bench workout: 7 Best Bench Workouts for Male Bodybuilders to Get a Toned Chest

Most bodybuilders use chest-building bench workouts as part of their routine, ideally with lighter weights and more repetitions.

The bench press is an essential exercise for toning the pectorals. Just by increasing the intensity of the workout, we can get a good counter-effect that positively impacts the appearance of this muscle group.

Best Bench Workouts for Making Your Pecs Grow

1) Barbell bench press

Barbell chest press. (Image credits: Pexels/ Andrea Piacquadio)

The barbell bench press allows you to lift the most weight possible. More weight equals more muscle stimulation and intensity.

To do the barbell bench press:

Lie down on a bench, with your eyes fixed on the bar.
Get a nice, powerful hold with your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
Remove the bar from the rack. Inhale deeply from your belly button, allowing your diaphragm to press your stomach down and air to fill your rib cage.
Pull the bar into your lower ribs, keeping your elbows in at your sides, and aggressively push the bar back up as you exhale.

2) Barbell incline bench press

Incline bench prerss. (Image credits: Pexels/ Andrea Piacquadio)

The incline barbell bench press, like the flat barbell bench press, allows you to press a large amount of weight, although not as much as the flat barbell bench press. As a result, your pecs will get a fabulous pump.

Here's how you do it:

Sit on an incline bench, and relax. Make sure your glutes are in direct touch with the bench by planting your feet firmly on the ground.
Place your hands an inch or two wider than shoulder-width apart on the bar.
Pull the bar down to the top of your chest, keeping your elbows close to your torso and your shoulders locked down.
Repeat for the required number of repetitions by pressing strongly up till the bar is over your eyes.

3) Flat Dumbbell bench press

Dumbbells have a broader range of motion than a barbell, allowing you to address possible muscular imbalances between your right and left sides.

To do a dumbbell bench press:

Lie back on a flat bench, and bring the weights down by bending your elbows at 90 degrees.
Keep your hands and arms slightly below and wider than your shoulders.
Push the weights straight up with a forceful motion that resembles an arc.
At the top of the movement, the weights should hover over your chest.
Maintain control by pulling your shoulder blades together on the way down.

4) Incline dumbbell bench press

Incline dumbbell press. (Image credits: Pexels/ Andrea Piacquadio)

The incline bench press, like the flat dumbbell bench press, helps you to address imbalances and weaknesses.

Expert tip: To enhance chest muscle stimulation, set the bench at a 30-degree angle rather than a higher one.

Here's how you do it:

Adjust the angle of the bench at 30 to 45 degrees.
To begin, sit up, and place a set of weights on your thighs. Kick up one of the dumbbells at a time to shoulder-height with your knees.
Your hands and arms should be somewhat lower and wider than your shoulders in the starting posture.
Push the dumbbells together quickly to make an arc motion.
Allow them to hover over your chest at the height of the movement. On the way down, pull your shoulder blades together.

5) Incline Pushups

Incline pushups still focuses the primary chest muscles (pectoralis major and minor), but it puts substantially less strain on your elbows and reduces the amount of weight you're lifting.

Here's how you do it:

Lie on your stomach on the edge of a bench or table.
Place your hands next to your chest, and spread them slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
Your arms and body should be straight. Make sure your elbows are not locked but bent at a 90° angle. Lift your chest off the edge of the bench as you breathe in.
Push yourself back up till your arms are straight but not locked.
Breathe out as you bend your elbows, and lower yourself back down onto the bench.
Do this exercise slowly for maximum results.

6) Cable crossover

One of your chest muscles helps to bring your arms against your body, as if clutching something. Cable crossovers train your chest from a different angle, allowing it to operate as intended.

To do the cable crossover:

Set the cable machine's pulleys to a high position (above your head).
Choose your resistance, and use an overhand grip to grab the pulley handles in each hand.
Assume an athletic posture, with one leg in front of the other, a soft bend in your knees and a slight forward lean.
Curl, and pull each pulley together in an arc with your arms outstretched till your hands are nearly touching.
Slowly increase your resistance till your arms are about to straighten. Repeat.

7) Pec Deck

Pec deck. (Image credits: Pexels/ Andrea Piacquadio)

This machine, like the cable crossover, trains a different movement pattern than other pressing cable chest exercises, such as bench press or pushups.

To do pec dec:

Make sure the vertical bars on the pec deck are close to the machine.
Adjust the seat so that the grips are at or near chest level. Reach back with one hand to hold one handle, then the other, while facing away from the machine.
On the way back, pull the handles together, and resist tension.

The best way to add chest exercises into your routine is to keep them simple. You could either make one or two of the chest exercises the focus of your workout, and perform them at the beginning or end, or you could use them in an alternating fashion throughout your sets. The choice is yours.

Poll : Barbell or Dumbbell Press?

I prefer barbell

Dumbbell Press

70 votes

Edited by Bhargav