The 10 Best Bench Press Alternatives

Do you want to build a powerful, strong chest but have plateaued in your bench press? Do you need an alternate exercise for those busy days when all the benches are taken?

The bench press is one of the best exercises for building the strength and size of your chest. It recruits many of the large muscle groups in your chest, especially the pec major, but it isn’t the only effective chest exercise.

Here is our list of the best 10 exercise alternatives to the bench press.

The 10 Best Bench Press Alternatives

1. Dumbbell Chest Press
2. Barbell Floor Press
3. Pin Presses
4. Dumbbell Fly
5. Cable Fly
6. Standing Cable Chest Press
7. Push-Ups
8. Dips
9. Barbell Overhead Press
10. Dumbbell Pullover

Dumbbell Chest Press

When to Perform Dumbbell Chest Presses

Dumbbell chest presses use the same muscle groups and range of motion as the barbell bench press. They use a bench and a pair of dumbbells without the need for a barbell and a bench rack. Dumbbell chest presses build strength in your stabilizing muscles, as each arm lifts a dumbbell without assistance from the opposite arm. Using dumbbells may be more comfortable for people with a shoulder injury, as there is more flexibility to tuck your elbows close to the body.

How to Perform Dumbbell Chest Presses

1. Lie on a flat bench with a dumbbell in each hand. Hold the dumbbells close to your chest.
2. Plant your feet firmly on the ground. Squeeze your shoulder blades together and press the dumbbells above your chest with your palms facing away from your face.
3. Brace your scapula and core muscles. Keep your wrists in line with your shoulders and your gaze straight up.
4. Slowly bend your elbows to lower the dumbbells towards your body. Stop when the dumbbells almost touch your chest. Your upper arms should be at least parallel to the ground.
5. Keep your entire body braced and press the dumbbells back overhead. They should end up directly above your shoulders.
6. Repeat for the desired number of sets and reps.

For a visual guide to doing dumbbell chest presses with proper form, check out this video from Scott Herman Fitness.

How To: Dumbbell Chest Press

Tips for Dumbbell Chest Presses

Make use of your legs to stabilize and lift the weight. Actively drive your feet into the ground to create a strong foundation. During the eccentric (lowering) phase, think of pulling the dumbbells towards you rather than letting them drop.

Barbell Floor Press

When to Perform Barbell Floor Presses

The barbell floor press is one of the best alternative exercises for the bench press. It follows the same movement pattern but involves a shorter range of motion. Lying on the ground instead of on a bench means your elbows can’t travel as far behind your torso. This movement creates less of a stretch in your pectoral muscles, which might be more comfortable for beginners, lifters managing an injury, or those with poor chest and shoulder mobility. Floor pressing builds strict strength in the triceps, which can help improve your other lifts, including the bench press.

How to Perform Barbell Floor Presses

1. The floor press is safest and most effective when set up in a power rack. Place the J hooks at a level that you can reach from your position lying on the ground.
2. Lie on the ground so that your eyes are roughly in line with the barbell. You can do the floor press with straight or bent legs. If straight, lay them out straight and dig into the floor with your heels. If bent, keep them at about 90 degrees and firmly plant your feet on the ground.
3. Reach up and grip the barbell firmly with your hands just wider than shoulder-width apart.
4. Unrack the bar, so it is hovering above your chest. Brace your core and bend at the elbows to pull the barbell down towards you.
5. Stop when the backs of your arms make contact with the floor and drive through your triceps to return the barbell to its starting position.
6. Repeat for the desired number of reps before carefully reracking the barbell at the end of your set.

For a visual aid, check out this video demonstrating the correct form for a barbell floor press.

The Floor Press

Tips for Barbell Floor Presses

Keep your shoulders firmly planted on the ground throughout this exercise. Resist the temptation to let the shoulders lift as you press the bar. Ensure that your upper arms graze the ground at the bottom of the lift to move through a full range of motion. Come to a complete stop at the bottom of the lift to avoid ‘bouncing’ the bar back up.

Pin Presses

When to Perform Pin Presses

The pin press is a popular exercise for lifters wanting to strengthen their sticking point in the bench press. It helps break through strength plateaus and targets lagging muscle groups. The pin press set-up is the same as for the bench press. The main difference is that the pin press involves only the concentric (lifting) phase and eliminates the eccentric (lowering) phase. The pin press removes the stretch-shortening cycle response, requiring more strict strength to press the barbell out of the rack. Pin presses can be adjusted to isolate the range of motion you are struggling with the most, whether that is at the bottom of the lift or the lockout phase.

