16 Best Dumbbell Chest Exercises Without a Bench

You don’t always need a workout bench to hit your chest effectively; you can do it with dumbbells only.

The dumbbells allow you to train your chest from various angles and will help you build muscular and defined pecs at home without a gym bench.

In this article, I’ve outlined as many as sixteen dumbbell chest exercises that require no bench. You can do them while lying on the floor or standing upright.

The combination of lying and standing dumbbell chest exercises will allow you to effectively target the upper, middle, and lower chest and help you build solid and sculpted pecs.

At the end of exercises, I’ll also share 30-minute no-bench dumbbell chest workout samples; you can try them at home or the gym to train your chest

12 Floor Dumbbell Chest Exercises Without a Bench

You can do various dumbbell exercises while lying down on the floor to hit every muscle group, including the pectoral region.

The floor dumbbell chest exercises include lying chest press, bridge press, chest fly, deficit pushups, and narrow grip pushups. These exercises will help you bolster your pecs and improve the appearance of your upper body without a bench.

1. Dumbbell Floor Press

The dumbbell floor press is a simple yet effective exercise to work on your pecs. It bolsters your pectoral and tricep muscles and helps improve upper body strength.

Steps to perform:

1. Grab one dumbbell in each hand and lie on the floor with your knees bent and feet flat on the ground.
2. Hold the dumbbells at your sides to a level of your chest. That’s your starting position.
3. Squeezing your pecs, press the dumbbells over your chest until your arms are straight.
4. Pause for a second and then lower the dumbbells to the start. That’s one rep.

Exercise Tips:

• Keep your core tight throughout the movement.
• Inhale before pressing the weight and exhale at the top.
• Squeeze pecs at the top and the bottom of the lift.

2. Dumbbell Floor Fly

The dumbbell fly is an isolation exercise that helps develop pectoral muscles. It stretches out pecs and then provides a squeeze when you bring the dumbbells toward each other. It will also help you increase your strength to perform the barbell chest exercises.¹Welsch EA, Bird M, Mayhew JL. Electromyographic activity of the pectoralis major and anterior deltoid muscles during three upper-body lifts. J Strength Cond Res. 2005 May;19(2):449-52. doi: 10.1519/14513.1. PMID: 15903389.

Steps to do it:

1. Pick one dumbbell in each hand and lie supine on the floor back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
2. Extend your arms out to the sides, your triceps resting on the floor and elbows slightly bent. That’s the starting position.
3. Focusing on your chest, bring the dumbbells toward each other until your arms are straight directly over your chest.
4. Pause, squeeze your pecs at the top, and then lower the dumbbell in a controlled fashion. That’s one rep.

Exercise Tips:

• Squeeze your pecs at the top to feel the maximum contraction in your chest.
• Maintain a slight bend in your elbows throughout the exercise.

3. Close Grip Dumbbell Floor Press

The close-grip floor press is another excellent way to forge your pectoral muscles. You can do it as a finisher exercise on your chest day to feel the pump. It is also known as the dumbbell squeeze press.

Steps to do it:

1. Start with lying on the floor with your face facing upward. Bend your knees and keep your feet planted on the floor.
2. Grab a pair of dumbbells with a neutral grip and hold them above your chest with your elbows bent and palms facing each other. That’s the start.
3. Contracting the chest muscle, press the dumbbells toward the ceiling until your arms are straight.
4. Pause, squeeze your pecs at the top, and then return to the beginning. This is your one repetition.

Exercise Tips:

• As the name suggests, it requires you to squeeze your pecs while pressing the dumbbells up. You should perform this movement in a controlled fashion so you can feel the work during the movement.

4. Dumbbell Floor Pullover

The dumbbell pullover is an incredible exercise to provide a good stretch to your pecs muscles and help improve chest definition. However, doing it on the floor limits the range of motion and won’t be as efficacious as doing it on the bench.

Steps to do it:

1. Lying on your back on the floor, bend your knees, and keep your feet flat on the ground. Grasp a hexagonal or urethane dumbbell and hold the inner part of it with both hands.
2. Extend your arms behind your head and maintain a soft bend in your elbows. That’s the start.
3. Pull the dumbbell until your arms are straight over your chest.
4. Pause and lower the dumbbell to the start in a controlled manner. This is your one repetition.

Exercise Tips:

• Perform this move in a controlled fashion.
• Stretch and squeeze your pecs as much as you can during the movement.
• Do not flare your elbows out while pulling the dumbbell.

5. Dumbbell Deficit Pushup

The dumbbell deficit pushup stimulates the upper body muscles, particularly the chest and triceps, and helps increase strength and mass.

Whether you train at home or in the gym, you can perform deficit pushups once or twice a week to maximize the overall pecs development.

