The chest can be considered one of the body’s jewels. A well-muscled chest complements the whole physique.
Who does not want to showcase a good chest with a Body-fit t-shirt?
A round muscular chest is a dream for every gym goer. Having a solid chest does not only showcase muscularity; it also has its benefits. Almost all pushing movements of the upper body involve the chest muscle directly or indirectly. The chest muscles are crucial, from pushing doors to pressing weights.
If we break the chest muscles, we can categorize them into three categories based on the heads:
- Clavicular Head (Upper Chest)
- Sternal Head (Middle Chest)
- Abdominal Head (Lower Chest)
On social media, we see different kinds of chest workouts. Some are effective, and some are not. However, those exercises mostly use different machines, which are usually unavailable in most home gyms. For this reason, many people wonder if they can train their chest effectively at home.
The answer is yes; even at home, you can train your chest optimally with minimal equipment. When we talk about chest exercises, there are primarily two kinds of movement that train the chest muscles. They are:
- Pressing Movements and
- Fly Movements
Contents
Best exercises to train chest at home
As there are three heads of the chest, we need to train all three to get an overall muscular and stronger chest. We will provide you with six exercises to train all the heads that will help you grow your chest at home with minimal equipment. You do not need to do all six exercises in one session. You can break them down and adjust with your workout split.
If you do not have a workout split or are confused about which split to follow, check out this article.
Let’s discuss about the chest exercises:
Pushups
Pushups are the most popular chest-building exercise. Even most non-lifters know about this exercise as it is one of the old-school and popular exercises. It trains the overall chest but puts more emphasis on the mid-chest fibers.
Pushups can be challenging initially, but you can do multiple without breaking a sweat over time. If you are a beginner and you struggle to do pushups, you can do knee pushups. When you build up some strength, you can start doing regular pushups.
When you get comfortable with doing pushups, you can make it more challenging by adding some resistance with a resistance band or putting weight plates on your back. You can also increase the intensity by doing them slowly, especially on the eccentric portion (Going down on pushups).
How to Perform:
- Get into the knees in a crawling position.
- Put your hands slightly wider than your shoulders.
- Straighten your legs so your knees are levitated and no longer touching the ground.
- Embrace the core and keep your back straight. Do not bend over throughout the movement.
- Slowly go down until you reach close to the floor.
- Push your body up with the power of your chest until you reach the starting position.
Dumbbell Bench Press
One of the best exercises for building a strong chest is the bench press. It trains the chest throughout the full range of motion (ROM). You can also do a barbell bench press, but it will not allow you to get a full stretch as the bar will collide with your chest.
The best part of a dumbbell chest press is that you only need a pair of moderate-weight dumbbells and a bench. If you do not have a bench, you can do it on the floor, but in that case, you will not get the full benefit of the exercise, which is the deep stretch. So, we would recommend you perform it on a bench.
How to Perform:
- Sit on the bench and grab the dumbbells.
- Lie on the bench with a slight arch on the back. The arch should be at least that much from which you can slide your hands easily.
- Tuck your shoulders to the position where the dumbbells are at an almost 60-degree angle.
- Push the weight up till your dumbbells almost hit each other.
- Slowly lower the dumbbells down and go as far as possible for a deep stretch on the bottom position.
Incline Dumbbell Fly
Incorporating a fly movement with a pressing movement is very beneficial for growing the pecs. It can be easily done at home using a pair of dumbbells.
When done at an incline angle, it will put more tension on the clavicular head. To perform an incline dumbbell fly, you will require an adjustable bench, which can be set at a 30 or 45-degree angle to get the most out of the upper chest.
How to Perform:
- Set the bench on an inline angle (30 or 45 degrees). Sit on the bench and grab the dumbbells.
- Lie on the bench with a slight arch on the back. The arch should be at least that much from which you can slide your hands easily.
- Open your arms to position the dumbbells. Your arms should be almost in line with the shoulders.
- Keep a slight bend on your arms.
- Push the dumbbells up till your dumbbells almost hit each other.
- Slowly lower the dumbbells down and go as much as possible for a deep stretch on the bottom position.
Incline Dumbbell Press
Performing an incline dumbbell press is similar to doing a regular dumbbell press. The only difference is the bench angle, which is biased toward the upper chest when pressing at the incline angle.
If you do not have a bench, you can perform it on a yoga ball, but we would not recommend that as it is not stable. If you work out at home, you should invest in an adjustable bench that can enable you to perform various exercises.
How to Perform:
- Set the bench on an inline angle (30 or 45 degrees). Sit on the bench and grab the dumbbells.
- Lie on the bench with a slight arch on the back. The arch should be at least that much from which you can slide your hands easily.
- Tuck your shoulders a bit to position the dumbbells so that they can be at an almost 60-degree angle.
- Push the dumbbells straight up till your dumbbells almost hit each other.
- Slowly lower the dumbbells down and go as far as possible for a deep stretch on the bottom position.
Incline Pushups
One of the best exercises for training the abdominal head or lower chest at home is incline pushups.
The performing pattern is similar to regular pushups, only it is performed on an incline angle.
When performing incline pushups, your hands will be on an elevated surface, which will elevate your upper body above the lower body, unlike in regular pushups, where the upper body and lower body remain in line with each other.
You can use a chair or even your bed to get the elevation at home.
How to Perform:
- Keep your hands on an elevated surface, slightly wider than the shoulder width.
- Push your legs back so that your body maintains an angular position.
- Arch your back and keep the hips slightly over the back length.
- Slowly go down till your chest almost touches the elevated surface.
- Push your body up with the power of your chest until you reach the starting position.
Bodyweight Dip
Dip is a great exercise you should incorporate into your routine—dip bias towards growing your lower chest.
If you do not have a portable dip bar at home, you can perform the dip using two chairs. However, ensure the chairs are stable so you do not get hurt.
When performing dips, remember that when your body is in an upright position, it will put more emphasis on the triceps. A slight bent-over position will put more emphasis on the lower chest.
How to Perform Dip:
- Grab the handle of the dip bar or chairs and push your body up.
- To get more chest emphasis, slightly lean forward.
- Keep your back straight. Bend your legs for stabilization.
- Slowly lower your body by keeping complete control.
- Push your body up to reach the starting position.