-muscle connection to feel it in your chest rather than just your shoulders. Try to keep your shoulders down by keeping your scapula down and in (downward rotation). If done correctly, you should feel it in your pecs nicely. Your lower-inner chest and upper chest will get good activation.
13. Dumbbell Squeeze Press (aka Crush Press):
This is a variation of the bench press where you hold the dumbbells pressed together with a neutral grip (palms facing each other). The dumbbells will be kept in contact with each other at all times during the exercise, so you will be squeezing them together as you press up and down in a straight path at your chest’s centerline.
This exercise is great for full chest activation, but the primary target is your outer, inner, and upper chest.
Be sure to really squeeze those dumbbells together as this is what makes the squeeze press so effective.
14. Dumbbell Decline Bench Press:
The dumbbell decline bench press targets the lower part of your pec major sternocostal head. If you want to develop a strong distinction between your chest and abs, this is a great one.
Don’t use too extreme of a decline. A 30% decline is fine. When you press up, keep the dumbbells in a path at sternum level or just slightly below your chest.
15. Dumbbell Decline Chest Fly:
The last on our best dumbbell chest exercise list is the decline fly. This exercise is done just like other flys but from a decline position. Like the decline bench press, only use a 30% decline and keep the fly motion at about sternum level.
Really squeeze the heck of your chest with this one. It’s going to smash your inner-lower chest well if done correctly.
As with all flys, keep your arms locked into position with a slight bend and squeeze your pecs to move the dumbbell up rather than just your arms and lower down slowly to really feel the stretch.
DUMBBELL CHEST WORKOUTS
You are obviously not going to do all 15 dumbbell chest exercises in a single workout, so here is how you can create a workout with the above exercises and how to program the rest moving forward.
DUMBBELL CHEST WORKOUT #1 - CHEST ONLY
If you are doing a body part split, you will have a workout that focuses on just chest, or maybe chest and triceps. Assuming you are doing just a chest workout with dumbbells, here is how a good one can look.
Note: For dumbbell chest workouts, the main compound lifts should be done each week throughout your training cycle, but you can switch up the accessory exercises if you’d like. Basically, you want to keep your heaviest lifts consistent and use progressive overload to increase the reps/weight over the course of the training cycle so you can continue to build muscle and strength. The accessory lifts are there to keep your muscles guessing and to stress them in different ways.
Start every workout with a 5-10 minute dynamic warm up to ensure your muscles and joints are primed.
Chest Workout:
- Dumbbell Bench Press: 3 sets x 6-12 reps
- Dumbbell Incline Press: 3 sets x 10-15 reps
- Hyght Dumbbell Fly: 3 sets x 8-12 reps
- Dumbbell Pullover: 3 sets x 8-12 reps
- Dumbbell Deep Push Up: 2 sets x 10-20 reps
- Decline Dumbbell Fly: 2 sets x 10-15 reps
DUMBBELL WORKOUT #2 - CHEST & SHOULDERS
Here is a good chest, shoulders, and tricep workout for a push pull legs split.
- Dumbbell Bench Press: 3 sets x 6-12 reps
- Dumbbell Incline Fly: 3 sets x 8-12 reps
- Dumbbell Standing Shoulder Press: 3 sets x 6-12 reps
- Dumbbell Reverse Bench Press: 3 sets x 8-12 reps
- Dumbbell Lateral Raise: 3 sets x 10-15 reps
- Dumbbell Crush Press: 3 sets x 8-12 reps
DUMBBELL WORKOUT #3 - CHEST AND BACK
Chest and back workouts are great as the chest and back are opposing muscle groups. With that, we like to superset push exercises with pull exercises. This is a great way to keep your workouts efficient, effective, well-balanced, and high intensity.
Here is an example of how a good chest and back dumbbell workout could look.
Superset 1:
- Dumbbell Bench Press: 3 sets x 8-12 reps
- Dumbbell Bent Over Row: 3 sets x 8-12 reps
Superset 2:
- Dumbbell Fly: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
- Dumbbell Reverse Fly: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
Superset 3:
- Parallel Dips: 3 sets x 6-12+ reps
- Pull Ups: 3 sets x 6-12+ reps
Final Exercise:
- Dumbbell Pullovers: 3 sets x 8-15 reps
BENEFITS OF DB CHEST EXERCISES
Barbells are great for the chest as they allow you to lift the most possible weight. However, they are not as versatile as dumbbells.
