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Best Chest Exercise Equipment

Updated on May 9, 2020

Choosing The Best Chest Exercise Equipment

There's no doubt that the chest is one of the most popular muscle groups to weight train for many lifters. There are various reasons for this. It's an enjoyable muscle group to train due to the great "pumped" feeling you get from performing chest exercises. It's also important to build the pecs for a complete physique. Another reason may be the fact that your level of strength on the bench press is the measure of how strong you are to most people.

Most weight trainers go to a gym to do chest. However, some gyms don't have enough benches to keep up with demand. You may also want privacy, which is fine as long as you stay safe while lifting. There is also the new fear of global pandemic, which has kept many gyms closed for some time in 2020. You have the option to do your weight training at home. This keeps you from the germs that are going to be circulating in a gym, and gives you privacy and access to exercises you want to do.

The best chest workout equipment includes a weight set and a sturdy weight bench with racks. For more variety you can buy an adjustable weight bench without racks, a core ball, and a pair of Perfect Pushups.

Basic bench in a gym
Basic bench in a gym

Training Chest with Limited Equipment

You have to start somewhere if you want to work out your chest at home. The most basic way to do this is with no exercise equipment at all. The classic push-up is really all you need in a pinch. Adjusting the distance between your hands when you do push-ups will allow you plenty of variety, as will putting your feet up on a piece of furniture to hit the upper pecs.

Some very basic equipment can be used as well to hit the chest. I'ver found that a folded up mat can be used to lie for dumbbell bench presses. If you have some light or medium dumbbells you can also use them for weighted push-up and flyes.

You may not have the means or space to get all of the equipment for chest training right away. However, if you use some creativity you can still hit the pecs hard working out at home.

The most basic bench press equipment
The most basic bench press equipment

Weights Sets

The most obvious need for training your pecs is going to be a weight set. A good weight set should include a barbell, a pair of dumbbells that you can adjust, and enough weights for your strength level. Barbells should be solid and allow you to quickly and easily load and unload weights. As far as dumbbells go, you can either opt for a pair of adjustable ones or get a set of fixed ones. There are some excellent adjustable dumbbells that allow for easy changes of weight available.

Bowflex SelectTech 552 Dumbbells (Pair)
Bowflex SelectTech 552 Dumbbells (Pair)
These awesome adjustable dumbbells allow you to train with between 5 and 52.5 pounds with 2.5 pound increments up to 25 pounds. You can warm up and increase the weight with the same dumbbells for safe training. If you want to go for high intensity, try doing your heaviest sets of dumbbell benches then quickly decreasing the weight to do another set with.
 

Weight Benches With Racks

For most people, weight benches with racks are the best chest exercise equipment. The barbell bench press is certainly the most popular chest exercise there is, and you really can't do it unless you are using an extremely small amount of weight without a bench with a rack to place the barbell on.

A weight bench with a rack will allow you to lie down on the bench and comfortably unrack the weight above you when you bench press. Then you continue lowering the weight to your pecs and lifting it above you until you can't do any more reps. At this point, you need to put the barbell back on the rack.

When you decide to purchase a weight bench, you need to find something that is strong and won't wobble around when you lift. If you get a cheap bench, you may fear using too much weight on it. For peace of mind, you should spend the extra money on a quality weight bench.

A flat Olympic weight bench is the best chest exercise equipment for bench pressing on. These benches are very sturdy and can handle a lot of weight. They also have racks that spaced far enough so you won't have to worry about pinching your hands while racking a barbell.

There are also some great adjustable weight benches with racks that you can do flat and incline bench presses on. Since you need to train the upper pecs to keep in proper proportions to the lower pecs, you should check one of these benches out. Just make that it's sturdy enough to handle a lot of weight.

Adjustable Weight Benches

If you prefer performing pec exercises with dumbbells, adjustable weight benches without racks may be the best chest exercise equipment for you. This is because the racks on normal weight benches will get in the way when you try to perform dumbbell chest exercises on them. When you use an adjustable weight bench without a rack to do dumbbell exercises for your chest on, a spotter will also have an easier time assisting you for some extra reps.

The best adjustable weight benches will allow you to do flat, incline, and decline chest exercises. The majority of them won't decline, which is also fine since doing decline exercises for the chest isn't as necessary as doing flat and incline exercises are.

The best chest exercises to perform on an adjustable weight bench are dumbbell bench presses and dumbbell flyes. You can do any of these exercises on a flat, incline, or decline bench. There are also plenty of exercises besides ones for the chest that you can do on an adjustable bench, which makes it a must-have if you want to set up a home gym.

Dip Stations

Dips are an amazing exercise for the pecs using your bodyweight. Pushing your entire body through space using the chest will hit those muscles hard and give you more home workout variety. You can also use a weighted belt for heavier chest training.

The best dip stations will also have a pull-up bar and padding to allow you to set up on for leg raises and other ab exercises. This makes them an integral part of any home gym as you can do such a large variety of exercises on them.

RELIFE REBUILD YOUR LIFE Power Tower Pull Up Bar Station Workout Dip Station for Home Gym Strength Training Fitness Equipment Newer Version.
RELIFE REBUILD YOUR LIFE Power Tower Pull Up Bar Station Workout Dip Station for Home Gym Strength Training Fitness Equipment Newer Version.
Build your pecs on this dip station that also allows you to perform pull-ups and a variety of abdominal exercises. This excellent piece of home gym equipment also features push-up bars for more chest training at home. Total body training is possible, with dips targeting the pecs and triceps, pull-ups targeting the back and biceps and the ability to train the abs with leg raises. The shoulders can even be trained with handstand push-ups.
 

Core Balls

Believe it or not, core balls can be counted amoung the best chest exercise equipment. This because you can use them to perform dumbbell chest exercises on. The great thing about training your chest on a core ball is the fact that you'll have to balance your body on it, which will activate many small stabilizing muscles. This will help strengthen your core and improve your balance.

When you do chest exercises on a core ball, you can easily adjust your body to target different areas of the pectoral muscles. You can lie flat on a core ball to do do flat dumbbell benches and flyes and move your body down to perform the incline versions of these exercises. Performing these exercises on a core ball will allow for a deep stretch in your pecs, which can lead to more muscle growth.

Core balls are filled with air, so you won't want to use to much weight when training on them. It's best to go light, do high rep sets, and concentrate on getting a deep stretch in your pecs when you train your chest on a core ball.

Perfect Pushups

A pair of Perfect Pushups can certainly be used for the best chest workout equipment. They are basically a pair of rotating handles that you can easily perform push ups on. As you lower and raise your body, you can twist your arms to activate more muscles than you would while performing normal push-ups. Because your hands will be above the floor, you'll also be able to do deeper push-ups to get more of a stretch when you get to the bottom of a rep.

Perfect Pushups are particularly good for warming up beforeĀ or finishing up a chest workout. When you warm up, you can use Perfect Pushups to stretch your pecs to get ready for intense training. You can also do high rep sets on them to burn your pecs out at the end of a chest workout.

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