Chest Press Variations for the Bored

Chest pressing can get very boring with the typical bench press, whether it be a flat, incline and decline and all sorts of inclines in between. The weekly grind for chest gains can get dull and routine, and if you hit that plateau it can get very frustrating as well.

Here at R3 Fitness, there are several exercises we like to use to blast those pectorals in different ways to keep exercise fresh and challenge yourself in your path towards sculpting that body to be the next Adonis or Aphrodite or whatever statue-esque appearance you have in your mind.

We have three different variations of working those pecs for you that hopefully you can include in your workouts to spice it up a bit!

The single arm dumbbell floor press is great when everyone is hogging the benches and you just don’t have time to waste. Grab a dumbbell and lay on the floor for a safer chest press but challenging as well; the single arm load should fire your abdominal area which are needed to stabilize the offset load (and use something heavy!) while the floor prevents you from bringing your elbow too low on the press.

You can always go crazier with an alternating dumbbell chest press right on a stability ball if you’re thirsting for something more difficult. Make sure you choose a nice inflated ball! Keep your hips up on the stability ball and fire those glute muscles and core while alternating a chest press in order to involve a lot more of your body components!

Finally, if a flat bench is available and you’re seeking a different chest variation, the close grip dumbbell bench press can be another alternate to break yourself from the typical chest press circuit you’re bored with. Push those dumbbells together with the palms facing each other and drive through your chest for another way to work it!

Hopefully some of these exercises can rev up your desire to do more chest exercises if the standard chest presses don’t do the job! Be strong and stay healthy!