6 The Best Non Bench Chest Exercises!
You know that the bench press isn’t the only exercise for massive chest development, right? In fact, there are plenty of other great exercises when it comes to building award-winning pecs, and they all come with their unique set of benefits, so adding some versatility to your chest routine will make sure your muscle fibers are getting hit from all possible corners, thus stimulating amazing growth.
These are my favorite non-bench chest exercises:
1. Pushups
Well, of course. The pushup is the king of bodyweight exercises with lots to offer to any fitness-oriented person. Besides helping you develop strength in the entire body and improving your core stability, pushups target the chest muscles rather effectively. Increase the challenge with advanced versions of the exercise for maximum chest involvement.
2. Dips
Many fans of this exercise will tell you that dips are the greatest chest exercise there is. And regardless of your personal view on that statement, the fact remains that not a single person who’s strong on dips has average pecs, while plenty of guys with a killer bench press lack great chest development. Dips are great basics that can activate every part of your pecs – when performing them, make sure you’re tilting your body downwards to fully engage the targeted muscles.
3. Landmine press
An unpopular yet highly effective exercise, the landmine press mainly targets the upper portion of the pecs, while improving core stability and strengthening the abs as well. It can be performed unilaterally (one arm at a time) or bilaterally (with both arms) with different results. Add an adequate amount of weight on one end of a standard Olympic barbell, grab it and push upwards.
4. Floor press
The floor press is an excellent movement for overcoming a training plateau in the chest area, and it allows you to press massive weights without risking shoulder injury. To perform it, lie with your back on the floor underneath a bar and perform a standard pressing movement with one difference: the repetition ends when the triceps touch the floor. This limited range of motion will help you improve your bench press lockout.
5. Cable crossover
The cable crossover is an amazing chest exercise because it allows plenty of different positions which target different parts of your pecs from different angles. Setting the pulleys in the highest position will emphasize the lower pecs, the lowest position will focus on the upper pecs, while the middle shoulder-height position works best for hitting the middle pecs. Bring the arms towards each other at the end of each rep for greater activation of the inner portion of the chest.
6. Svend press
The svend press is an original exercise that involves pushing a plate away from your body in a standing position, enabling powerful isometric contractions of the pecs. To perform it, stand straight with your chest out and shoulders back, press a pair of light-weight plates against each other at shoulder height. Start pushing the weight outwards by extending the arms directly in front of you and squeezing the chest muscles. Bring the plates back toward your chest and repeat. Performed at the end of your chest day routine, this exercise will further stimulate huge pecs growth.