8 Lower Chest Exercises With Dumbbells

There are many directions you can go with your dumbbell workouts. Find out what dumbbell exercises you can do to work your lower chest.

By changing the angle of chest exercises you can influence what muscle fibers you focus on.

It is worth quickly noting that you will need a good FID weight bench (flat, incline, decline) for many of these lower chest exercises with dumbbells.

1. Decline dumbbell bench press

If you are somewhat experienced with lifting weights you likely know about the bench press exercise. By changing the angle of this compound chest exercise, you work your lower chest to a larger extent.

Take the following steps to do a decline dumbbell bench press:

1. Anchor your feet behind the ankle pads of the decline weight bench and lie down with a dumbbell in each hand. Pull your shoulder blades back and down and the dumbbells at about chest height.
2. Push the dumbbells up in a controlled motion until your arms are slightly less than stretched. Keep your upper arms at angles of 45 degrees or less to your sides.
3. Slowly lower the dumbbells back to chest height.

Besides the lower chest muscle fibers, decline dumbbell bench presses will also work the middle part of your chest and your triceps to nice extents.

Something interesting to note is that you work your front deltoids a lot less in this position than in the regular bench press.

Additionally, you may find this decline variation more comfortable on your shoulder joints.

2. Lower chest dumbbell pullover

The next lower chest exercise only requires you to have one good dumbbell and a flat weight bench.

Once you have these equipment options, take the following steps to do a lower chest dumbbell pullover:

1. Lie down on the weight bench with one dumbbell. Both of your hands hold the upper weight of the dumbbell. Pull your shoulder blades back and down.
2. Raise the dumbbell so that your arms are slightly less than stretched and pointing up. Keep your elbows close to the center throughout the rest of the movement.
3. Slowly move the dumbbell back and down as far as comfortable.
4. Return the dumbbell to the position of step 2 in a controlled motion.

An interesting aspect of dumbbell pullovers is that you can do them in different ways to work different muscles.

To keep this movement a lower chest dumbbell exercise you want to focus on keeping your elbows close to the center.

If you feel your latissimus dorsi (middle/upper back) muscles working hard, your elbows may point outward too much.

3. Decline dumbbell chest fly

This next dumbbell exercise again requires you to have a decline weight bench and a pair of dumbbells available.

Once you have the gear requirements, take the following steps to do a decline dumbbell chest fly:

1. Anchor your feet behind the ankle pads of the weight bench and lie down with a dumbbell in each hand. Pull your shoulder blades back and down before starting the rest of this lower chest exercise.
2. Push the dumbbells upward until your arms are slightly less than stretched and pointing up.
3. Slowly move the dumbbells sideways and downward as far as comfortable. Keep your elbows at the same angle throughout the movement.
4. Move the dumbbells to the center and up until your arms point up vertically again.

The chest fly is a typical chest isolation exercise for dumbbell workouts.

By changing the angle of the movement, the muscle fibers in your lower chest have to work harder.

If the weight bench you have available allows it, you can do the decline dumbbell chest fly at different angles to influence in what ratio this is the case.

The more decline you go, the more your lower chest muscles have to work (and the less your upper chest muscles have to work).

4. Dumbbell-weighted lower chest dip

Not everyone will want to do this next lower-chest exercise with a dumbbell but knowing it exists can be useful.

To do this movement you will need dip bars which are basically two horizontal bars that are slightly wider than shoulder-width apart and leave enough room below to do the exercise.

Once you have these, take the following steps to do a dumbbell-weighted lower chest dip:

1. Put the dumbbell vertically on the ground in between the dip bars.
2. Put your hands on the dips bars and get in a position where they are slightly less than stretched and about vertical. You may need a step to get into this position. Additionally, tilt your upper body forward.
3. Slowly lower your body by folding your arms until your elbows are at about 90-degree angles.
4. Pick up the dumbbell with your feet.
5. Return to the position in step 2 in a controlled motion.
6. Alternate between steps 3 and 5 with the dumbbell between your feet.

One of the benefits of the dip exercise is that it allows you to add a lot of resistance with just your body weight. Resistance training beginners may even find this movement too hard without assistance.

That being said, there are also advanced lifters who need more of a challenge in this lower chest compound exercise.

In that case, doing weighted dips with a dumbbell can be a good choice.

One thing to keep in mind is that it is possible to drop the dumbbell. If you are not interested in doing dip exercise drop sets, you may find equipment options like a dip belt, weighted vest, or ankle weights better.

