When it comes to building a muscular chest, you may think you have to go to the gym. Yes, you certainly have to work out. However, that doesn't mean you have to work out in the gym!
Sure the gym is nice, but it’s not for everyone. Plus, sometimes you just can't make it to the gym. Sometimes the weather can keep you from being able to get to the gym. Sometimes your gym may be closed. Sometimes you can't make it to your gym within its hours of operation.
In certain situations, you may have to get in a workout at home. Perhaps you even just prefer working out at home. But, are there ways to get a good at-home chest workout? There definitely are.
You might assume you can’t get the same level of muscle growth from workouts you do at home, but you’d be wrong. You can do a lot with a few dumbbells, an adjustable bench, and some resistance bands.
You can also get quite a bit done with nothing but your body weight.
That's what I'll show you today! I'll go over my top 8 at-home chest exercises for a bigger chest. I'll also run you through a couple at-home chest workouts you can try out anytime.
Muscle growth doesn’t come easily or quickly. But if you’re willing to put in the work, then let’s get started.
First, there's a few important things you need to know before you get started.
Don’t Forget to Warm Up For Your At Home Chest Workouts
Before you do any workout, it's always best to warm up. For your at-home chest workouts, it will be no different. There is evidence to support that warming up before workouts can help reduce the risk of injury (1). So, don't skip it!
I’m not just talking about standing around doing static stretches. Static stretching is best saved for after you train.
I’m talking about dynamically warming up. These are little exercises that move your joints through a range of motion.
Think of the high knee drill as an example. Every step you drive one knee as high as you can while stepping with the opposite foot.
Every time you drive one knee up, you’re activating your quads and hip flexors while getting a stretch in your glutes.
This will get blood pumping into your muscles and increase their internal temperature. That primes your muscles for movement and is likely what can help reduce your risk of injury.
For your at-home chest workouts, I have a few warm-up exercises I recommend.
Seal Jacks
Seal jacks are a great warmup and can get your heart rate up fairly quickly. Plus, they're very easy to do like normal jumping jacks.
Stand upright with your feet hip-width apart and your arms held out in front of your body. Do a small jump, moving your legs out to either side of your body. At the same time, swing your arms out to either side of your body. Do another small jump to bring your arms and legs back to center, clapping your hands in front of your chest. Repeat this for reps in a fluid motion.
Push-Ups
These are fairly self-explanatory. However, they can be a great way to start warming up the muscles of your chest.
Put your body in a high plank on the ground with your arms straight and your toes flexed. Your hands should be spaced roughly shoulder-width apart. Bend your elbows to slowly bring your upper body toward the ground. As your upper body approaches the ground, squeeze your chest and push through your arms to come upward again. Repeat this for reps to warm up.
Bear Crawls
This is just another great movement to get ready for your at-home chest workout. Assume a high plank on the ground as if you're about to do a push-up and you're ready to go.
Bring your knees toward the ground without letting them touch. Now, step forward with one leg and your opposite arm simultaneously. Next, step forward with your other arm and leg, moving past your opposite arm and leg. Keep your body close to the ground as you "crawl" like a bear for a set distance.
At the end of the distance, reverse the movment, going backward. This is where your chest will get activated even more to help warm up for your at-home chest workout.
Don’t Forget to Train Muscles on Both Sides of Your Joints
When training your chest, you’re building up the muscle on the front side of your shoulders. This leaves an imbalance with the muscles on the rear side of your shoulders.
With an imbalance around a joint like that, the stronger muscle can become tighter and start to pull the joint in its direction. This creates poor posture and can lead to joint issues down the road.
We’ve all seen it before. Big strong guys that have their shoulders rolled forward by their chest, and their arms internally rotated too much. Instead of their palms naturally facing their body at rest they face behind them.
This is a classic sign of neglecting to strengthen the opposing muscles appropriately. Over time it will likely lead to pain and discomfort, and will take training to correct.
