The 4 best dumbbell exercises for a broad chest

With these 4 best dumbbell exercises for a broad chest you can get your chest muscles in top shape within 6 weeks. Plus: 5 top chest boosters

Chest training should be part of every training plan. One way to challenge your chest even more effectively than with the classic bench press is to do a dumbbell workout with the following 4 exercises.

A strong chest is simply part of a well-trained body. Unfortunately, this is not so easy, which is mainly due to the structure of the individual muscle strands: The large pectoralis muscle is divided into three areas (upper, middle and lower part), all of which you have to address in order for them to grow. If you manage to challenge the individual areas sufficiently, you can change the shape of your chest.

For our dumbbell chest workout for the gym (or a well-equipped home gym) you need an adjustable weight bench and two dumbbells with a weight that challenges you sufficiently. A little tip: You can tell whether the weight is right by whether you can just about manage the last 2 to 3 repetitions of a training set. The weight should be chosen so that you can always perform the exercises cleanly, i.e. without momentum and without involving other parts of your body.You can check this Proven Strategies for Building Muscle After 40

1. Exercise: Dumbbell flys

The classic exercise for a strong outer chest area? Flys, performed here with two dumbbells!

Lie on the weight bench with a dumbbell in both hands. Your legs are bent, your feet are on the floor, your knees are slightly bent. Hold the 2 dumbbells with your arms straight above your chest, with the backs of your hands facing your head.
Now open your arms and lower the dumbbells to chest height in a controlled manner. Hold the position briefly at the lowest point before lifting the weights back up.
10 – 12 repetitions

2. Exercise: Inclined dumbbell press

This exercise strengthens your shoulders and improves their mobility.

Lie on your back on an incline bench and place your feet on the floor. Your legs are slightly bent. Hold the two dumbbells with your arms stretched out above your chest, the backs of your hands facing your head.
Now slowly lower the weights to the sides of your upper body until they are at chest height. Pause briefly at the lowest point before returning to the starting position.
12 – 15 repetitions

3. Exercise: Swiss ball dumbbell presses alternately

This exercise is a real all-rounder. It not only strengthens your chest, but also your core and legs.

Rest your upper back on a Swiss ball. Grab 2 dumbbells and extend your arms toward the ceiling. Your palms should face your feet.
Lower the dumbbells alternately and move them past your upper body until they are at chest height. When doing this, both sides work in opposite directions, i.e. when the weight on one side goes down, the weight on the other side goes up.
12 – 15 repetitions

4. Exercise: Pull-ups with dumbbells

Want a strong back and triceps? Then there’s no way around pullovers.

Lay your upper back across the weight bench. Bend your legs and place your feet firmly on the floor. Take a dumbbell in both hands and stretch it forward with both arms until it is above your chest. The backs of your hands should be facing your head.
With your arms extended, lower the dumbbell over your head until your arms are level with your torso and form an extension of your torso. From there, return to the starting position.
10 – 12 repetitions

The Top 5 Breast Boosters

With these small but effective hacks, you can get even more out of your workout. The best dumbbell exercises for a broad chest.

1. Rotate

One technique to target even more muscle fibers is rotate. To do this, turn your wrists inwards or outwards with the dumbbell every third repetition.

2. Support

If all else fails, you can still do something – at least with a little support. Ask someone to help you with the last few repetitions and support you with the movement. This way, part of the load is transferred to your training partner and you can do 3 more repetitions per set.

3. Change

Changing the position of your hands on the dumbbells has a similar effect to rotating your wrists: sometimes position them further inwards, sometimes further outwards, sometimes in the middle. This way, different muscle fibers are repeatedly targeted.

4. Hanging

After your workout, give your spine some relaxation. To do this, hang from a pull-up bar with your arms stretched out for 60 seconds.

5. Stretching

If your chest muscles get wider, you not only get stronger – you also tend to become less flexible. To prevent your chest muscles from shortening, you should do a 5-minute stretching session on days when you don’t train.

Conclusion: With this dumbbell workout you challenge all parts of your chest muscles

Because chest muscles are not that easy to train due to their division, you should focus on exercises that really challenge all three parts – upper, middle and lower muscle groups. This works particularly well with a dumbbell workout. The exercises are not particularly unusual. Much more important is a clean technique, a challenging weight and a clever combination of exercises. The plan is suitable for beginners and advanced users, depending on which weight you choose.