6 Best Barbell Chest Exercises at Home (No Bench)

There’s no replacement for bench presses when it comes to bolstering pectoral muscles and increasing upper body strength. But, if you don’t have access to the bench, here are the six best barbell chest exercises you can do to hammer your pecs.

1. Floor Press
2. Reverse Grip Floor Press
3. Dual Arm Landmine Press
4. Rolling Chest Fly
5. Single-arm Landmine Press
6. Barbell Bridge Press

These exercises target the upper, lower, and middle pecs from different angles and help build a strong chest without a bench.

They’ll also strengthen the other muscle groups, such as abdominals, shoulders, and triceps, and improve balance and stability.

To perform the barbell chest workouts without a bench, you’ll need help from your friend (particularly during the pressing movements), who can lift the weight off the floor and assist you in performing chest presses effectively.

You can also do it yourself by sitting on the floor and keeping the bar above your hips but it will be challenging.

Okay, let’s learn how to perform each exercise step-by-step and their benefits.

6 Best Barbell Chest Exercises to Build Muscle Without Bench

1. Barbell Floor Press

The floor press involves lying on the mat and pushing the bar above your chest. It is a simple but functional exercise that develops a muscular chest and strong upper body at home.

Steps to do a barbell floor press:

1. Insert the appropriate weight into the bar and sit on the floor in front of it.
2. Hold the barbell over your hips and lie on the floor with your face up.
3. Thrust your hips up to grab the bar over your chest. Keep your legs straight or bend in front of you.
4. Hold the bar firmly, and press it up until your arms are straight and directly over your chest.
5. Squeezing your pecs, pause at the top for a couple of seconds, and then slowly lower the bar to complete your first repetition.
6. Do three to four sets of 10 to 12 reps with 1-2 minutes rest between each set.

You can also do a dumbbell floor press to hit your pecs more specifically.

Limitation: The floor press has a shorter range of motion compared to the bench press, which can limit the overall muscle activation and hypertrophy potential.

2. Reverse Grip Barbell Floor Press

The reverse grip barbell floor press works on the lower chest and helps you build firm pecs without a bench. It also trains the biceps and triceps and strengthens the torso.

To perform the reverse grip barbell floor press:

1. Grab the bar with an underhand grip with your palms facing in.
2. Follow the same steps as mentioned for doing a standard floor press.

Alternatively, you can perform dumbbell exercises to strengthen your lower chest at home.

Limitation: It activates pectoral muscles to a limited extent. Plus, it creates an unnatural twist in the wrists, limiting pressing power and range of motion.

3. Standing Landmine Press

The dual-arm landmine press involves gripping the bar and pushing it above while squeezing your chest. It elicits decent contraction in your pectoral muscles and builds a stronger upper chest.

It also strengthens the front deltoids and triceps, increases pushing strength, and develops an athletic torso.

Steps to do it:

1. Place one end of the bar in the corner of the wall and put the desired weight into another.
2. Grab the second end of the bar firmly with your hands (with a neutral grip) and stand in a shoulder-width stance.
3. Take a step back and slightly lean forward but maintain a neutral spine position. That’s the starting point.
4. Now, press upward until your arms are entirely straight.
5. Focus on your pecs and pause for two seconds at the top of the press.
6. Bring the bar back to the start by bending your elbows. There’s your one rep.
7. Aim for three to four sets of 10 to 12 reps.

You can also do it in a half-kneeling seated position to engage your chest more effectively.

4. Barbell Rolling Chest Fly

The rolling barbell chest fly is an advanced exercise that requires good balance, strength, and grip to do it effectively.

It provides decent stretches to your pectoral muscles and highly activates them when you roll the bars toward each other.

Steps to do a barbell rolling chest fly:

1. Grip the bar (instead of placing your palms on the floor) and get into the “up” position of a standard push-up.
2. Roll the barbells out to your sides until your arms are pecs are stretched out.
3. Now, roll the bars toward each other until they are together underneath your chest.
4. Do as many times as you can.
5. Focus on your pecs when you bring the barbells to each other.

You can also do it by sitting on your knees if you feel it is difficult to do it on your toes.

5. Single-arm Landmine Press

The single-arm landmine press is a unilateral exercise. It involves performing presses using one arm at a time. This exercise is excellent for training each side of the pecs individually and improving strength imbalances.

To perform a single-arm landmine press:

1. After setting up a barbell, grab one end firmly with your one hand and hold it about your shoulder height.
2. Stand in the split stance or sit on your one knee with your back straight and torso slightly leaned forward. That’s the starting point.
3. Press the barbell upwards at a slight diagonal angle until your arm is straight.
4. Return to the start slowly, utilizing time under tension (TUT), then press again.
5. Perform 8-12 reps, then switch to the opposite side.
6. Perform more reps on the weaker side.

6. Barbell Bridge Press

The bridge press helps target the lower chest or abdominal heads and improve overall chest muscle appearance. The bridge also keeps your glutes and abs under constant tension and makes them stronger.¹ Gong W. The effects of the continuous bridge exercise on the thickness of abdominal muscles in normal adults. J Phys Ther Sci. 2018;30(7):921-925. doi:10.1589/jpts.30.921

The bridge press involves the following steps:

1. Place a barbell on the rack or sit on the floor with your legs straight and keep the barbell above your hips.
2. Lie on the back and keep the barbell above your chest level with your elbows bent. That’s the start.
3. Lift your hips off the ground, if possible lift it until your chest and knees are in line.
4. Press the bar up until your arms are straight. Lower it slowly to complete the first rep.

30-Minute Barbell Chest Workout at Home (No Bench)

You can adjust this order depending on your needs.

You can also combine the following dumbbell, resistance band, and bodyweight exercises to bolster your pecs from every angle and build a firm and sculpted chest at home.

• 17 Dumbbell Chest Exercises Without a Bench
• 10 Best Resistance Band Chest Exercises
• 8 Best Bodyweight Chest Exercises

The Takeaway

Barbell exercises are excellent for growing chest muscles; however, working out without a bench will be tough.

Performing barbell chest exercises on a bench allows a better range of motion, highly stimulates chest muscles, and grows more strength and mass than doing them without a bench.

However, if you don’t have a workout bench at home, the floor press, landmine press, barbell rolling chest fly, and squeeze press will be helpful and can help sculpt your chest over time.

Related Barbell Exercises

Biceps Exercises

Abdominal Exercises

Quad Exercises

Triceps Exercises

Hamstrings Exercises

Back Exercises

Shoulder Exercises

Forearm Exercises

Full Body Complexes

References

• 1
  Gong W. The effects of the continuous bridge exercise on the thickness of abdominal muscles in normal adults. J Phys Ther Sci. 2018;30(7):921-925. doi:10.1589/jpts.30.921