Dumbbell Chest Workouts

3 Killer Chest Workouts with Dumbbells for Mass and Strength

The great thing about dumbbell-only workouts is you don’t need a gym membership. With a decent set of dumbbells and a bench, you can get in a full workout at home.

You can work out every single part of your body with dumbbells only. Yes, more variety with exercises is better. This is easily solved by getting a barbell set … but if all you have are dumbbells, you can get in fantastic workouts.

Chest workouts with dumbbells only is actually pretty easy to create different workouts. That’s what this post is all about. Below I set out 3 chest workouts with dumbbells.

3 Killer Dumbbell Chest Workouts

1. Dumbbell Chest Workout for Mass

DB Press: 2 x 12, 2 x 10

Incline DB Press: 2 x 12, 2 x 10

Flat Flyes: 2 x 12, 2 x 10

• This workout has higher reps which is ideal for building mass. It should be done no more than once every 5 days to 6 days.
• Rest: 45 seconds in between sets.
• Cadence: Standard cadence (1 to 2 seconds up and 1 to 2 seconds down).

2. DB Chest Workout for Strength

DB Press: 1 x 10, 2 x 6, 2 x 4, 1 x 2

Incline DB Press: 1 x 10, 3 x 6, 1 x 4

Flat Flyes: 1 x 10, 3 x 8

• Lower reps build muscle density.
• Rest: take 75 seconds of rest in between sets.
• Be sure you have heavy dumbbells for the low and heavy lifts.
• Cadence: A little slower than workout #1 above due to the heavy lifts.

3. Superset DB Chest Workout (Same Muscle Combos) for Mass

• DB Press: 4 x 8
• DB Flat Fyes: 4 x 8

Do 1 set of DB press followed immediately by 1 set of DB flat flyes. Take 60 seconds rest in between supersets.

• DB Incline Press: 4 x 8
• Incline Flyes: 4 x8

Do 1 set of DB incline press followed immediately by 1 set of incline flyes. Take 60 seconds rest in between supersets.

• DB Pullovers: 3 x 8
• Pushups: 3 x max

Do 1 set of DB pullovers followed immediately by pushups to failure. Take 60 seconds rest in between supersets.

Comments

Each of the above chest workouts hit the major parts of your chest: upper and middle. If you have a decline bench, you can certainly swap out incline presses for decline presses if you want to further develop your lower chest.

If you have dip bars, you can easily incorporate dips into the workouts as well.

For each rep, focus on the chest muscles. It’s easy to have your triceps and shoulders to over-compensate and do too much of the lifting. With pullovers, it’s easy to lift too much with your back … you must focus and squeeze out with your chest muscles.

Other dumbbell chest exercises include:

• Around the worlds
• Decline DB presses
• Decline DB flyes

Do any particular workout for 8 to 12 weeks. Then change it up. Simply changing the rep count a little or the order of the exercises qualifies as changing the workout.

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