The 4 benefits of using dumbbell chest exercises include:
- Allows for greater range of motion
- Ensures both sides are equally strong
- Easier on the joints
- Strengthens stabilizer muscles
Let's talk about each of these benefits in more detail.
1. Dumbbells allow for a greater range of motion:
With barbells, the bar touches your chest before your pectoral muscles have reached their full range of motion. But dumbbells allow you to lower past your chest, stretching your pecs to the max, and thus activating the most possible muscle fibers.
The ability to maximize range of motion when using dumbbells is not just for stretching tension, it is also for contracting tension. This is because your arms are free to move internally, not just up and down, and research shows that a larger range of motion leads to greater muscle growth1.
You also have to work to prevent the dumbbells from drifting apart as you press up. When pressing a straight bar, this is not a possibility. The action of stabilizing and keeping the dumbbells in place will produce maximum tension as you contract your chest.
Note: The further you press forward, the more your serratus anterior will be activated, which is why dumbbells are generally better for strengthening the serratus anterior too.
2. Balanced Growth & Strength:
Whether you realize it or not, during barbell presses, you have a stronger side that compensates for the weaker side by somewhat taking over the movement. This is not possible with dumbbells obviously as each side has its separate weight. With dumbbells, if your weak side lags, you will immediately notice it.
This means you won’t be able to continue a set past the point your weak side can handle. It also ensures your form stays on point, as it won’t get all wacky with your stronger side powering most of the movement (like when someone presses up a barbell with one side higher than the other and doesn't even realize it). Eventually, the strength and muscle imbalance will even out.
What’s more, if your weaker side needs a little more work on a certain set, you can always do a few extra reps on that side.
3. Easier on the Joints:
Dumbbells are more versatile so you can move your arms in a way that is comfortable for your joints. You can rotate your wrists and move your elbows and shoulders through a path that feels right for you.
Ultimately, this allows you to take stress off your joints and place them on the muscles (where they belong).
4. Strengthens Stabilizer Muscles Better:
Because you are using a separate weight for each hand, stability is a greater factor. Not only does this activate your primary movers in a different way, but it also works the small stabilizer muscles surrounding your joints, such as your rotator cuff muscles, pec minor, serratus anterior, and rhomboids. The end result will be stronger, more resilient shoulder and scapula complexes.
All in all, we are not saying that barbells, machines and bodyweight exercises don’t have their place in chest workouts, as they certainly do, but one could easily argue that dumbbells are the superior training tool for the chest.
Research suggests that dumbbell presses activate the pec major to a higher degree than barbells and smith machine bench presses due to both a greater range of motion and demand for stability2.
Dumbbell vs Barbell Comparison for Chest Exercises:
|
Benefits: |
Dumbbell Chest Exercises: |
Barbell Chest Exercises: |
|
Increased Stability |
Dumbbells require more stabilizer muscles, improving balance |
Barbell exercises provide more stability |
|
Muscle Isolation |
Dumbbells allow for independent movement, targeting each side |
Barbell exercises can engage multiple muscle groups |
|
Range of Motion |
Dumbbells offer a wider range of motion for greater muscle activation |
Barbell exercises have limited range of motion |
|
Muscle Symmetry |
Dumbbells help address muscle imbalances and develop symmetry |
Barbell exercises may not address imbalances as effectively |
|
Joint Health |
Dumbbells reduce stress on joints due to individual movement |
Barbell exercises can be more taxing on joints |
|
Versatility |
Dumbbells provide more exercise variations and options |
Barbell exercises have fewer variations |
|
Core Activation |
Dumbbell exercises engage the core for stability |
Barbell exercises require less core activation |
FAQs ABOUT CHEST EXERCISES WITH DUMBBELLS:
Here are some common questions people ask regarding training chest with dumbbells.
ARE DUMBBELLS BETTER FOR CHEST?
Dumbbells are great for building a strong, muscular, well-developed chest as well as improving posture. They offer unique advantages that you can’t get with barbells or bodyweight exercises and are a great tool to utilize when targeting chest fat loss.
Why do I feel it in my arms and not my chest when doing chest exercises?
