In the following dumbbell training workout guide, we demonstrate the most effective dumbbell exercises for chest to help you build muscle and get stronger. These exercises form the foundation of any good workout program and will give you a great starting point for your training. As you advance with your training, you can progress the weights, modify the tempo of each repetition, change the volume of each set, and even learn more dumbbell exercises for the chest to expand your training.

While each of these exercises are shown on a flat bench, they can also be implemented on an incline bench and a decline bench. This immediately triples the amount of dumbbell exercises you can now use to build muscle for your chest.

Best Dumbbell Chest Exercises

Dumbbell Bench Press
Recommended Volume: 3-4 sets x 8-12 reps

Neutral Grip Dumbbell Bench Press
Recommended Volume: 3-4 sets x 8-12 reps

Dumbbell Key Press
Recommended Volume: 3-4 sets x 8-12 reps

Dumbbell Crush Grip Bench Press
Recommended Volume: 3-4 sets x 8-12 reps

Dumbbell Wide Grip Bench Press
Recommended Volume: 3-4 sets x 8-12 reps

Here is how you can organize a few of these exercises into an effective workout. You’ll see we typically complement our chest training with back and biceps exercises in an upper body workout. When training chest, you can also easily integrate bodyweight chest exercises like push-up variations. And finally, it is important to maintain good range of motion at the shoulders, so we always finish the workout with some shoulder mobility drills.

Simple Dumbbell Workout for Chest

1A) Dumbbell Bench Press, 4 sets x 8 reps
1B) Bodyweight Push-ups, 4 sets x 20 reps

2A) Incline Dumbbell Key Press, 4 sets x 10 reps
2B) Pull-ups, 4 sets x 6-8 reps

3A) Wide Grip Incline Dumbbell Press, 3 sets x 10 reps
3B) Lat Pull Downs, 3 sets x 20 reps

4) Shoulder Stretch*, 2 sets x ALAP**
* Hang from the pull-up bar with relaxed arms
** ALAP – As Long As Possible

For more effective muscle building dumbbell exercises for the chest and the best workouts of your life, check out the new Ageless Athlete 3.0 program and the legendary Diesel MASS program.