The barbell bench press exercise often is the first exercise thought of when talking about a chest workout. Although bench pressing does help to build strength and muscle mass in the chest, it is not always necessary. Whether you are recovering from an injury or dislike bench pressing, you still can have a great chest workout without including the barbell bench press exercise in your workout.
Flat Dumbbell Press
Begin your chest workout with a five- to 10-minute aerobic warm-up to get the blood flowing. Instead of using barbells, you will be using dumbbells for a majority of your chest workout. Dumbbells offer many advantages over barbells, working stabilizer muscles and improving coordination while allowing imbalances to be addressed, notes Jeremy Likness, weight loss expert from Bodybuilding.com. Dumbbells also allow for a greater range of motion, giving you a greater muscle contraction than achieved with barbells. Perform flat bench dumbbell chest presses by lying on a flat bench with dumbbells positioned at the sides of your chest with bent arms under each dumbbell. Press the dumbbells up with your elbows to sides until your arms are extended, then lower the weights to the starting position and repeat. Your first set should be a warm-up set using a light weight for 12 to 15 reps. Use a heavy weight during your next three sets, in which muscle failure is reached between six and 10 reps.
Incline Dumbbell Press
The incline dumbbell press is similar to the flat dumbbell press except the bench is inclined to a 30- to 45-degree angle, and targets more of the pectoral minor muscle and the anterior deltoids, as opposed to the flat bench, which targets more of the pectoral major muscle. Position dumbbells at the sides of your chest with your upper arms under them. Press the dumbbells up with your elbows to your sides until your arms are extended, then lower the weights to the starting position and repeat for six to 10 repetitions for three sets. Because of the angle, this exercise is more difficult than the flat bench dumbbell press and might require the use of lighter dumbbells.
Dumbbell Pullovers
Dumbbell pullovers are an effective chest exercise isolating the pectoralis major. Pullovers also help to expand the rib cage, which is important in developing a well-shaped chest, notes Arnold Schwarzenegger, author of the "Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding." Lie with your upper back perpendicular on a flat bench while grasping a dumbbell with both hands under the inner plate of the dumbbell and position it over your chest, keeping your elbows slightly bent and hips stable throughout the movement. To execute the movement, move the dumbbell over and behind your head until your upper arms are parallel to your torso. Return to the starting position and repeat for 12 to 15 reps and three sets.
Standing Cable Flys
Standing cables flys are performed on a cable pulley machine using the high pulleys hand cable attachments on both sides of the machine. Standing in the middle of the cable machine, grasping both attachments, bring the cable attachments together in a hugging motion with your elbows in fixed position. Your elbows should be pointed upward at the top and out to the sides at the bottom of the movement. Return to the starting position until your chest muscles are stretched, and repeat for 12 to 15 reps and three sets. Under greater resistance, positioning your torso at a lower angle downward by bending over at your hips, will allow your upper-body weight to counterbalance the upward pull of cables, notes the ExRx website.
References
- Bodybuilding: The Bench Has Many Faces
- "Encyclopedia Of Modern Bodybuilding;" Arnold Schwarzenegger;1985
- ExRx: Cable Standing Fly
Member Comments