Resistance bands might not look like a challenge, but they can give your chest muscles a killer workout if you know the right moves. This portable exercise equipment comes in a variety of sizes, strengths, and lengths, so no matter your fitness level, you can find the perfect bands to add to your strength training routine.
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In this article, you’ll discover 9 awesome resistance band chest exercises to build a bigger chest.
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Muscles Worked In a Resistance Band Chest Workout
The primary muscles worked with resistance band chest exercises are the following:
- Pectoralis major
- Pectoralis minor, and
- Serratus anterior
These chest muscles work together with the triceps, biceps, and deltoid in performing exercises like the chest press and chest fly.
6 Undeniable Benefits of Resistance Bands
Before we get to the exercises, here are some awesome benefits to working out with elastic resistance bands.
- Resistance bands are portable and easy to store, making them perfect for use at home or when you travel.
- Compared to free weights and other heavy workout equipment, resistance bands are budget-friendly. You can find many sets for less than $50.
- They can be easily adjusted for different fitness levels. You can find elastic bands with light, medium, and heavy resistance, and you can change them up even more by adjusting the slack or using multiple bands to give yourself a bigger challenge. They also allow you to modify familiar exercises and take them to another level.
- There are different types of resistance bands, including tubes with handles and loop bands that look like giant rubber bands.
- You can find a ton of different workouts online that will use the different types of bands to target different muscles.
- You can also get in a good workout in a short amount of time, with the goal of each exercise being two to three sets and eight to 25 reps.
- You don’t need a spotter to perform most resistance band exercises.
What Resistance Bands Should I Use for a Chest Workout?
If you don’t yet have a set of bands to start working out, I think the best one for your money is the Fitness Dreamer Resistance Band Set. There are a lot of options out there, but this one in particular is so simplistic that you can be prepared for a quick workout in almost any environment whether that’s at home or on the road.
Fitness Dreamer Resistance Bands
Premium quality resistance bands for training almost anywhere. Combine different bands to give different levels of resistance. Plus a 100% satisfaction guarantee with a 90-day warranty.
9 Best Resistance Band Chest Exercises
Resistance bands can work out every muscle in your body, but for this post I am going to focus on what they can do for your chest. If you don’t have room for a bench and barbells or a set of free weights at home, invest in a set of elastic bands to get a killer chest workout with these nine moves.
1. Push-Ups with Resistance Bands
This is such a small adjustment, but just by adding one band and turning a regular push-up into a banded push-up, you can really increase the difficulty and resistance.
How To Do It
- Start by draping the band across your upper back and getting into plank position.
- Loop the ends of the band through each thumb or under your hands, depending on what kind of band you have.
- Perform a classic push-up with the added resistance.
2. Incline Chest Press with Resistance Bands
Normally, to hit your upper pecs, you need an inclined bench and a barbell. Well you can still build a muscular upper chest with a couple of anchored bands instead.
How To Do It
- Start by anchoring the bands to solid piece of furniture or door frame somewhere close to the floor.
- Grab each band and start in a forward lunge position.
- Bring your hands to shoulder level with your forearms parallel to the floor.
- Press the bands forward and upward at the same time until your arms are fully extended.
- Lower your hands back to shoulder level and repeat.
3. Flat Bench Press with Resistance Bands
What’s really nice about the resistance band chest press, is you don’t even need an anchor to simulate a standard bench press. Your own body will act as the anchor for your bands.
How To Do It
- Lie on the floor over the band so that each end comes out under your armpits.
- Grab both ends with your hands and make fists to hold tightly.
- Extend your arms straight up overhead.
- When your arms are fully extended, lower them again until your elbows touch the floor.
4. Pull Over with a Resistance Band
Banded pullovers are not only going to work your chest, but they’ll hit your lats and even your triceps as you use them to stabilize yourself through this movement.
How To Do It
- Start by anchoring or looping a band to a bench or furniture close to the floor.
- Lie on the floor with your head towards the anchor so that you can almost touch the anchor with your arms extended over your head.
- Grab the band with both hands.
- Keeping your arms straight, rotate at your shoulders and bring your hands in front of your head and in-line with your chest.
- Go as low as you can before returning your arms to the starting position.
Squeeze your pecs during the exercise to make sure your chest gets the focus of the resistance. To make it tougher, keep your hands close together or use multiple bands.
5. Anchored Band Standing Chest Press
If you prefer to be standing and make use of your band anchors, here’s a variation of the chest press that’ll provide good stimulation to your middle chest.
How To Do It
- Anchor your tube band at chest height, then with your back to the band, take each handle and step forward to where there is almost zero slack.
- While in a right forward lunge position, put your hands at chest height with elbows up and palms down before pressing straight in front of you.
- Fully extend your arms and squeeze your chest muscles during each rep before returning to the starting position.
6. Anchored Band Decline Chest Press with Resistance Bands
Miss the decline bench press? Here’s an alternative that’ll hit that lower chest just as hard.
How To Do It
- Anchor your tube band at a height just over your head, then with your back to the band, take each handle and step forward to where there is almost zero slack.