Steps to do it:

1. Grab a pair of dumbbells and get into a high plank position with your arms straight below your shoulders and your body straight from top to bottom.
2. Lower your torso until your chest is close to the floor, and then push back to return to the start. That’s one rep.

Exercise Tips:

• You can pause for a few seconds to feel the proper stretch before extending your arms.
• Keep your core tight throughout the movement.
• Grip the dumbbells firmly throughout the exercise.

6. DB Underhand Grip Chest Press

It requires you to grab the dumbbell with an underhand grip, palms under the weight. This variation strikes the upper chest and helps build aesthetic and defined pecs.

Like the normal chest press, the dumbbell underhand press or reverse chest press performs with the same steps.

Steps to do it:

• Grab one dumbbell in each hand with an underhand grip and lie on the floor.
• Squeezing your pecs, press the dumbbells over your chest until your arms are straight.

When training your chest with dumbbells without a bench, you should try a variety of exercises so you can have a better chest pump.

7. Narrow Grip Push-up

The narrow grip pushup may not be as prominent as wide grip push-ups. Still, it engages the pecs efficiently, especially the inner parts, and helps develop chest strength and definition.

You can substitute this exercise with a squeeze press on your chest or push day.

Steps to do it:

1. Holding one dumbbell in each hand with a neutral grip, get into a position to perform pushups. The arms should be straight below your chest, and the palms should face each other.
2. Bend your elbows and lower your chest as close as toward the ground.
3. Contracting your chest, push your hands down to return to the starting point. That’s one rep.

Exercise Tips:

• Your hands should be shorter than shoulder-width apart.
• You must keep your abdominal muscles tight throughout the movement.

8. Decline Floor Press

The decline floor press is also known as the bridge press and is an excellent way to work on your entire body, especially the pecs, glutes, and core.

It requires you to lift your hips and glute off the floor so you can target the lower pecs. Working on your lower chest improves your pecs definition and strengthens the upper body.

How to do it:

1. Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet firmly planted on the floor.
2. Grab one dumbbell in each hand and hold it to a level of your chest. Palms are facing forward.
3. Lift your hips off the ground so your torso is elevated, and your back is straight (Assume bridge position in Glutes bridge). This is your starting point.
4. Contracting your chest muscles, press the dumbbell upward until your arms are fully straight over your chest. This is your one repetition. Repeat as many times as required.

Pro Tips:

• Bridge press is an advanced dumbbell chest exercise and requires you to keep your hips, glutes, thigh, and core tight throughout the movement.
• Make sure your elbows are not aligned with your shoulders during the exercise, as it can reduce stress from your chest.

9. Underhand Bridge Fly

The underhand bridge fly is a great way to engage entire chest muscles and stimulate muscle growth. It also strengthens the lower back, glutes, and abs and helps improve balance and posture.

Steps to do it:

1. Holding a pair of dumbbells, get into the bridge position. Make sure your posterior chain muscles and core are tight so that you can maintain proper form.
2. Contracting your pecs, raise your arms and bring the dumbbells toward each other above your lower pecs.
3. Pause for a moment and lower your arms to the start. That’s one rep.

Exercise Tips:

• There will be soft bends in your elbows, but mostly, your arms will be straight throughout the movement.
• Keep your feet flat on the floor, and make sure your body is straight from your knee to your chest.

10. Bridge Squeeze Press

The bridge squeeze press works in the same way as the close-grip floor press. However, it emphasizes more on your lower chest. So, if your focus is to develop the lower pectoral region, you can try this exercise.

Steps to do it:

1. Grab a pair of dumbbells and get into a bridge position.
2. Hold the dumbbells above your chest with your palms facing each other.
3. Squeezing your pecs, press the dumbbells over your chest until your arms are straight.
4. Pause for a moment and then return to the start.

Exercise Tips:

• Lift your hips off the ground by pressing through your heels, making sure to maintain a straight line from your shoulders to your knees at the top of the movement.

11. Dumbbell One-arm Floor Press

The one-arm floor press is a unilateral exercise that helps you train each side of your chest independently and helps you improve strength imbalance and muscle symmetry.

Steps to do it:

1. Grab a dumbbell in your right hand and lie on the floor.
2. Keep your right arm straight over your chest while the other one is at your side.
3. Press the dumbbell up until your arm is straight, and then lower it down and repeat.

Exercise Tips:

• You can keep your left arm straight if you’re pressing the dumbbell with your right hand and vice-versa.
• Perform more reps or sets on your weaker side to improve muscle balance imbalance.

12. Dumbbell One-arm Fly

Like unilateral floor press, you can also perform unilateral chest fly. The one-arm dumbbell chest fly allows you to concentrate more on your underdeveloped side and improve your chest muscle definition.

Steps to do it:

1. Get in the same position as the dumbbell floor fly, but keep your right arm straight over your chest during the entire exercise while doing dumbbell flyes with your left arm.
2. Once you complete ten repetitions, hold your left arm straight over you and perform dumbbell flyes with your right arm.