If you're feeling the exercise primarily in your arms and not in your chest during chest workouts, it could be due to several reasons:
- Improper Form: Incorrect form or technique can cause the emphasis to shift from your chest to your arms. Ensure that you're using the correct form, maintaining proper alignment, and focusing on engaging your chest muscles throughout the exercise.
- Dominant Arm Strength: If your arm muscles are stronger or more dominant than your chest muscles, they may take over the workload during exercises. In this case, it's essential to focus on mind-muscle connection and consciously engage your chest muscles during each repetition.
- Insufficient Activation: It's possible that your chest muscles aren't adequately activated during the exercise. Before performing chest exercises, try pre-activating your chest muscles through targeted warm-up exercises or activation drills. This can help establish a stronger mind-muscle connection.
- Inappropriate Weight Selection: Using weights that are too heavy can result in relying more on your arms rather than your chest. Opt for a weight that allows you to perform the exercise with proper form and technique, feeling the tension primarily in your chest muscles.
- Limited Range of Motion: If you're not completing the full range of motion during chest exercises, it can limit the engagement of your chest muscles. Ensure that you're performing exercises through their complete range, allowing a deep stretch and full contraction of the chest muscles.
How heavy should my dumbbells be for chest exercises?
The weight of your dumbbells will depend on your individual strength and fitness level. Choose a weight that allows you to perform each exercise with proper form while feeling challenged by the last few repetitions. It's always better to start with lighter weights and gradually increase as you get stronger.
Can dumbbell chest exercises help correct muscle imbalances?
Yes, dumbbell chest exercises can help address muscle imbalances. By using dumbbells independently, each side of your body is required to work individually, helping to correct any strength or size discrepancies between the left and right side of your chest.
How often should I perform dumbbell chest workouts?
The frequency of your dumbbell chest workouts will depend on your overall training program and goals. As a general guideline, aim for two to three chest workouts per week, allowing adequate rest and recovery between sessions.
Can I build a well-defined chest using only dumbbells?
Absolutely! Dumbbells are versatile and can help you build a well-defined chest. By incorporating a variety of dumbbell exercises such as presses, flyes, and pullovers, you can effectively target your chest muscles and achieve the desired muscle definition.
HOW DO YOU BUILD YOUR CHEST WITH DUMBBELLS?
There are several things you need to do to build a strong, muscular, well-developed chest with dumbbells.
- Perform a variety of exercises to ensure equal development of your upper and lower chest. You can hone in on certain areas by doing different exercises and changing variables like hand positioning, load positioning, and body positioning.
- Employ training variables and progressive overload so that you constantly stimulate the adaptation of increasing lean muscle mass. By increasing your intensity or volume, or decreasing rest time, you are progressive overloading.
- Eat right, sleep right. To build muscle, eat right and sleep right. What you do outside of the gym is just as important as what you do inside the gym. Growth happens during recovery time!
- Stay consistent with your training and other muscle groups. If you want a bigger chest, it’s important that you also train your back equally as hard. Don’t skip shoulder exercises either. Stronger, more muscular shoulders will greatly improve your aesthetics and help you maintain a healthy, resilient upper body.
What is the best rep scheme and volume for dumbbell chest workouts?
It’s important that you train your chest with different rep schemes and volume. You want to work your chest with heavy loads and low reps, medium loads and medium reps, and lighter loads with higher reps. By doing this, you will stress the muscle differently and you will be working on strength, hypertrophy and endurance, which are all important.
Main Compound Exercises:
- 3-6 reps using 85-90% 1RM
- 6-12 reps using 70-80% 1RM
- 12-20 reps using 60% 1RM
Isolation/Accessory Exercises:
- 6-12 reps to near failure
- 12-20 reps to near failure
How to Target the Upper Chest with Dumbbells?
The upper chest, which is your clavicular head, is activated most when moving your arms up (shoulder flexion) or press at an upward angle. So, exercises like incline dumbbell presses, incline flys, and seated or standing low to high flys will best target your upper chest.
The clavicular head is often the hardest area of the chest to develop, so you must spend time doing upper chest exercises. A well-developed upper chest will significantly improve the aesthetics of your chest.
How to Target the Lower Chest with Dumbbells?
The lower chest, which is your sternocostal head, is activated best when your arms are pushing straight forward or at a downward angle.
Remember, your lower chest makes up 80% of your pec major, so it’s not actually just the lower part. When referring to the lower chest, that means the entire sternocostal head.
