10 Best Dumbbell Exercises for Powerful Pecs -

Exercises for Powerful Pecs

If you're looking for an effective way to exercise your chest, look no further! Dumbbells allow a fuller range of motion than barbells, and allow you to work each side of the chest independently.

In this article, we'll talk about 10 different chest exercises you can do with dumbbells to help you get some powerful pecs!

You can also download the exercises in PDF and work it out to your favourite tunes.

All you'll need for this workout is a set of dumbbells and a workout bench.

Let's get started!

DOWNLOAD THE EXERCISES IN PDF

Ejercicios de pecho con mancuernas
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The exercises

  1. Incline Bench Press
  2. Flat Dumbbell Fly
  3. Flat Dumbbell Bench Press
  4. Incline Dumbbell Fly
  5. Dumbbell Floor Press
  6. Dumbbell Chest Pullover
  7. Reverse Grip Dumbbell Press
  8. Dumbbell Crush Press
  9. High Dumbbell Fly
  10. Incline Champagne Press

Reps

12-16

Sets

2

1. Incline Bench Press

Recuerda siempre consultar a tu médico antes de empezar cualquier programa de ejercicios.

The incline dumbbell press is one of the most effective exercises to strengthen and develop the upper portion of your chest. Having your torso at an incline places your clavicular head at a mechanical advantage. As a result, your upper chest does more work and develops, leading to fuller and more impressive pecs.

Muscles worked

Chest (upper), triceps, shoulders, midsection
tríceps, hombros y sección media

2. Flat Dumbbell Fly

Flat dumbbell flyes are a simple and effective isolation exercise for your pecs.

Unlike pressing movements, such as push-ups, flyes leverage arm adduction––bringing your arms toward the midline of your body. As a result, the exercise causes a more significant stretch to the pectorals, followed by a forceful, muscle-building contraction.

Muscles worked

Chest
shoulders and
biceps

Another benefit of flyes is that the exercise truly isolates the chest without putting much stress on other muscles, like the biceps and shoulders. As a result, you can direct all of your focus on squeezing and stretching your pecs during each set.

3. Flat Dumbbell Bench Press

The flat barbell bench press is arguably one of the most popular chest exercises in existence. While not as famous or loved, the dumbbell version is also great because it offers many of the same benefits.

BENEFIT 1: The dumbbell press allows you to overload your pectorals with a significant weight.

Muscles worked

Chest (middle and lower), triceps, shoulders and midsection

BENEFIT 2: The movement offers a great range of motion, including a good stretch at the bottom and a strong contraction at the top.

BENEFIT 3: Using dumbbells forces both sides of your body to work independently. As a result, both pecs develop evenly, eliminating the risk of side-to-side muscle imbalances.

To perform it, grab a pair of dumbbells and sit on a flat bench. Raise the weights to your thighs and lie back as you bring the dumbbells over your chest. Keep your elbows tucked in, bring your chest out, take a breath, and lower the weights to your chest. Hold for a moment and press straight to the top position as you exhale.

4. Incline Dumbbell Fly

Like regular flyes, the incline dumbbell version of the exercise is a great isolation exercise that develops your chest. Having your torso at an incline of 30 to 45 degrees allows you to emphasize the chest's upper (clavicular) portion.   

Muscles worked

Upper chest, shoulders, biceps

Set an adjustable bench at an incline of 30 to 45 degrees, set yourself up, and perform flyes as you usually would. Stretch your chest muscles on the way down and follow that with a forceful contraction at the top. 

5. Dumbbell Floor Press

The dumbbell floor press is a less popular exercise than most other ones on our list, but it works great. One of the movement’s most notable benefits is the restricted range of motion. You can only lower the dumbbell so far before your elbows hit the floor, preventing you from going down more. As a result, floor presses make it easier for you to keep your shoulders in a safe position.

Muscles worked

Chest (middle and lower), triceps, shoulders and midsection

Another benefit of the floor press is that you can’t use your legs to drive off the floor. Instead, your chest, shoulders, and triceps have to do all of the work to press the weight, possibly leading to better muscle growth.

You can also train one side at a time if that’s what you prefer. Doing so is great for directing your focus to one pectoral, feeling it work better on every set.

