Chest Exercises Without A Bench
Are you tired of waiting in the gym for your turn on the bench so that you can start your chest workout? Then this article is for you! If you thought the bench press is the only way to build your chest muscles, you might want to reconsider.
It’s even worse for those with a pre-existing shoulder injury. But don’t worry because there are plenty of options to get some stunning chest workout results without using the bench. You can try some of these exercises.
#1 Dips
Dips is a simple yet effective workout method for your chest muscles. But don’t be fooled by its simplicity because it is pretty challenging! Look for the nearest dip station you can find and grab the equipment.
The trick is to hold them slightly apart from a conventional dip for triceps dip. Once you have them on your grip, tilt your body upwards instead of standing upright (which you usually do). It allows you to engage your chest muscles fully and covers all portions of your pec.
Dips have a lot of other benefits to your body as well. The exercise takes care of all the upper body strength development. You can level it up further by strapping some weight on your waist and start doing some reps.
It is because your feet don’t touch the ground and have no support from a bench, unlike a bench press. It’s also worth noting that the strength and skill developed from Dips influences your athletic activity as well.
#2 Push-Ups
Push-ups are probably one of the most basic chest exercises out there. It’s an exercise done by people across different fields, starting from the military to sports and even kids at home or school. But there’s more than one way you can do this exercise to get some fantastic results.
So if you don’t have a bench, don’t worry about chest day. You can start by doing the regular push-ups and do some reps and then go a step further by improvising. If you have a medicine ball, you can place your legs on top of that and start the push-ups. But even if you don’t have one, you can use the stairs or any raised platform. It’s that simple!
The best thing about push-ups is the variations hit all the important muscles in your chest. You have total control over how wide or narrow you want to spread your arms, and it affects the muscles in different ways.
For instance, you can stretch out your arms wide, and it helps with the triceps, and if you want to concentrate more on the chest muscles, you can keep your arms close or in contact with each other.
So you have total control over how you want the push-ups to affect your upper body muscles. Even without hitting the gym or bench presses, you can get your chest ripped by adopting this technique.
#3 Cable Crossovers
Cable crossover is another excellent option for chest day! It looks simple, but this exercise gives you the freedom to try different variations that effectively get you a hammered chest! Unlike the bench press, cable crossover explicitly targets the chest muscles.
Here is how you can do this exercise. Go to the cable crossover section and set the pulley handle at the highest level. You can now take your position in the middle and grab the handles.
Make sure that you keep your feet apart at shoulder width. Now bend your torso slightly forward, keeping the back straight and spine neutral, and pull the cables with your fists facing the ground. The goal is the cross both your arms making an ‘X’ as you pull and release.
Cables crossovers give you some intense chest muscle workouts. Two variations, namely the low pulley and resistant band cable cross over are fantastic ways to get fantastic chest results. Developing your upper chest is not easy, and not many workout routines help.
But with the low pulley cable crossover, you can build your upper chest region. Similarly, the resistant band is an excellent substitute to get similar results without using a traditional cable crossover. The resistant band is for those that do not have access to a gym but want to do cable cross-overs.
#4 Landmine Press
Up next on the list is landmine press. This simple technique is excellent for getting your chest muscles ripped without the need to rely on a bench press. But first, you will need a pair of weights on a barbell.
You can remove the weights on one end and place it at an angle on a landmine attachment or somewhere in the corner. But make sure you use a towel at the far end not to leave scratch marks on the surface.
To try this exercise, stand with your shoulder and feet width apart and grab one end of the barbell (the end with the weights). Now lean towards the front a bit so that you can stabilize yourself and tighten your muscles.
After that, press the weight up by extending your elbow and ensure that it stays in line with the shoulder. Try not to go for fast reps.
You can slowly lift it up and down and, depending on the number of reps, change to the other arm. This simple exercise has many other benefits apart from building your chest muscles. For instance, it strengthens your core muscles in the abdominal region and helps your shoulder muscles.
#5 Pec Fly Machine
Pec fly machine is exceptionally advantageous if you want to develop chest muscles. It is another fantastic substitute to the bench press that you can adopt and see some excellent results. This piece of equipment is almost like standard gear in most gyms, so it shouldn’t be difficult to try one.
As the name suggests, the pec fly machine is all about developing those pecs from all the possible angles. The best thing about this exercise is, it reduces the stress you usually put on your shoulders which can be detrimental.
However, the vital thing to remember is not to go for heavy settings on the machine. The goal is to achieve a stable mind and muscle connection by not going too extreme. You can do your regular reps on the machine but if you want to take it a step further, try doing it with one arm.
The pec fly machine specifically targets your pectoralis muscles on both sides of your chest. That is why this exercise can give you fast results for your chest muscles.
Additionally, it helps the shoulder joints as well. If you are new in the gym or have just started your workout journey, the pec fly machine is an excellent start. The comfortable backpack and seat of the machine ensure that anyone can start right away, which is fantastic.
#6 Bosu Push-Ups
You can call the Bosu push-up a variation of the regular push-up exercise. Nonetheless, the execution is slightly different because you will need a Bosu ball for this exercise. Place the Bosu ball and take your position, just like doing a standard push-up.
Bosu push-ups are fantastic options if you want to get your chest and shoulders ripped. Again, without relying on the bench press, you can get excellent results using a Bosu ball! When you perform this exercise, the core muscles get activated twice more than it does from a standard push up or plank.
As you try and maintain your balance on the Bosu ball, it increases the muscle fiber activation more than it would from a bench press! Isn’t that awesome?
#7 Svend Press
If you have weight plates, then that is enough to get your chest ripped! This unique yet straightforward technique is an excellent exercise that gives some stunning results. Here is how you can do it. Hold the plate (preferably a 45-pound plate) from a standing position and hold it at your chest level.
The goal is to push the plate horizontally from the chest to the front and bring it back. You can repeat the Svend press as many times as you want but keep the pace slow so that you get the best out of it.
The Svend press has many other muscle benefits besides your chest. This technique ensures that you don’t overwork your shoulders or the triceps like most other exercises.
It enhances muscle growth, and you don’t have to worry about joint stress and other related injuries. The Svend Press is joint-friendly, and you can expect some fantastic results if you try this technique regularly.
#8 Floor Press
And finally, there is always the option for floor press. If you still want to stick to the bench press but don’t have access, the floor press is almost similar. The only difference is that you lie down on the floor instead of a bench. All you have to do is lie down under the bar and extend your arms at shoulder width.
For those people that don’t have a barbell, don’t worry. You can try the same technique using your regular dumbbells! You can unilaterally work each arm, unlike a barbell.
But the only thing to remember is to push the dumbbells overhead horizontally instead of swaying them from the sides. This information is crucial if you want to get results from this technique. So make sure that you pay attention to it.
Conclusion – Best Chest Exercises
If your worry was not getting enough bench presses done for whatever reasons, now you know that there are some excellent alternatives.
If you haven’t tried any of them, you will be surprised at how effective these techniques are for developing your chest muscles! With minimal gym equipment (or no equipment at all!) and no bench press, you can get a ripped chest by adopting these exercises in your daily workout routines.