So be smart with your training. Train your rotator cuff, rear deltoids, and the other muscles of your back just as much as your chest.
If you start noticing your palms naturally facing back behind you, or your shoulders rounding forward at rest, you'll know there’s work to do.
Now that we got that out of the way, let’s dive into my top 8 at-home chest exercises. Read through them because I'll also give you a couple full at-home chest workouts you can do today!
Top 8 At-Home Chest Exercises
While this is an at-home workout, you can still do this at the gym if you’d like.
Some of these will require dumbbells and a bench, and some will need resistance bands. Don’t worry though, I’ve included some bodyweight exercises too.
Just be sure to set your shoulders properly for any of the exercises using dumbbells. To do this, pull your shoulders down and pinch your shoulder blades together. This will help to isolate the chest a bit more, and keep your shoulders in a more stable position.
Incline Dumbbell Bench Press
This is a classic, and will always be one of my favorite exercises!
1. Set the angle of your adjustable bench between 30-45 degrees. Grab a set of dumbbells, sit down on the bench, and place the dumbbells on your knees.
2. Use your knees to push the weights into position above your shoulders. Create a slight arch in your upper back by puffing out your chest. This is the starting position.
3. To begin, engage the muscles in your chest and your triceps to press the weight directly above your chest. Squeeze your chest at the top for a second, and slowly return back to the starting position.
4. Repeat this for reps.
Bodyweight Variation
If you don’t have dumbbells, you can work the same muscles by doing a decline push-up. All you need to do is elevate your feet above your head, and do push-ups. For added resistance, put on a backpack!
Banded Push-Up
This is a lesser-known exercise, but really targets your chest well! It’s also really simple and easy to add to your at-home chest workouts.
There are multiple types of resistance bands out there, and any will work if it's long enough. The resistance band I’m referring to here has no handles and resembles a large rubber band.
1. Put one of your arms through the band. With the hanging part of the band, twist it 180 degrees so the band crosses over itself making an “x”.
2. Take the bottom loop you just created below the “x” behind your back and put your other arm through it. It should almost feel like you’re wearing the resistance band like a backpack.
3. From here, grab the part of the resistance band that wraps around the front of your shoulders with each hand. Lay on your stomach with each hand flat on the ground by your chest. The band should be between your hands and the floor.
4. To begin, engage your chest and triceps to press against the floor and push yourself up. The resistance band should stretch the more you go up. Keep going until your arms are fully straight, forming a high plank with your body.
5. Squeeze your chest at the top for a second, then slowly return to the starting position. Repeat this for reps.
Bodyweight Variation
Without a resistance band, you just have to do push-ups on flat ground. For added resistance, you can put on a backpack or place something with added weight on your upper back.
Hip Bridge Decline Pec Fly
This is a great exercise that not only targets your pecs, but your lower body too! On top of that, you really don't need heavy weight, making it a great at-home chest exercise.
1. To get set up, grab a pair of dumbbells and lay back on the floor with your knees bent. You should feel like you’re in a sit-up position, but holding dumbbells.
2. Drive through your heels and squeeze your glutes to form a hip bridge. Your upper back will still be on the floor. Be sure to keep your core engaged, and try not to arch your back. Your shoulders, hips, and knees should all be in line together.
3. Press the dumbbells up directly over your chest, and rotate your palms to face each other. Create a slight bend in your elbows. This is the starting position.
4. From here, allow both of your arms to slowly open up and lower to each side of your body. Keep lowering until you feel a stretch in your chest, or until you’ve reached a comfortable end range of motion.
5. Keeping the same bend in your elbows, squeeze your chest to pull your arms back to the starting position.
6. Squeeze your chest muscles at the top, and repeat this for reps.
Bodyweight Variation
The closest variation you can do for this exercise with your body weight is an incline push-up. This is no different than a normal push-up, except your hands will be elevated higher than your feet. So you can put your hands on a coffee table, and your feet on the ground to achieve this. For added resistance, wear a weighted vest or a backpack.
