Dumbbell Strength Training Exercises For Chest Muscles

June 9 2014

Dumbbell Strength Training Exercises For Chest Muscles

Who says you need an expensive gym membership and access to elaborate exercise machines to develop bigger chest muscles? While a gym membership certainly won't hurt, there are plenty of ways to work out at home, without using machines or equipment commonly found in gyms. All it takes is a set of medium-to-heavy weight dumbbells and a couple hours of free time every week.

Dumbbell Bench Press

Some people assume that bench presses can only be performed with barbells, but this isn't true. If you don't have access to a weighted barbell, pick up a couple of dumbbells to perform your bench presses. Granted, you'll need a bench, sofa or a long ottoman, but this is a highly effective chest-targeting workout.

To perform a dumbbell bench press, lay down with your back against the bench (or a similar piece of furniture) while holding a pair of dumbbells at chest-level. Next, extend your arms until they are almost completely straight, hold it for 1-2 seconds, and lower your arms back down to chest-level.

Continue performing dumbbell bench presses until you've completed a minimum of 3 sets of 30 reps.

Dumbbell Bent-Arm Pullover

Another powerful chest-building exercise that involves dumbbells is the bent-arm pullover. It's performed in a similar manner as the bench press, only with a few minor modifications. Being that's it's slightly different, however, it targets a different area of your chest and upper-body, making it a great alternative exercise to incorporate into your regular workout regimen.

Start by laying down with your back against the bench while holding a pair of dumbbells. Rather than placing them by your sides, though, you'll want to hold them behind your head -- directly above your shoulders so they are almost touching the ground. Next, lift the dumbbells up and bring to them to your chest.

Continue performing dumbbell bench presses until you've completed a minimum of 3 sets of 30 reps

Dumbbell Fly

The dumbbell fly is a great workout that targets the pectoral and deltoid chest muscles. Lie back down on the bench while holding the dumbbells out and away from your body (note: your arms should be open and your elbows bent). Next, bring your arms together so the dumbbells hover right over your chest.

Continue performing dumbbell bench presses until you've completed a minimum of 3 sets of 30 reps

Set of dumbbells photo courtesy of Iwan Gabovitch via Flickr Creative Commons.