5. Incline dumbbell pushup

This next exercise does not make the best use of a pair of dumbbells but you could consider them in certain specific situations.

You also want an elevated platform to do dumbbell incline pushups at a reasonable height. Once you have that, take the following steps to do this lower chest exercise:

1. Put the dumbbells about shoulder-width apart on the elevated platform. The handles should both point forward.
2. Put your hands on the dumbbells, get your shoulders above your wrists, keep your arms slightly less than stretched, and step back with your feet until you are in a straight line from your heels to your head.
3. Lower your body as far as comfortable by folding your arms. Keep your upper arms at angles of 45 degrees or less to your sides.
4. Slowly push your body back up until your arms are slightly less than stretched again.

Incline dumbbell pushups focus more on your lower chest muscles than the regular version. Additionally, you still work your triceps a nice amount too.

Using dumbbells in this exercise can offer two advantages.

First of all, by elevating your hands, you can make your lower chest muscles go through a slightly bigger range of motion in a stretched position. This tends to be good for muscle growth and strength progress.

Secondly, some people will find the neutral wrist position the dumbbells allow more comfortable.

At the same time, a potential downside is that this lower chest exercise with dumbbells is not challenging enough for everyone. You may need to do incline pushups with a weighted vest if that is the case.

6. Regular dumbbell bench press

Take the following steps to do a regular dumbbell bench press:

1. Sit on the end of a weight bench with a dumbbell in each hand. Let these dumbbells rest vertically on your upper legs for now.
2. Kick the dumbbells back while lying down in the same motion. Pull your shoulder blades back and down. Your hands are at chest height for now.
3. Push the dumbbells up in a controlled motion until your arms are slightly less than stretched. Keep your upper arms at angles of 45 degrees or less to your sides.
4. Slowly lower the dumbbells again so that you are back in the position of step 2.

Doing all these dumbbell chest exercises at an angle to work the lower part more can definitely be great.

At the same time, it is worth mentioning that regular dumbbell bench presses also still work your lower chest muscles to nice extents.

Additionally, you don’t need a decline weight bench which is not always present in (home) gyms.

7. Bridge position dumbbell floor press

So far, the equipment requirements were somewhat stricter. Luckily, there are also a few lower chest exercises you can do at home with just a pair of dumbbells.

Take the following steps to do a bridge position dumbbell floor press:

1. Lie down on on the ground with your shoulder blades pulled back and down. Hold one dumbbell in each hand at about chest height.
2. Put your feet flat on the ground in front of your butt and raise your hips until you are in a straight line from your knees to your shoulders.
3. Slowly push up the dumbbells until your arms are slightly less than stretched. Keep your upper arms at angles of 45 degrees or less to your sides throughout the lower part of the movement.
4. Lower the dumbbells back to chest height in a controlled motion.

Floor presses are a good example of a dumbbell chest exercise without a bench.

By raising your hips, you replicate the angle of a decline weight bench and the lower chest engagement that comes with that to some extent.

It is still worth mentioning that you preferably find a way to use a weight bench in your lower chest dumbbell workouts anyway.

Besides being more comfortable, this will also allow your muscles to go through a larger range of motion and tends to be safer for your shoulder joints.

8. Decline squeeze press

This next movement requires you to have a decline weight bench and a pair of dumbbells. Take the following steps to do a decline squeeze press:

1. Anchor your feet behind the pads of the decline weight bench and lie down. Keep your shoulder blades pulled back and down.
2. Squeeze the dumbbells against each other in front of your chest.
3. Slowly push the dumbbells up until your arms are slightly less than stretched while keeping the dumbbells pressed against each other. To still work your chest a lot, you want to turn your upper arms somewhat outward so that they are at about 45-degree angles to your sides.
4. Return the dumbbells back to the position of step 2 in a controlled motion.

Decline squeeze presses are not the greatest way to work your lower chest muscles with dumbbells but they are worth mentioning in case you want some variety in your workouts.

Squeezing the dumbbells together requires some extra work from your chest muscles.

That being said, this engagement is mostly isometric (static) which is not the greatest for growing and strengthening muscles.

Additionally, by keeping the dumbbells together, you are more likely to keep your upper arms at an angle where the movement focuses more on your triceps and less on your lower chest.

You can avoid this to some extent by paying attention to the angle of your upper arms. However, even then, you may prefer the results from many of the other dumbbell exercises in this list.

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