Modified Handstand Push-Up
This can be a tough exercise to do alone, but really targets the upper chest and shoulders well. All you'll need is an elevated surface for your feet like a couch or a coffee table.
1. Get a pillow and place it roughly a foot away from the side of your elevated surface (couch, coffee table, etc). Stand between the pillow and the elevated surface, facing the pillow.
2. Place your hands on either side of the pillow and step your legs up behind you to the elevated surface. Straighten your legs and arms forming an "A" shape with your upper and lower body. Your head should be above the pillow. This is the starting position.
3. Slowly bend your elbows and lower your head toward the pillow.
4. When your head reaches the pillow, push through your shoulders, upper chest, and triceps to straighten your arms and lift your head from the pillow.
6. Fully straighten your arms and squeeze your muscles at the top to hold for a second. Repeat this for reps.
Easier Modification
If this exercise is too difficult to do right away, no worries. Instead, start with shoulder presses. Simply grab a pair of dumbbells and hold them at either side of your body at shoulder height. Press the dumbbells overhead, squeezing your shoulders and upper chest at the top. Slowly lower the dumbbells back to either side to complete a rep.
Assisted Single Arm Push-Up
This is not the most well-known exercise, but you’d be surprised how effective it is! It’s not as difficult as it sounds either, and over time these will help you do real single-arm push-ups.
This does require a little equipment, but nothing you don’t already have. You could use a medicine ball, a chair, or even a stack of books 1 foot off the ground.
1. This is just for your opposite hand to balance on. For the sake of this explanation, I’ll use a medicine ball.
2. Get into a push-up position with a medicine ball in line with your hands but about an arm’s length out to the side. Let’s start with the medicine ball outside your left hand for the first rep.
3. Take your left hand off the ground and place it on top of the medicine ball. Your left arm should be fully straight and out to your side. Your right hand will still be beneath your right shoulder.
4. This is the starting position. Your feet can be wide or narrow, but the more narrow they are, the harder it will be to balance.
5. To begin, unlock your right elbow, and begin lowering your chest toward the ground. Your left arm should stay straight, and is just for stability.
6. Once your chest is close to the ground, press through your right hand using your chest and triceps to drive yourself up to the starting position.
7. Squeeze your chest for a second at the top, and repeat for reps. Be sure to do an equal amount of reps on both sides.
Easier Modification
If this exercise is too difficult to do right away, try doing it on your knees. This reduces the amount of resistance in the push-up, and will also help you nail the form as you get stronger.
Hip Bridge Floor Press
This is similar to a decline bench press, but you’re on the ground instead of on a bench. The setup is the same as the hip bridge decline pec fly.
1. To get set up, grab a pair of dumbbells and lay back on the floor with your knees bent. You should feel like you’re in a sit-up position, but holding dumbbells.
2. Drive through your heels and squeeze your glutes to do a hip bridge. Be sure to keep your core engaged, and try not to arch your back. Your shoulders, hips, and knees should all be in line together.
3. Keep your elbows at either side of your body on the floor. Your upper arm should form a 45-degree angle with your upper body. You should also be holding the dumbbells up toward the ceiling.
4. To begin, engage your chest and triceps to press the dumbbells directly above your chest. Squeeze your chest for a second at the top, then slowly return back to the starting position.
5. Repeat this for reps.
Bodyweight Variation
The closest variation you can do for this exercise with body weight only is an incline push-up. This is no different than a normal push-up, except your hands will be elevated higher than your feet. So you can put your hands on a table, and your feet on the ground to achieve this. For added resistance, wear a weighted vest or a backpack.
Glider Single-Arm Push-Ups
This is similar to the assisted single-arm push-ups but with a little more movement. If you don’t have a glider, you just need something that will slide on a hard surface like a hand towel.
1. Start in a push-up position with your left hand on top of a glider. Begin slowly lowering yourself toward the ground with your right arm.