- While in a right forward lunge position, put your hands at chest height with elbows up and palms down before pressing in front of you.
- Fully extend your arms and squeeze your chest muscles during each rep before returning to the starting position.
7. Resistance Band Chest Fly
Resistance band chest flyes are a great finisher to any chest workout and this band variation does a great job of inducing a pump when done with higher reps.
How To Do It
- With the band anchored behind you, grab each handle and hold your arms straight out to your sides, forming a T, with your palms facing forward, but don’t lock your elbows.
- Stagger your stance and make sure you are far enough away from the anchor that there is tension in the band.
- Slowly pull the band forward while keeping your arms relatively straight (slight bend in the elbows), and bring the handles to meet in front of you.
- Next, slowly bring your arms back to the starting position.
8. Resistance Band Chest Fly Inclined
The chest fly can be varied to hit different parts of the chest. With the incline chest fly, you’ll be putting more emphasis on your upper chest.
How To Do It
- With the band anchored behind you near the floor, grab each handle and hold your arms straight out to your sides, then form a T with your palms facing forward, but don’t lock your elbows.
- Stagger your stance and make sure you are far enough away from the anchor that there is tension in the band.
- Slowly pull the band forward and above your head while keeping your arms relatively straight (slight bend in the elbows), and bring the handles to meet in front of you.
- Next, slowly bring your arms back to the starting position.
9. Resistance Band Chest Fly Declined
Oppositely of the incline chest fly, the decline chest fly builds your lower pecs for a more balanced upper body.
How To Do It
- With the band anchored behind you above your head, grab each handle and hold your arms straight out to your sides, forming a T, with your palms facing forward, but don’t lock your elbows.
- Stagger your stance and make sure you are far enough away from the anchor that there is tension in the band.
- Slowly pull the band forward and down to stomach level while keeping your arms relatively straight (slight bend in the elbows), and bring the handles to meet in front of you.
- Next, slowly bring your arms back to the starting position.
Sample Resistance Band Chest Workout
Now that you have a list of exercises to choose from, here’s a quick elastic band chest workout you can use to build your upper body. Even though there were nine exercises in the list, this workout only uses three.
- Resistance Band Chest Press: 3 sets of 8-10 reps (2 min rest between sets)
- Band Pullover: 3 sets of 10-15 reps (90 sec rest between sets)
- Resistance Band Chest Fly: 2 sets of 12-15 reps (60-90 sec rest between sets)
This workout can be done once per week or twice per week if you really want to prioritize building your chest over other muscle groups. It starts with a compound movement and ends with an isolation movement with higher reps that acts as an effective finisher to see that lasting pump.
Make sure to rest 2-3 minutes between exercises so your heart rate has time to lower just a little and so you catch your breath. And the chest press and chest fly exercises can be swapped out for the incline or decline variations if you’d like. The regular movements will hit each part of the chest more evenly, but feel free to change up the emphasis by using the incline or decline versions instead.
Safety Considerations For Resistance Band Workouts
- Before using, avoid injury by checking your resistance band for any frayed points, cracks, cuts, scratches, punctures, or discoloration.
- Ensure the resistance band is securely anchored before performing exercises like the anchored decline chest press.
- Never attempt to release a resistance band that is under tension.
- Test the resistance band strength by starting the exercises slowly before adding more pace.
- Don’t place resistance band handles on your feet, as they can easily slip and injure you.
Resistance Band Chest Exercises FAQ
Yes, resistance bands are very effective at building your chest. Whether you use weights, bodyweight, or bands, your chest will grow as long as you apply some sort of resistance to stress the muscle and induce muscular hypertrophy.
You can use resistance bands to build your chest through simple movements like banded push-ups, resistance band chest presses, and elastic band chest flyes. Make sure your bands are safely anchored either under your own body or fastened to a door frame or piece of furniture to avoid snapping yourself in the face. And try to stick to higher rep ranges (8-20 reps) to build both strength and hypertrophy with each session.
In chest exercises, the pectoral muscles get most of the action (i.e., pectoralis major and minor). However, the latissimus dorsi, anterior deltoids, and triceps provide a lot of necessary pressing support.
Absolutely! While the bench press is considered by many to be the “king” of chest exercises, other moves like floor press, cable crossover, landmine press, and resistance band press are all effective ways to activate your pectorals and induce muscle hypertrophy .
Final Word on Resistance Band Chest Exercises
So now you know what exercises and how to structure them in a quick workout that should effectively build your entire chest. Just remember to stay consistent, train every few days, and don’t give up! Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither will your pecs.
And finally, don’t skimp out on the bands you use for these exercises. Cheap bands can snap, break, and hurt you.
That’s why you should go with the Fitness Dreamer Resistance Bands. Again, this set has everything you need to be your own traveling home gym and build a powerful chest!
Fitness Dreamer Resistance Bands
Premium quality resistance bands for training almost anywhere. Combine different bands to give different levels of resistance. Plus a 100% satisfaction guarantee with a 90-day warranty.