Exercise Tips:

• Keep your elbow softly bent to hit the chest muscle effectively.
• Lower the dumbbell in a slow, controlled manner while keeping the elbow position fixed.

4 Standing Dumbbell Chest Exercises (No Bench)

You can do standing dumbbell exercises to bolster your pectoral muscles without a bench.

Combining lying and standing dumbbell chest exercises will help you achieve better results.

1. Dumbbell Svend Press

The Svend press is also known as the standing chest press. It is a simple and effective exercise to hit your pecs without a bench. It works out all major chest muscles at once. However, it is not as helpful as lying floor press.

Steps to do it:

1. Grab a dumbbell, hold its ends with each hand, and stand upright with your feet together.
2. Bend your elbows and hold the dumbbell close to your chest.
3. Contracting your pecs, press the dumbbell in front of your chest until your arms are straight.
4. Squeezing your pecs, pause for a moment, and then return to the start. That’s one rep.

Exercise Tips:

• Keep your back straight, chest up, and core tight during the entire movement.
• Hold the dumbbell firmly and press it in a controlled manner.

2. Dumbbell Standing Chest Fly

The standing dumbbell chest fly is a free-weight exercise that strengthens upper body muscles. In the absence of a workout bench, you can do this exercise to target your chest muscles.

How to do it:

1. Holding one dumbbell in each hand, stand straight in the hip-width stance.
2. Raise your arms in front of you and hold them at your chest level. This is your starting position.
3. With a slight bend in your elbows, extend your arms out to the sides. And then return back to the start. That’s your one rep.

Exercise Tips:

• Grab a pair of dumbbells that are not heavy so you have control over them.
• Perform each rep in a slow and controlled fashion.

3. Dumbbell Upward Fly

The dumbbell upward fly is an excellent way to hit your upper pecs at home without a bench. It requires you to stand upright and raise the dumbbells in front of you so you can feel the contraction in your chest.

Steps to do it:

1. Stand tall in the shoulder-width stance, holding one dumbbell in each hand at your sides with your palms facing inward.
2. Contracting your chest muscles, raise your arms upward until your arms reach above your chest height and your palms are facing upward.
3. Pause for a second and then return to the start. That’s your one repetition.

Exercise Tips:

• Keep your back straight, chest up, and core tight during the entire exercise.
• Squeeze your chest muscles at the top of the movement to maximize the contraction.

4. Standing Dumbbell Horizontal Press

The standing dumbbell horizontal press is another way to work on your chest without a bench. However, it also works multiple other muscles of the upper body and requires you to hold the dumbbells against gravity all the time, which makes it difficult to perform, especially for beginners.

You can give it a try and see if it works for you or not.

Steps to do it:

1. Grab a pair of dumbbells with a neutral grip and stand straight in the split stance.
2. Hold the dumbbells to your shoulder height by bending your arms, elbows pointing down.
3. Press the dumbbells in front of you until your arms are straight, and return to the initial position.

Exercise Tips:

• Keep your core tight at times.
• Use light dumbbells and squeeze your pecs when you press them forward.

30-Minute Dumbbell Chest Workout Without Bench

You have seen how you can do the various dumbbell exercises for the chest without a bench. Now, let’s design a well-balanced chest workout routine that requires no bench.

Example 1

Exercise	Sets	Reps	Rest
Dumbbell Floor Press	3	8-12	60-sec
Dumbbell Floor Chest Fly	3	8-12	60-sec
Dumbbell Deficit Pushup	3	8-12	2-min
Close Grip Dumbbell Floor Press	3	8-12	60-sec
Dumbbell Floor Pullover	3	8-12	60-sec

Example 2

Exercise	Sets	Reps	Rest
Dumbbell Deficit Pushup	3	8-12	2-min
Dumbbell Floor Press	3	8-12	60-sec
Dumbbell Upward Fly	3	8-12	60-sec
Dumbbell Floor Pullover	3	8-12	60-sec
Bridge Squeeze Press	3	8-12	60-sec

Final Words

If you want to strengthen and tone your chest muscles at home, you can try some of the best dumbbell chest exercises that require no bench, such as the Dumbbell floor press, Floor chest fly, Bridge press, Svend press, Deficit pushup, and Squeeze press.

I’ve shared as many as sixteen dumbbell exercises that you can perform without a bench to build stronger and sculpted pecs at home.

Depending on your fitness level, you can incorporate some of them in your no-bench workout plan.

References

• 1
  Welsch EA, Bird M, Mayhew JL. Electromyographic activity of the pectoralis major and anterior deltoid muscles during three upper-body lifts. J Strength Cond Res. 2005 May;19(2):449-52. doi: 10.1519/14513.1. PMID: 15903389.