Chest workout without bench press?

[hanger1989]

Hi guys I've been getting shoulder problems on chest and tricep day, every week it comes round, I think my shoulder has repaired and I stupidly do benching exercises. Even with dumbells i can still feel a strange feeling in my shoulder, push downs are also a problem. So I was thinking of completely giving up any type of benching exercise for about a month so it will hopefully heal. I may have been guilty of trying to do to much weight at the expense of form, and not warming up properly, to get the problem in the first place. I won't be making that mistake again.

On shoulders day I can do all the exercises fine, with no problems at all. Even the overhead shoulder press is fine.

I was just wondering if any of you guys have given up all benching exercises on chest day, and can you still give your chest a good enough workout?

Are there any other good chest exercises that aren't presses that you think I could try out aswell?

[skel1977]

have you tried incline dumbell press?
Also try face pulls with a rope as a warmup or even in between sets with light weight

[hanger1989]

have you tried incline dumbell press?
Also try face pulls with a rope as a warmup or even in between sets with light weight

I do incline and flat, though it's not as bad on incline, so when I do eventually introduce pressing exercises back in, it'll just be the incline with dumbells to begin with.

I do do face pulls occasionally, but the cable machine is always busy at my gym, so I tend to do reverse flys with dumbells on a bench on shoulders day. Perhaps it is a rear delt problem though, il try and get more work into it. It's just an annoying muscle to target haha

[mountaineer16]

Is it possible to work your chest without bench press... yes. However, it will never be exactly the same. The bench press is a classic exercise for a reason. It certainly sounds like your form may have been a bit off (probably flaring your elbows too wide when bringing the weight to your chest). If you absolutely have to scrap it, I'd just stick with fly movements and pushups - yes, the old school pushup. But you may be able to bench press by just dropping the weight, focusing on your form, slowing the repetition speed down, and you could still get a solid set doing that. (Beware, you gotta check the ego at the door to keep your sets light.. its harder than you think)

Hope the shoulder heals up fast. You may want to look up specific stretches to help keep your shoulder loose before every workout.

[hanger1989]

Is it possible to work your chest without bench press... yes. However, it will never be exactly the same. The bench press is a classic exercise for a reason. It certainly sounds like your form may have been a bit off (probably flaring your elbows too wide when bringing the weight to your chest). If you absolutely have to scrap it, I'd just stick with fly movements and pushups - yes, the old school pushup. But you may be able to bench press by just dropping the weight, focusing on your form, slowing the repetition speed down, and you could still get a solid set doing that. (Beware, you gotta check the ego at the door to keep your sets light.. its harder than you think)

Hope the shoulder heals up fast. You may want to look up specific stretches to help keep your shoulder loose before every workout.

Ye il try that, I'm still gonna give it a miss for a few weeks, but when I do it again I won't be going heavy.

[jcpeyton]

Lots of people that have shoulder issues with a barbell will resort to Dumbbells because you can really change the angle and control what you are feeling better. You will need to go lighter with them at first but see if that helps. I was also in the military so I can confirm what's been said about the good ol fashioned push up. You can do them at any angle and just about any variation and you will likely find a position that doesn't cause pain. I still do them.

[IDrinkBloodLOL]

I don't bench. It isn't because it hurts me, I'm just one of those "I never feel it in my chest no matter what I do" cases.

I replaced them with DB fly moves a long time ago and I've been absolutely fine. The only real issue with it is that I have to work my tris and shoulders with other things, but that's not a big deal because I do a lot of OHP.

[JStrez]

When you bench you shouldn't flare out too wide, and your path of motion should be an arc, I was told to go from the bottom of the pec and finish above my pec, since then I've felt it in my chest and have seen some sizeable gains.

However for no bench press you should really focus on

Dumbell Flys - Really focus on getting deep and really stretch out the pec, and when you bring it up use your chest and squeeze them hard when you finish
Cable Crossovers - Choose a weight thats manageable and focus on squeezing your chest and hold it for a second when you are fully extended, you should feel a burn
Dumbell Pullovers - squeeze the chest hard when you pull it over and lower the weight behind your head until you can't see the weight anymore

[beartendon]

When you use a proper benching form you will actually work the triceps and front delts more than the chest. Dumbbell flys are a really good exercise for chest.