The dumbbell chest fly can offer many benefits but you may not like them. Find out what dumbbell chest fly alternatives offer similar effects.
You mainly do the dumbbell chest fly to isolate your chest muscles. In turn, the dumbbell chest fly can help you build muscle mass, burn calories, and offer other typical exercise benefits.
Whether you don’t enjoy the dumbbell chest fly, you want to use other fitness equipment, or you want an alternative for any other reason, these alternatives to the dumbbell chest fly can offer you some or all of the same benefits.
1. Chest fly with other equipment
While dumbbells are a popular piece of chest workout equipment to do the chest fly, there are plenty of other types of resistance you can use.
As an example, take the following steps to do a standing cable fly with a double-pulley cable machine:
- Attach single-grip handles to each side of the cable machine at shoulder level.
- Grab 1 handle, walk towards the other handle and grab it with the other hand. Stand in the middle between the two cables.
- Put one foot a small distance backward and the other foot forward for balance. Slightly tilt your upper body forward while keeping your back straight. Keep your arms slightly less than extended throughout the exercise.
- Slowly bring your hands to the center until right before they touch each other.
- Go back to starting position in a controlled motion.
You can make the cable chest fly even more of a chest isolation exercise by doing it seated. However, even the standing-up version is a great alternative to mainly target your chest muscles.
Other types of chest fly equipment include kettlebells, resistance bands, workout sandbags, separate weight plates, etc.
You don’t even necessarily need a weight bench. The floor fly is basically a chest fly done while lying on your back on the ground.
2. Pec deck machine
The pec deck is a chest gym machine where you sit up straight with your arms folded and your upper arms behind pads. To do the exercise you then push these pads toward each other by using your chest muscles.
The motion of this machine is similar to the dumbbell chest fly but they are not exactly the same. Your arms start stretched out to the side with the dumbbell chest fly instead of folded like with the pec deck machine.
A benefit of the pec deck machine is that the machine has the option to limit your range of motion in a good way.
When doing a dumbbell chest fly, especially at the end of a hard set, you can swing your arms downward too much which can lead to injuries.
The pec deck machine is also just a great way to really isolate your chest muscles since you are seated with back support. This can in turn lead to more focus on your chest muscles and faster and more muscle growth.
A potential downside of the pec deck machine as a dumbbell chest fly alternative is that it engages your tricep and balance muscles less.
3. Cable crossover
For this next dumbbell chest fly alternative, you will need to attach single-grip handles to each side of a double-pulley cable machine at about shoulder level.
After that, take the following steps to do a cable crossover:
- Grab 1 handle, walk towards the other handle and grab it with the other hand. Stand in the middle between the two cables.
- Put one foot a small distance backward and the other foot forward for balance. Slightly tilt your upper body forward while keeping your back straight. Keep your arms slightly less than extended throughout the exercise.
- Slowly bring your hands to the center and downward. Instead of stopping when right before your hands touch each other, you let one arm go above the other to go a little further.
- Slowly go back to starting position.
- When doing multiple repetitions switch between which arm goes above.
You can change the motion of your hands to focus slightly more on upper chest muscles by moving upward, or lower chest muscles by moving downward.
An added benefit of the cable crossover exercise is that your chest muscles can go through a bigger range of motion compared to a dumbbell chest fly or cable chest fly. This is generally beneficial for muscle growth.
One potential downside or upside depending on your training goals is that your core muscles will have to work harder compared to a lying dumbbell chest fly.
4. Bench press
The bench press is one of the most popular compound chest exercises. For this exercise, you will need a weight bench and a weight to press. For example a barbell, and a barbell rack.
Take the following steps to do a barbell bench press:
- Load up the barbell in the rack with the desired weight.
- Lie down with your back on the weight bench and place your hands with an overhanded grip on the barbell at about shoulder width.
- Unrack the barbell and keep your arms slightly less than stretched and pointing up.
- Slowly lower the barbell to your chest. Your upper arms should be at an angle of about 45 degrees or less to your sides.
- Push the barbell back up in the position of step 3 in a controlled motion.
The bench press is a dumbbell chest fly alternative that is also focused on muscles like your triceps and shoulders instead of just your chest muscles.
Similar to the cable crossover you can change your pressing angle with a flat/incline/decline weight bench to focus on slightly different parts of your chest muscle.
It is also possible to do bench presses with free weights like dumbbells, kettlebells, weight plates, etc., and machines like the cable machine, smith machine, and chest press machine.
Depending on your choice you can target stabilizing muscles more or less.
5. Pushup
Pushups are an extremely popular bodyweight exercise you can use as a dumbbell chest fly alternative at home or in the gym. Take the following steps to do this movement:
- Get into the position where your face is facing the floor with your hand palms on the ground. Your arms are stretched and your knees are on the ground.
- Move your feet back until your body is in a straight line.
- Slowly fold your arms at your elbows until your face is close to the ground. Your arms should be at an angle of about 45 degrees to your sides. Another way to put it is if someone is looking down at you from above your arms should make an arrow, not a T.
- Stretch your arms again until you are back in a straight arm plank position.
A potential downside or upside depending on your training goals is that pushups target a wide variety of muscles.
Besides your chest, you will also train your triceps, shoulders, and core muscles a good amount. You can also do pushup variations to focus on slightly different muscles.
One downside of pushups is that it can be a bit harder to make them very challenging. If you are more experienced with chest training you may not be able to build a lot of muscle with pushups, even weighted ones.
6. Dumbbell pullover
For the dumbbell pullover, you preferably want a dumbbell and a weight bench. Similar weights and a similar surface to lie on can work too.
Once you have these, take the following steps to do a dumbbell pullover:
- Lie on a weight bench with your head on the end of the bench. Hold a dumbbell on your chest.
- Grab one end of the dumbbell with both of your hands with your hand palms pointing upward. Extend your arms upward until they are slightly less than stretched and point them up.
- Slowly move back your arms as far as comfortable. Keep your elbows close to your sides, not pointing outward. Your arms stay slightly less than stretched throughout the exercise.
- Move your arms back to the position in step 3 in a controlled motion.
If you feel your latissimus dorsi (middle back muscle) working a lot harder than your lower chest muscles your technique may be off.
Dumbbell pullovers have an even narrower focus than the dumbbell chest fly. This variation of the dumbbell pullover mainly targets the lower part of your chest muscles.
7. Chest dip
The dip exercise mainly helps you train your triceps if you keep your body straight, but also your lower chest if you tilt your upper body forward.
You will need dip bars or something similar for this chest exercise.
Take the following steps to do a lower chest dip:
- Place your hands on the dip bars. Start with your arms in an extended but not locked position. You will likely need a step to get into this position. Your upper body should slightly tilt forward.
- Slowly lower your body by bending your elbows until these are at a 90-degree angle.
- Raise yourself back up again into starting position in a controlled motion.
By tilting your body you engage your chest muscles a bit more but you will also still engage your tricep muscles. You will also engage more balance muscles.
These can be an upside or downside depending on why you want a dumbbell chest fly alternative.
For most people, bodyweight dips are already more than challenging enough.
Doing weighted dips with dumbbells, a dip belt, a weighted vest, or ankle weights is possible but generally for individuals more experienced with resistance training.
