There are numerous exercises to make our pectorals grow and it should not be exclusively with bars. If you want to train with a somewhat more complete range of motion and with a more aesthetic goal, dumbbells can be a good ally. The most traditional way to improve our chest has always been the bench press. This does not mean that we cannot do it with dumbbells and it enhances our muscle mass gains. There are different types of dumbbell chest exercises that can give an efficient stimulus for the generation of new tissues.
Therefore, we are going to dedicate this article to tell you what are the best chest exercises with dumbbells to enhance muscle mass gains.
Calorie surplus
As I always mention in all articles related to muscle mass gains, the first thing we must take into account is our energy balance in the diet. Our body understands stimuli and the generation of new muscle mass is energy very expensive for the body. Therefore, we will not generate new muscle mass if we do not have an energy surplus for a long time. To achieve an energy surplus we need to eat more calories in our day-to-day life than we consume.
Being calorie intake higher than what is consumed it is known by the name of caloric surplus. Our energy requirements for weight maintenance are divided into our metabolic expenditure spent in addition to physical activity not linked to exercise. To this we must add the physical activity we do during weight training and if we do cardio. The total of calories that we get is the intake that we must consume to maintain weight. If we want to gain muscle mass we must increase said cal by 300-500 kcal, depending on our objective and our level.
Gym beginners can increase the calorie range a little more since they have more profit margin. On the other hand, as we become more advanced and expert in the gym, we must be more conservative with this energy surplus. In short, a surplus of calories is needed to be able to grow our pectoral. It does not matter how many exercises we do, If we are not in caloric surplus, we will not generate muscle mass.
Dumbbell chest exercises
All that said about calories, we can now focus on what are the best chest exercises with dumbbells. As we mentioned at the beginning of the article, the bench press is the most traditional to grow our pectoral. Dumbbells can also be good allies, especially if we know how to perform the exercises well and have enough load to give the chest a good stimulus.
Let's see what are the best chest exercises with dumbbells:
Dumbbell bench press
We need a bench where we can lay them down. To catch the dumbbells we bend the knees and with a straight back so as not to hurt ourselves if the dumbbells have enough weight. We do not sit on the bench and support the dumbbells on our knees. With a small push we send the dumbbells to our chest from the knees while we lie down on the bench. We must retract the scapulae once we have supported the sword on the bench. In this way, it not only helps us protect our shoulders, but also we raise the chest to facilitate the work and promote the recruitment of the pectoral muscle fibers.
We grab the dumbbells with a prone grip and lift the dumbbells making sure that the scapulae are still retracted and the feet are flat on the floor. Remember that the descent of the be more controlled to avoid injuries.
Dumbbell openings
They are the classic openings with dumbbells that allow the mid-chest area to be worked more. It is usually worked on pulleys with the classic crossover. To do this we must have a bank. We take the dumbbells in the same way as in the bench press and we lie down with our buttocks well supported on the bench and our feet on the floor. In this way, we allow the back to have the natural lumbar arch without trying to close it. Keep in mind that for this type of exercise you need to take lower weight dumbbells.
From this position we stretch our arms over us at the height of the pectorals and with a neutral grip. This grip faces the palms of the hands. We retract the scapulae and pull out our chest, we open and lower our arms laterally without ever fully stretching them. In this way, we must know that the elbow must always have a slight flexion. To go back up we exhale and return to the starting position.
Dumbbell Chest Exercises: Decline Press
With this exercise we can emphasize the lower part of the pectoralis major. Do not be confused, since the lower part of the pectoral does not exist. However, there are some studies that claim that the decline press offers a good stimulus to the innermost part. It may be a result of running like this we are more beginners. We will need a bench that can be tilted and that has support and support for the legs. Thanks to this, we can lie down with our legs well supported and our head in the lowest area. With this we do not have any risk of slipping.
We take the dumbbells with a prone grip at the height of our chest and the arms stretched without completely locking the elbows. The execution of the exercise is similar to that of the conventional dumbbell press. The advantage of this type of chest exercises with dumbbells over the barbell of this one is that we increase the range of motion, so we stimulate various muscle fibers. Some studies show that this type of exercise is more indicated if our objective is purely aesthetic. Although the gains in muscle mass are very similar and even higher in the barbell exercises, since more kilos can be handled.
I hope that with this information you can learn more about the best chest exercises with dumbbells.