How to Perform Pin Presses

1. Set up your bench so the pins are at an appropriate height for the range of motion you want to target. To focus on the bottom half of the lift, position the pins just above your chest. If you are trying to improve your bench press lockout strength, place the pins higher on the rack.
2. Load your barbell onto the rack and lie on a flat bench so that the bar is in line with your nipples.
3. Grip the barbell with a pronated grip and your hands just outside shoulder-width.
4. Engage your glutes, legs, and abdominals. Retract your shoulder blades and tuck your chin.
5. Press the weight out of the rack. Hold at the top of the lift, then slowly lower the barbell back onto the pins.
6. Allow the bar to come to a complete stop.
7. Reset and repeat the process from step 4 onwards for each rep.
8. Repeat for the desired number of sets and reps.

For a helpful overview of how to do the pin press to improve your bench, here’s Jason Brown from Box Programming.

Bench Pin Press

Tips for Pin Presses

Pin presses are best used as a way to progress in your bench press and other pushing exercises. They are great for improving strength in your sticking points but shouldn’t be used as a substitute for benching if hypertrophy is your focus. Pin presses have a shortened range of motion to isolate your weak points, so they recruit fewer overall muscle fibers.

Dumbbell Flys

When to Perform Dumbbell Flys

Dumbbell flys are a great choice for lifters wanting to isolate the chest without taxing other muscles used in the bench press like the triceps and shoulders. Compared with the bench press, dumbbell flys load the pecs in a stretched position, giving you a greater chest pump. 

How to Perform Dumbbell Flys

1. Lie on a flat bench with a dumbbell in each hand. Press the dumbbells above your chest with your wrists in line with your shoulders.
2. Rotate your arms so your palms face each other and maintain a micro bend in the elbows.
3. Retract your shoulders and tuck your chin to keep a neutral spine. Slowly move your arms outwards and the dumbbells away from each other.
4. Stop when the dumbbells are roughly parallel to your torso or when you feel a stretch in your chest muscles.
5. Pause for a second, then squeeze your pecs to bring the dumbbells back together.
6. Repeat for the desired number of sets and reps.

For a visual aid, here’s a useful video from Jim Stoppani, Ph.D.

Proper Form For Dumbbell Flyes

Tips for Dumbbell Flys

Ensure you keep a slight bend in the elbows throughout this exercise to protect the elbow and shoulder joints. If you don’t have access to a bench, you can also lie on a swiss ball to create space for your hands to travel behind your torso. 

Cable Fly

When to Perform Cable Flys

Cable machine flys are another great way to target your chest without stressing your shoulder joints. They are safer and more comfortable for beginners than dumbbell flys because the pulley system stabilizes the weight for you. Cable chest flys load the chest muscles in a fully stretched position, placing more metabolic stress on the muscles, and producing impressive gains.

How to Perform Cable Flys

1. Stand facing away from a cable machine with the pulleys in line with your chest or slightly higher.
2. Attach a standard handle attachment to each cable and hold them with your palms facing forward.
3. Take a few steps forward until you feel the tension in your arms and chest. Brace your abdominals and maintain a neutral spine.
4. Stagger your stance by placing one foot in front of the other for a stable foundation.
5. Raise your arms out to the sides with slightly bent elbows. Ensure your arms don’t travel behind the torso.
6. Squeeze your chest to pull the handles towards each other, moving in a wide semicircular motion to fully stretch the pecs.
7. Stop when your hands touch each other and slowly return them to their starting position.
8. Repeat for the desired number of sets and reps.

For a visual aid, check out this useful video from Colossus Fitness demonstrating the correct form for a cable chest fly. It also highlights some variations you can make in this exercise to target your muscles from different angles.

How to PROPERLY Cable Chest Fly (FIX YOUR FORM NOW)

Tips for Cable Flys

Utilize the flexibility of cable machines to target specific areas of your chest. Using a higher or lower pulley position will target your muscles from different angles to give you a more well-rounded, fuller-looking chest. You can even do cable flys unilaterally to focus on one arm at a time and address muscular imbalances.

For more tips, check out our round up of the best cable exercises for the chest.

Standing Cable Chest Press

When to Perform Standing Cable Chest Presses

Standing chest presses can be done using a cable machine or a dedicated standing chest press machine. Using cables is the most common variation, as standing chest press machines aren’t available in every gym. This exercise is a great alternative to the bench press for lifters of any experience level. Beginners may feel more comfortable pushing themselves closer to failure because there is no risk of dropping the bar on their chest. For advanced lifters, the standing position of this exercise challenges their core and spinal stabilizers.

How to Perform Standing Cable Chest Presses

1. Stand in front of a cable machine. Attach single grip handles and position the pulley to just below your chest height.
2. Grab a handle in each hand with a pronated grip and face away from the cable machine. 
3. Step one foot in front of the other for a stable, staggered stance. Hold the cable handles close to your torso and in line with your upper pecs.
4. Keep a slight forward tilt in your torso and tuck your chin.
5. Press the handles away from your body and directly in front of your sternum. Keep your hands close together while pressing.
6. Pause, then slowly release the cables until the handles return to their starting position.
7. Repeat for the desired number of sets and reps.