2. As you do this, keep your left arm straight as you slide the glider forward as far as you can. Be sure to keep most of your weight over your right hand.
3. When you can't go down further, your left arm should be straight and overhead, while your right elbow is bent. Your right hand should be outside your chest just as it would be in a regular push-up.
4. Press into the ground with your right hand as you slide your left hand back to the starting position simultaneously.
5. Squeeze your chest for a second at the top and repeat this for reps. Be sure to do an equal amount of reps on both sides.
Easier Modification
If this exercise is too difficult to do right away, try doing it on your knees. This reduces the amount of resistance in the push-up, and will also help you nail the form as you get stronger.
Svend Press
This is an exercise that doesn’t require too much weight to be effective. It also doesn’t look like it would do much, but you’ll feel the burn, trust me! It's one of my personal favorites to add in as a burnout for at-home chest workouts.
Traditionally this requires 2 weight plates, but if you don’t have any, don’t worry. You can use pretty much anything with some weight to it. In fact, 2 books can work great.
1. If you have weight plates, you only need two 5-10 lb plates. You don’t need to go super heavy here.
2. Stand upright, grab one weight plate in each hand, and press them together at your chest. Be sure not to wrap your fingers around them for grip. Squeezing them with flat hands and no extra leverage will make you work your chest harder. This is the starting position.
3. To begin, continue squeezing the plates together as you slowly extend your arms out in front of your chest as far as you can. When your arms are fully extended, squeeze the muscles in your chest for a second.
4. Slowly return your hands back toward your chest to complete a rep.
5. Repeat this for reps.
Alternative Without Weights
If you have no weights of any kind, you can still do this with a towel and a backpack. Loop the towel through the top handle of your backpack, and fill it with your desired amount of weight. With the backpack hanging, press the two sides of the towel together and perform with the instructions above. You can also grab a couple of heavy books and do the same.
Full At-Home Chest Workouts
Ready for some full workouts to do at home? I took the workouts from above and made them into a couple of effective workouts.
You can also switch it up anytime by subbing exercises, adding sets, adding weight, or turning them into supersets.
At-Home Chest Workout #1
| Exercise | Reps | Sets |
| Incline Dumbbell Press | 8-12 | 4 |
| Hip Bridge Decline Pec Fly | 8-12 | 4 |
| Assisted Single-Arm Push-Up | 10 Each Arm | 4 |
| Svend Press | 8-12 | 4 |
| Push-Ups (Burnout) | As Many Reps As Possible | 4 |
At-Home Chest Workout #2
| Exercise | Reps | Sets |
| Modified Handstand Push-Up | 8-12 | 4 |
| Hip Bridge Floor Press | 8-12 | 4 |
| Banded Push-Ups | 12-15 | 4 |
| Glider Single-Arm Push-Ups | 8-12 | 4 |
| Push-Ups (Burnout) | As Many Reps As Possible | 4 |
Building Your Chest With At-Home Chest Workouts
If your goal is to build muscle in your chest at home, these exercises can surely help you do that.
When it comes to building muscle though, you have to push yourself and force your body to adapt. To do this, you have to increase the stress on your muscles over time.
This could be from increasing weight to doing more reps, more sets, giving yourself less rest, etc. That's how you'll continue to make progress and earn great results. Now, yes your workouts do matter, but so does proper nutrition and recovery.
That's just the truth, and there's no way around it. The hard part for most people is knowing what to eat and how much to eat.
If you don't consume enough protein and calories, you can't build new muscle. If you aren’t sure how to go about your nutrition, that's where we can help! In fact, we can also help with your workout program as a whole too.
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References:
(1) Fradkin AJ, Gabbe BJ, Cameron PA. Does warming up prevent injury in sport? The evidence from randomised controlled trials? J Sci Med Sport. 2006 Jun;9(3):214-20. doi: 10.1016/j.jsams.2006.03.026. Epub 2006 May 6. PMID: 16679062.
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