Top 5 Non-Bench Chest Exercises

We all know that Monday it’s International Chest Day, and just because it’s chest day, all the benches will be full. It doesn’t matter that your chest day it’s not on Monday, there are still plenty of chances you will have to wait for a free bench.

While the bench is valuable for overall chest strength, it can place excess stress on the deltoids, which can be tough for those with injured shoulders. If you want muscle growth, there are several non-bench chest exercises that can help you develop a full armoury chest!

So why don’t you enhance your workout a little, by mixing and incorporating these 5 exercises into your routine. Play a little with the angles, see what works best for you. In no time, your pecs will blow in size and strength!

See below the TOP 5 NON-BENCH CHEST EXERCISES:

1. Probably the most basic and simple chest exercise! THE PUSH-UP: A push-up is a common calisthenics exercise performed in a prone position by raising and lowering the body using the arms. Push-ups exercise the pectoral muscles, triceps, and anterior deltoids, with ancillary benefits to the rest of the deltoids, serratus anterior, coracobrachialis and the midsection as a whole. Push-ups are a basic exercise used in civilian athletic training or physical education and commonly in military physical training.

You can start with the standard pushups, and then vary them with all kind of push-ups variations (kneeling pushups, incline pushups, decline pushups, weighted pushup, plank pushup and lots of other variations. Get into plank position, with your hands under but slightly outside of your shoulders.

2. The Landmine press is a simple yet innovative movement designed to mainly target the upper portion of the chest muscles. To setup this exercise, place a standard Olympic barbell in the corner or on a landmine attachment while adding the appropriate amount of weight to the opposite end of the bar. Grab the weighted end with one hand and from a standing position, push the bar upwards. This will place extra emphasis on growing the upper portion of the chest.

3. Another good exercise for chest is the dip. Chest dips are great for developing not only your triceps, but you pecs also. For this exercise you will need access to parallel bars. To get yourself into the starting position, hold your body at arms length (arms locked) above the bars. While breathing in, lower yourself slowly with your torso leaning forward around 30 degrees or so and your elbows flared out slightly until you feel a slight stretch in the chest. Once you feel the stretch, use your chest to bring your body back to the starting position as you breathe out. Repeat the movement for the prescribed amount of repetitions.

4. Cable crossovers – The beauty of cable crossovers is the different variations you can use to hammer the chest muscles from a variety of angles. To get yourself into the starting position, place the pulleys on a high position (above your head), select the resistance to be used and hold the pulleys in each hand. Step forward in front of an imaginary straight line between both pulleys while pulling your arms together in front of you. Your torso should have a small forward bend from the waist.