While you can’t completely isolate any area, lower chest exercises will hone in on the lower part of the sternocostal head and some of the top area. Exercises like flat presses will hit the middle and upper part of your sternocostal head, and decline presses and parallel dips will emphasize the lower area.
How to Target Middle/Inner Chest with Dumbbells?
When we say middle, we are referring to the inner chest. This is semantics. Some call it the middle chest, some call it the inner chest. Either way, there is no such thing...
Again, your pec major is made up of two heads, the upper and lower.
Be that as it may, when people say “hit the inner chest”, it is warranted. Certain exercises emphasize the inner part of your pec major, which includes the upper and/or lower heads.
The inner part of your pec major will be most contracted when moving your arms toward the center of your body. So, exercises like flys, close grip presses, and any press that brings your hands close together will target the inner chest.
(Keep your arms wide and move in a straight path and you will be emphasizing the outer part).
All in all, the “inner chest”, while technically non-existent, should be taken seriously because by doing inner chest exercises that focus on this area of your pec major, you can develop a well-defined separation of the left and right side of your chest.
How to target the pec minor?
The pec minor is not a primary mover or muscle that has big growth potential like your pec major. It is a stabilizer muscle for your shoulders and scapula. So, it will be activated during all chest exercises and many back exercises.
However, it can be targeted to a higher degree by leaning forward more and pulling your shoulder blades down. Exercises like dips, decline presses, pull ups and pull downs will offer greater activation of your pec minor, which will allow you to increase its strength.
How to target the serratus anterior?
The serratus anterior works to draw your shoulder blades forward around your ribs (scapula protraction). It also helps rotate your shoulder blades upward. As such, it will be activated during any pressing exercise.
Chest exercises like incline presses are great for the serratus anterior because it brings your shoulder blades forward and upward, which is its two main actions.
You will also get greater activation of the serratus anterior when you fully protract your shoulder blades. Most bench press exercises require that you keep your shoulder blades retracted (you’ve heard it before, “keep your shoulder blades down and back”).
While this is good as it protects your shoulders during heavy lifts, it limits the activity of your serratus anterior. With that, you will want to mix in some exercises like one arm dumbbell presses and dumbbell push ups as they allow your shoulder blades to move through full protraction.
HOW DO YOU BUILD CHEST MUSCLES USING DUMBBELLS WITHOUT A BENCH?
If you don’t have a bench you can perform flat presses and flys on the floor. You will be limited in range of motion on the eccentric phase, but it will still be effective enough for training your chest.
A stability ball is also great. You can perform chest presses and flys on a stability ball. You will get the ideal range of motion and you will also get the added benefit of core stability training.
For incline presses and flys, you can prop a thick foam roller at your mid back to mimic the incline position. Your elbow will come down below the foal roller, so your range of motion will be pretty good too.
Finally, you can also work on dumbbell deep push ups, which are great and promote a full range of motion. You can alter your body position to target different areas of your chest too (i.e. place your feet up on a chair and you are hitting your upper chest like incline bench presses).
Check out this article to see the 13 Best Dumbbell Chest Exercises WITHOUT a Bench.
CHEST WORKOUTS WITH DUMBBELLS: Final Takeaways
Depending on your split, you should be hitting your chest muscles 1-3 times per week. Implement these dumbbell chest exercises into your workouts and I guarantee you will build an impressive, well-defined, powerful chest.
And, if you're looking for a versatile chest workout to do at home, be sure to check out our Home Chest Workouts - with and without equipment!
Prepare to maximize your gains with our exclusive 12-week hypertrophy training program. Choose between a 4 or 5 day training split and gain 2-12 pounds of muscle over 90 days...
References:
- McMahon GE, Morse CI, Burden A, Winwood K, Onambélé GL. Impact of Range of Motion During Ecologically Valid Resistance Training Protocols on Muscle Size, Subcutaneous Fat, and Strength. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2014. doi:https://doi.org/10.1519/jsc.0b013e318297143a
-
Farias D de A, Willardson JM, Paz GA, Bezerra E de S, Miranda H. Maximal Strength Performance and Muscle Activation for the Bench Press and Triceps Extension Exercises Adopting Dumbbell, Barbell, and Machine Modalities Over Multiple Sets. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2017. doi:https://doi.org/10.1519/jsc.0000000000001651
Sam Coleman
Author