Chest exercises

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Rage_Phish
Rage_Phish Posts: 1,507 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Im looking for some exercises that i can do at home with a set of free weights which will target my chest. I don't have a bench of any sort to lie down on. Would laying on the floor and doing bench press work? Seems like a bad idea due to the lack of full range of motion. or are push ups my only option?

Thanks!

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  • mustangurl
    mustangurl Posts: 104 Member
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    push ups!!!! plus they target a wide variety of other muscles!
  • taso42_DELETED
    taso42_DELETED Posts: 3,394 Member
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    I haven't tried, but it seems you would be able to do dumbbell flys from the floor.
    If you get one of those exercise balls, you can probably use it in lieu of a bench do to things like bench presses.

    Since you already have free weights, it might not be a bad idea to invest a bench. With that, you can do a wide variety of exercises.
  • SoldierDad
    SoldierDad Posts: 1,602
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    Im looking for some exercises that i can do at home with a set of free weights which will target my chest. I don't have a bench of any sort to lie down on. Would laying on the floor and doing bench press work? Seems like a bad idea due to the lack of full range of motion. or are push ups my only option?

    Thanks!

    Push ups are awesome! But Laying on the floor and using your free weights will work just fine. You do lose a little but not a lot! PM me later and I can give you some more ideas.
  • hroush
    hroush Posts: 2,073 Member
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    To do "bench press" at home before with dumbbells I put two chairs facing each other and then "laid down" across them so that the upper / middle of my back was on the chairs. This doesn't work with heavier weights for obvious reasons, but it's a great ab workout as well. I've never tried this, but if you had a heavy enough weight to put on your feet, I would think you could lay off the end of a bed or couch as well.

    You can do bench press on the floor, but it's more of a triceps workout.

    dumbbell flys on the floor would also work.
  • whipdancer
    whipdancer Posts: 21 Member
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    Push ups! If the dumbells are not round, you can use them to extend your range of motion.

    Ways to target different areas of the chest.
    - Wide, wide hands, well outside the widest part of your body
    - Hands directly under your shoulders
    - Hands just outside your shoulders
    - Hands tight at your sides, mid chest
    - Hands at shoulder width, but above your shoulders and closer to your ears
    - Hands together in front of your chest, just above mid chest line.
  • cruiseking
    cruiseking Posts: 338 Member
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    My trainer has me use the dumbells for chest exercises, in combination with one of those big exercise balls. Position the ball between your shoulder blades and do both flies and presses. Also keep your core tight and excercise your core simultaneously. Those balls can be bought for $15, and work better than a bench, plus you get to use the ball for many other excercises.
  • RunHardBeStrong
    RunHardBeStrong Posts: 33,069 Member
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    I do push ups and use a stability ball as a bench. Both work great!!
  • SoCalSwimmerDude
    SoCalSwimmerDude Posts: 480 Member
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    Laying on the floor to do fly's seems like it would kill my shoulder blades (the bones, not the muscle). Do you have any stretch bands? They're cheap and you can get them at target or walmart or anywhere else. Just attach one end to the door and do them that way? Even an ottoman would be better than the floor IMO. You can also try putting a pillow under your back/shoulder blades on the floor... anything to create a little distance between you and the floor.
  • Rage_Phish
    Rage_Phish Posts: 1,507 Member
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    Wow, lots of great answers. Thank you!
  • DonM46
    DonM46 Posts: 771 Member
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    Are you a do-it-yourself type? Do what I did -- build a bench.
    I used 2x8 pine and put it together with 3/8" lag screws. Counter sink the drilled pilot holes so the screw heads won't hang on clothing.
    The horizontal part was as long as my torso. Being only 8" wide, this allows the elbows to drop below the point where they'd hit the floor if you were lying flat.
    The legs of the bench were flush with the top of the bench and were just long enough to allow my knees to bend 90 degrees with my feet flat on the floor.
    The lag screws go thru the legs of the bench and thru the mid-thickness of the horizontal support.
    Sand smooth -- don't want any splinters -- and paint or stain and varnish.
    I don't know what the capacity is but I've used mine for 15 years with no problem. My weight set is 204 # and I weigh about 210.

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