Check out this useful video from Testosterone Nation for a visual guide to performing the standing cable chest press.

The Cable Chest Press

Tips for Standing Cable Chest Presses

Ensure you move through a full range of motion by fully extending the arms at the top of the rep, without locking your elbows. Between reps, allow the handles to make contact with your torso.

Push-Ups

When to Perform Push-Ups

Push-ups are an underrated but effective alternative to the bench press. Muscular engagement is very similar between these two exercises, making push-ups an amazing way to build strength without any equipment. You can do push-ups while traveling, at home, or outdoors, and there are lots of variations to adjust the difficulty depending on your experience level.

How to Perform Push-Ups

1. Hold a plank position on the ground with your core engaged and your heels actively pressing behind you.
2. Place your hands just outside shoulder-width to emphasize the chest rather than the triceps.
3. Squeeze your legs and tuck your chin to keep a neutral spine. Gaze straight down between your hands.
4. Bend your elbows and lower yourself down as far as you can or until your chest hovers an inch off the ground. Your elbows should be at 45 degrees and can flare out slightly.
5. Keep your entire body braced. Push through your palms to straighten your arms and return to a high plank.
6. Repeat for the desired number of sets and reps.

For a visual guide, here’s Max Tapper from Howcast.

How to Do a Basic Push-Up | Chest Workout

Tips for Performing Push-Ups

If you can’t do pushups, try progressions, such as doing pushups on an incline using a bench or piece of furniture. If pushups are easy for you, you can add resistance by placing a plate on your back or elevating your feet on a platform.

Dips

When to Perform Dips

Dips are a highly effective exercise for the chest, triceps, and shoulders. They fire up all the same muscle groups as the bench press while also engaging the lats. Dips performed on parallel bars will be the most effective variation to use as an alternative to the bench press, but you can also do them on a bench or chair.

How to Perform Dips

1. Stand between two parallel bars. Grab the bars and jump up, so your body is hovering off the ground. 
2. Retract your shoulders and ensure they don’t roll forward during the exercise. Tuck your chin and look straight in front of you to protect the upper spine.
3. . Lower your body towards the ground by bending at the elbows and allowing them to travel behind you.
4. Keep lowering yourself until your shoulders are parallel to your elbows or slightly lower.
5. Press through your hands to straighten the arms and lift yourself back to the starting position.
6. Repeat for the desired number of sets and reps.

Tips and Progressions for Performing Dips

Dips can be varied to target different muscle groups in the upper body. To isolate your triceps, tuck your elbows in close to the body and keep your torso upright. To target the chest, use wider parallel bars, lean your torso slightly forward, and allow the elbows to flare out. If you can’t do dips yet, use a dip machine for assistance or perform negative (eccentric) reps to build strength and mobility.

This video from Jeff Nippard provides a great overview of the dip, how to master the technique, and variations to target your chest and shoulders. 

How To Do Dips For A Bigger Chest and Shoulders (Fix Mistakes!)

Barbell Overhead Press

When to Perform Barbell Overhead Presses

Overhead presses are a compound exercise that recruits multiple muscle groups in the upper body. They are a great choice for lifters wanting to target their delts and triceps and get stronger in the overhead position. The barbell overhead press is a good alternative to the bench press if you want to recruit multiple muscle groups and lift heavy without the need for a bench.

How to Perform Barbell Overhead Presses

1. Set up your bar with the desired amount of weight and secure the plates using a pin or collar. 
2. Rack the weight using a squat rack so that the bar is about the same height as your armpit. Some lifters may feel comfortable cleaning the bar from the floor.
3. Hold the bar with your arms just wider than shoulder-width and grip it firmly.
4. Unrack the bar so that it rests across your collarbone and upper chest and allow your elbows to point forwards rather than flaring out to the sides.
5. Take a few steps back so that the rack is not in the way of the bar path.
6. Stand tall with a neutral spine and keep your gaze looking forward.. Tense your muscles to provide a stable base by engaging the abdominals and quads.
7. Take a breath and as you exhale and push the bar straight above your head without allowing the bar to move too far out in front of you. You will need to tuck your chin to keep your head out of the way of the bar.
8. Hold at the top of the lift with your arms fully extended. Your hands, shoulders, and hips should all form a straight line. The weight should be stacked safely over the joints.
9. Gently bend at the elbows and lower the bath slowly and with control back down the way it came.
10. Allow the bar to come to a complete stop resting across the top of your shoulders.
11. Take a breath and repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

For a visual aid, check out this video from Barbell Logic demonstrating the correct set-up and form for an overhead barbell shoulder press.

