Are you looking for the best compound chest exercises to improve your overall strength and fitness? If so, then you’ve come to the right place.
By incorporating a selection of compound chest exercises into your routine, you can work out more effectively and see faster results in your ability to build muscle.
Compound movements involve multiple joint actions and muscle groups, which increase the intensity of workouts and strengthen key muscles throughout large areas of the body.
In this blog post, we will discuss some great compound chest exercises that are sure to help expand and tone your chest area quickly.
Read on if you want to learn some effective ways to strengthen your entire upper body with only a few specific moves:
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Best Chest Compound Exercises List
In this section, we are going to talk about the top chest compound exercises that are sure to deliver results:
1. Barbell Bench Press
This compound chest workout focuses mostly on the middle chest and aids in increasing the overall thickness of the chest.
How To Do Barbell Bench Press?
- You can practice this upper-body strengthening exercise by laying supine on a flat bench with your feet on either side.
- For this exercise, you'll want to grab the barbell in an overhand grip (palms facing away from your feet), with your hands slightly wider apart than your shoulders.
- Then, stretch your arms and push the barbell up.
- Keep your grip on the bar and lower it until your elbows are parallel to the floor and at chest level.
- That’s one rep.
2. Dumbbell Shoulder Press
A shoulder press is a bench press performed while seated erect on an upright bench. It is one of the best compound chest exercises to do at home that can build your chest like a dream.
How To Do Dumbbell Shoulder Press?
- Put one dumbbell in each hand and take a seat on an upright bench. This can also be done while standing or sitting erect on a standard bench. But, for many people, the tactile feedback provided by the bench against the back is helpful.
- Keep your elbows below your wrists and the dumbbells at your sides.
- As you straighten your arms to press the dumbbells above your head, squeeze your core to prevent your back from arching.
- Use a slow, controlled motion to return the dumbbells to the starting position.
Related: Best Compound Shoulder Exercises
3. Chest Dips
Chest dips are a compound chest exercise at home that targets the chest muscles, particularly the pectoralis major, while also engaging the triceps and shoulders.
How To Do Chest Dips?
- Position yourself between the parallel bars or dip bars. Place your hands on the bars, shoulder-width apart, with your palms facing downward.
- Straighten your arms and lift your body up off the ground. This is your starting position.
- Lower your body by bending your elbows. Keep your torso upright, chest lifted, and shoulders down and back.
- Continue lowering your body until your shoulders are below your elbows or you feel a stretch in your chest.
- Maintain control and avoid letting your shoulders roll forward or excessively flaring your elbows.
- Push yourself back up to the starting position by straightening your arms, squeezing your chest muscles, and engaging your triceps.
- Repeat the movement for the desired number of repetitions.
4. Landmine Chest Presses
If you are looking for the best compound exercise for the upper chest and triceps, the landmine chest press has to be your favorite bet. However, you'll need a proper landmine setup for this workout.
How To Do Landmine Chest Presses?
- Get the landmine ready with the required quantity of plates.
- Stand tall with your feet about shoulder-width apart in front of the landmine.
- Make sure you're separated from the anchor by a sufficient distance for the bar to be at a slant.
- Get a neutral grip on the barbell's end, with your palm facing up, and grab it with one hand.
- Your barbell-holding hand's upper arm is close to your body. The barbell-holding hand is brought close to the chest while the corresponding arm is nearly fully folded.
- Carefully raise the barbell before your body until your arm is slightly shortened.
- Reverse the motion to return the barbell to its position during Step 2.
Best At Home Compound Chest Exercises
Let's have a look at the top compound chest workouts you can do at home:
5. Dumbbell Hex Press
Last, one of the ideal compound chest exercises for mass is the dumbbell hex press. With this movement, a small adjustment in your posture can have a big impact by drawing attention away from the lower chest and toward the upper chest.
In addition to working the triceps, this exercise works the chest for an epic cross-training bench press.
How To Do Dumbbell Hex Press?
- Using two mid-range dumbbells with a neutral grip, lie on your back on a bench. For this exercise, hexagonal dumbbells are ideal.
- Above your chest, hold the dumbbells tightly together.
- To establish tension, squeeze the dumbbells together.
- Then, raise them slowly and deliberately until they reach full extension.
- Reverse the motion gradually to the starting position. This is one rep.
Added Information: The hex press is typically performed on a level bench, but if you add a small incline, the movement will go to the upper chest. The triceps are used to keep tension during the exercise.
6. Deficit Push-Ups
Deficit push-ups are a great bodyweight compound chest exercise that puts the pecs in charge of the movement rather than the triceps.
You can adjust the exercise's difficulty by introducing extra depth with stacked plates or instability with medicine balls.
How To Do Deficit Push-Ups?
- At shoulder width, set up two flat surfaces (plates, TRX, dumbbells, books, PVC handles, etc.) to work on.
- Get into a plank posture, with your hands resting on the raised surfaces and grasping as necessary.
- Keep your abs tight, and your elbows tucked as you bend at the waist and reach down toward the floor past your hands.
- Recover to the starting position by pausing at the bottom and then pushing upward.
- That’s one rep.
7. Dumbbell Pullover
The dumbbell pullover is one of the best upper chest compound exercises that primarily targets the chest muscles, while also engaging the back and triceps.
How To Do Dumbbell Pullover?
- Lie down on a flat bench with your head at the edge, so your upper back and shoulders are supported by the bench. Place your feet firmly on the floor.
- Hold a dumbbell with both hands, palms facing upward. Extend your arms overhead, perpendicular to your torso. This is your starting position.
- With a slight bend in your elbows, slowly lower the dumbbell in an arc motion behind your head until you feel a stretch in your chest. Keep your core engaged and maintain control throughout the movement.
- Raise the dumbbell back to the starting position by contracting your chest muscles. Keep your elbows slightly bent and avoid locking out your arms.
- Repeat the movement for the desired number of repetitions.
Final Remarks
In conclusion, compound chest exercises can be incredibly beneficial for gaining strength, building muscle, and improving your overall fitness and health.
With a combination of regular exercise to warm up the body and proper form, these exercises can help you reach your fitness goals in a safe and effective manner.
Remember to maintain good posture throughout your movements so that you get the most out of every rep. With consistent effort and dedication, these exercises can help you build an impressive chest with unparalleled strength.
Be sure to pair them with other lower-body and upper-body workouts for even bigger gains!
So don’t hesitate—try adding some of these best compound chest exercises into your daily routine today.
