Perhaps your rotator cuffs need a break from the pain you inflict upon them on a weekly basis. Maybe you want to focus upon power and control, rather than pushing and balance, for a chest workout or two. Or, maybe you just don’t have access to a standard Olympic bar at the moment. Whatever the reason, you’re looking for a chest workout which allows you to fully stimulate the chest using means other than the standard flat and incline barbell presses. Let’s look at a sample workout which would thoroughly stimulate the chest without the use of barbells.

Incline Smith bench press

This is a good movement to push the pectorals to their maximum while you are still at your relative strongest point of the workout. Without the need to balance or control the weight, you can really use more weight than you normally would. Be sure to include two full sets of warm-up movements, followed by two sets of moderately heavy sets of 8 to ten repetitions. Your last two sets can be of the 5 to 8 repetition range. Train as hard and heavy as possible on those last two sets, as they are very important for keeping and building new upper chest mass.

Decline dumbbell press

This movement helps solidify the middle and lower pectorals, and really bring out that line of separation between the lower chest and the abdominals. Once you’ve warmed up with a set or two, feel free to go as heavy as possible for your last three sets of 6 to 10 repetitions. Stretch fully between each set to help break up lactic acid that will accumulate in the muscle fibers.

Flat Dumbbell flyes

Use moderate weight on this movement, and focus solely upon that stretch that comes with letting the dumbbells extend as much as possible into the ‘out’ position. Train with 10 to 15 repetitions, and pause at the bottom of each rep. A training partner is very beneficial for this movement, as a slight nudge under the elbow will allow you to eke out a few more reps, which will lead to more growth.

Dips

Three sets of body weight dips should be more than adequate at this point in your workout. You can go heavier and enlist the use of chains suspended from your weight belt if you really want to go heavy, but bodyweight movements of 15 to 20 repetitions will probably deliver equally satisfactory results by this point in your workout.

Dumbbell pullovers

Three sets with a moderate weight will give you a very good stretch while allowing you to ‘cool off’ from the tough workout you just completed. Keep the weight light, the repetitions slow, and focus upon contracting and flexing the pectorals on each repetition.

The barbell is perhaps the most important tool in bodybuilding, but it’s very possible to enjoy a complete and thorough workout without its use. Try removing it from the equation with other body parts and see if you like the results!