How to Press: Proper Overhead Press Form (Step-by-Step Tutorial)

Tips for Barbell Overhead Presses

Fully lock out the triceps when the bar is overhead and bring the bar down to rest on your shoulders between each rep. Doing half reps will limit the strength and size benefits you can get from this exercise. 

Dumbbell Pullover

When to Perform Dumbbell Pullovers

Dumbbell pullovers are a great exercise for burning out the chest with high reps. They are a single joint exercise that recruits an impressive amount of muscle fibers in the chest and back. Dumbbell pullovers also target the serratus anterior, giving the ribcage a chiseled appearance. Dumbbell pullovers make a great alternative to bench press for days when you want to give the triceps and delts a break whilst still getting a great chest pump.

How to Perform Dumbbell Pullovers

1. Lie on a bench or stability ball to support your upper back.
2. Hold a single dumbbell in both hands and extend your arms overhead so that they are parallel to the floor.
3. Plant your feet firmly and keep your legs bent at 90 degrees. Keep your core engaged, and your shoulder blades retracted.
4. Pull the dumbbell overhead until your wrists are in line with your shoulders.
5. Slowly lower the dumbbell back to its starting position.
6. Repeat for the desired number of sets and reps.

Tips for Performing Dumbbell Pullovers

Dumbbell pullovers can be challenging if your overhead mobility is poor. Don’t force yourself into a range of motion that feels uncomfortable. You only need to lower the dumbbell until you feel a stretch in the pecs.

This exercise is often considered a back exercise, but it also recruits the chest muscles when done correctly. Check out this guide from Colossus Fitness on how to do the dumbbell pullover for a bigger, stronger chest.

How to PROPERLY Dumbbell Pullover for a BIG Chest | Fix Your Dumbbell Pullover Form NOW!

Reasons to Choose a Bench Press Alternative

The bench press is among the most popular horizontal pressing exercises for the chest muscles. It is an essential lift for Powerlifters and popular among bodybuilders wanting to build a thick, broad chest. But for some lifters, the bench press can cause or exacerbate injuries to the chest, shoulders, and elbows. Having safer and easier alternative exercises to the bench press can help maintain momentum in your training program without aggravating your injury.

Bench press stations are often in high demand at commercial gyms. Effective alternative exercises are great for busy days when you can’t access the equipment for a bench press. They are also useful if you want to isolate a specific muscle in your chest without fatiguing your nervous system or other muscle groups.

Including variations and alternatives to the traditional bench press can help you strengthen areas of weakness and sticking points. Varying your pressing exercises can carry over to greater strength in your bench press.

Muscles Worked by Bench Presses

Bench presses are a horizontal pressing exercise that targets multiple joints and muscle groups. The bench press primarily targets the chest muscles, the pec minor and major, to press the bar up. The front deltoids and triceps also contribute to lifting the weight. The bench press also uses other muscles in the upper body to assist and stabilize the lift.

• Primary muscles used: Pec Major, Pec Minor, Anterior Deltoid, Triceps
• Secondary muscles used: Erector Spinae, Latissimus Dorsi, Rotator Cuff

Bench Press Alternatives: FAQs

Can I do bench presses without a bench?

Bench presses require a bench to elevate your torso and increase the range of motion to stretch your chest muscles while pressing the weight. If you don’t have access to a bench, you can still target your chest effectively. Floor presses are one alternative to the bench press that you can do without a bench. Floor presses are almost identical to bench presses, except that you lie on the ground instead of on a bench. The range of motion for this exercise is shorter, but the feedback from the ground can help eliminate momentum and strengthen your triceps and chest.

Can I do push-ups instead of bench presses?

Yes, you can substitute push-ups for bench presses. Push-ups are different from bench presses, but they target the same muscle groups (chest, triceps, and shoulders). Push-ups are a great exercise to master as you can do them anywhere without any equipment. However, if you want to keep seeing size and strength gains, you need to progressively overload even when doing bodyweight exercises. This might mean increasing your reps and sets over time or adding resistance, such as a heavy book or weight plate resting on your back.

Other Alternative Exercises

If you enjoyed this post, check out our other roundups of the best alternatives for other exercises.

About Emma Lennon

Emma is a Health Science graduate, qualified personal trainer, and writer. She has over ten years of experience in the health, community development, and communications sectors. She is passionate about making reputable information about health, fitness, and resistance training accessible to all.

Emma loves building her own functional strength and fitness outside of work with various training styles, from weightlifting to calisthenics, yoga, and dancing. She advocates for the powerful potential of exercise to improve physical, mental, and emotional health and well-being.