6. Dumbbell Chest Pullover

Dumbbell pullovers are another effective exercise that emphasizes the chest muscles. The objective is to bring the dumbbell behind your body. From there, engage your chest and lats to pull the weight over your torso.  

Plus, pullovers allow you to overload your chest with a significant load, cause enough mechanical tension and spark good muscle growth.

Muscles worked

Chest (upper and middle), triceps, biceps, shoulders, midsection and lats

The best part is that pullovers train multiple essential muscles in the upper body, resulting in more balanced development, athleticism, and a muscular appearance. Aside from building up the pecs, pullovers develop the lats (the largest muscle in the upper body), triceps, shoulders, midsection, and serratus anterior.

7. Reverse-grip Dumbbell Presses

The reverse-grip dumbbell press might be a bit awkward to learn, it’s worth the effort. Unlike most pressing variations where your palms face forward, the reverse-grip press is about having your knuckles facing forward. This slightly better shoulder mobility, and the position forces the clavicular (upper) portion of the chest to work extra hard. 

Muscles worked

Chest (upper), triceps, biceps, shoulders and midsection

Using a reverse grip is also beneficial for the biceps because the muscles have to work extra hard to keep the dumbbells in position.  

If using a reverse-grip feels too challenging initially, start with a neutral grip (palms facing one another) and gradually rotate them in as you get used to the exercise.

8. Dumbbell Crush Press

Despite its slightly intimidating name, the dumbbell crush press is excellent for the chest, shoulders, and triceps. Lie on a bench with a dumbbell in each hand and bring the weights against one another. From there, you have to lower the weights to your upper stomach as you press them against one another. Doing so makes the exercise great on two fronts:

Muscles worked

Chest (middle and lower), triceps, shoulders and midsection

First, moving the dumbbells up and down forces your chest muscles to engage, leading to their growth.

Second, pressing the dumbbells against one another further engages your chest muscles because one of their functions is arm adduction (bringing your arms in from a lateral position).  

Plus, having the dumbbells close to one another leads to better tricep growth because the muscles are at a mechanical advantage.

9. Hyght Dumbbell Fly

The Hyght dumbbell fly is similar to the classic exercise, but some differences that make it uniquely efficient at toning your pecs.

Similar to an incline dumbbell fly, the objective is to perform these on an incline bench. But, instead of using a slight angle of, say, 30 degrees, you elevate the back support to 50 or 60 degrees.

Muscles worked

Chest (upper), shoulders and triceps

Lie back with a dumbbell in each hand and have your arms by your sides. Bring your shoulder blades back, engage your abs, and take a breath. Raise both dumbbells up and in front of your torso, tapping them at the top of the repetition. From there, lower the weights to your sides as you exhale.  

The unique angle of attack allows you to emphasize the upper portion of your chest, similar to an incline fly or press.

10. Incline Champagne Press

The champagne press is a crossover between incline and crush presses.

To perform an incline champagne press, you have to set your bench at an incline of around 45 degrees. Then, lie down with a dumbbell in each hand, lift both weights over your torso and bring them together. Your palms should be in a neutral position.  

Muscles worked

Chest (upper), triceps, shoulders, midsection

Bring your shoulder blades back, take a breath, and press the dumbbells up and back, having them end over your face at the top position. Lower the weights in an arc motion to your chest as you exhale.

The great thing about the champagne press is that it's easy to learn and does an amazing job of activating your pectorals and triceps.

The takeaway

There we have it. Ten fantastic dumbbell chest exercises you can perform to strengthen and develop your pecs, even if you have nothing more than a pair of dumbbells and a gym bench.  

Each offers excellent benefits, and you can combine them into numerous simple and effective chest-building routines.  

Which exercises are you going to try out first?

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Disclaimer:  Consult your doctor or other medical professional before beginning any new exercise regime to see if it is appropriate for your needs. This site offers health, fitness and nutritional information and is designed for educational purposes only. You should not rely on this information as a substitute for, nor does it replace, professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you have any concerns or questions about your health, you should always consult with your doctor or other health-care professional. Do not disregard, avoid or delay obtaining medical or health related advice from your health-care professional because of something you may have read on this site. See the full disclaimer.

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