Get pec power and a bigger, broader and stronger chest – at home or at the gym – with these 5 muscle-building dumbbell lifts!
Dumbbell bench press
Targets: Chest, triceps, front shoulders
Sets: 3 Reps: 12 Rest between sets: 60sec
Why? It works all parts of your chest, as well as your front shoulders and triceps, making it one of the most effective dumbbell chest-building moves. Check out our quick guide to perform the perfect dumbbell bench press!
Incline dumbbell hammer bench press
Targets: Upper chest, triceps, front shoulders
Sets: 3 Reps: 10 Rest between sets: 60sec
Why? The incline shifts more of the workload to the upper portion of your pecs, to build more muscle there to increase the size and width of your chest, while still working your triceps and front shoulders. Here’s our Big Move Masterclass on how to perfect your incline dumbbell bench press!
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Decline dumbbell bench press
Targets: Lower chest, triceps, front shoulders
Sets: 3 Reps: 10 Rest between sets: 60sec
Why? The decline angle moves a greater proportion of the heavy lifting to the lower part of your pecs, to building more muscular size and definition to create a broader and more impressive upper torso.
Incline dumbbell flye
Targets: Chest
Sets: 3 Reps: 8 Rest between sets: 60sec
Why? This move is one of the very few exercises to “isolate” the chest muscles, meaning they have to do all of the work and don’t get any help for “supporting” muscle groups so results in big gains. Just don’t go too heavy to safeguard your delicate shoulder joints.
Press-up
Targets: Chest, triceps, front shoulders, abs, core
Sets: 3 Reps: 6-12 Rest between sets: 60sec
Why? The press-up is a fantastic chest-building move and should be in every single chest workout you do. You can place your palms on the floor or grip dumbbell handles to add an element of instability that requires your abs and other supporting muscles to work harder to keep your body stable.
Do press-ups at the end of your workout when you’re already a bit tired to really fatigue as many chest muscle fibres as possible. Why? Because the more fibres you can break down through smart training, the bigger and stronger they’ll grow back, helping you build the bigger, broader and stronger chest you want!
Try these effective press-up variations to add chest size faster!
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