Building the chest is a challenging task. I’ve struggled with it for years. Some people are born with chiseled chests. Others have to work for it. Training chest is essential to any fitness program, regardless of where you start.

The lower pecs can be one of the more difficult areas to build muscle. If you weren’t gifted Schartzenegger-like pectoral muscles, you have your work cut out for you. But that doesn’t mean building a full, muscular chest is impossible.

If you work out at home, targeting the lower chest can be even more difficult. Thankfully, there are several exercises you can do to get a great lower chest workout. All you need is a pair of dumbbells and a bench. We have you covered with this lower chest workout with dumbbells beginner’s guide!

Chest Anatomy

When training your chest, it’s essential to understand the pectoral muscle group. From there, you can select the best exercises to target each area of the pecs.

Pectoralis Major

The pectoralis major is the largest muscle of the chest. Your pec major helps you move your arm and shoulder toward your body. It allows you to rotate your arms inwards and bring them up in front of you. The pec major is the king when it comes to chest training. It’s what gives a developed chest that full, shelf-like appearance.

The pectoralis major includes two heads that attach the chest to the skeleton.

The clavicular head attaches to the clavicle and makes up your upper chest. Common exercises to target the clavicular head of the chest are incline bench press, incline flyes, and decline push-ups.

The sternocostal head attaches to the sternum and makes up your lower chest. Common exercises to target the sternocostal head of the chest are decline bench press, decline flyes, and incline push-ups.

Pectoralis Minor

The pectoralis minor is a small muscle in the upper chest. It sits underneath the pectoralis major and helps stabilize the shoulder joint and expand the chest cavity.

Other muscles involved in chest exercises are the anterior deltoid, serratus anterior, and triceps brachii. These three muscle groups play a support role in various chest exercises.

Benefits of Chest Training

Training both heads of the pectoralis major muscles is important for several reasons.

Preventing Muscular Imbalance: Training the entire chest can prevent developing muscular imbalances. Training both the lower and upper chest can give a more symmetrical appearance.

Increased Strength: Training your chest is essential to building upper body strength. We use upper body strength for various sports and activities.

Improved Function: We use our pectoral muscles to perform many daily functions. Basic movements, like pushing open a door, require optimal chest function and strength.

Who Should Train Lower Chest?

Training lower chest is beneficial for anyone looking to improve chest development, strength, and functionality.

Fitness Enthusiasts: Training your lower chest can help with strength and muscle growth.

Athletes: From rock climbing to archery, most athletes can benefit from a strong chest.

Beginners: Training each chest area can help prevent muscular imbalances from forming later. Beginners should focus on foundational chest exercises like bench presses, dips, and flyes. Doing these exercises as a beginner can lead to better strength and muscle growth down the road.

Who Should Not Train Lower Chest?

Most people can include lower chest training in their fitness routine.

However, some individuals may need to use caution depending on pre-existing medical conditions.

People with shoulder injuries: The shoulders play a significant role in supporting push movements. You may need to avoid specific chest exercises if you have a rotator cuff injury, impingement, past dislocation, or any other injury. Consult with a qualified medical professional before beginning a new exercise program.

People with other upper body injuries: The same goes for chest, ab, or lat injuries. You may only realize how much of a role your abs play in upper body movements once you experience an ab injury. Sometimes you can work around injuries using a lower weight or a different angle for a particular exercise. It’s always best to develop a workaround plan with a qualified medical professional.

Lower Chest Exercises

The good thing about chest training is it’s easy to customize to support your needs. By changing the angle or position of the movement, we can better focus on a specific region of the chest. Let’s dive into some of the best dumbbell chest exercises to engage your lower chest.

Decline Dumbbell Bench Press

If you’ve ever worked out at a commercial gym, you’re probably familiar with the decline bench press. The decline bench press is usually at the far end of a long line of flat bench presses. The most distinct difference is that the bench is declined to a 15 to a 30-degree angle. Unlike the flat bench press, your legs hook around pads, and your feet don’t touch the ground.

The decline angle places the bulk of the load on your lower and inner chest. The benefit of using dumbbells for this exercise is they allow you to reach a greater range of motion. You should feel a stretch across your lower chest when lowering the dumbbells.

If you work out at home and don’t have access to a decline bench press, don’t worry. All you need is a flat or adjustable bench. I use the REP AB4100 bench, which does not have a decline function. I place a 45-pound plate under the end of the bench to increase the angle and create a decline. This simple trick has suited me well for years.

How to Do Decline Dumbbell Bench Press

• Get into the start position by sitting on the edge of the bench. Hold the dumbbells vertically with the plates resting on your knees.
• As you lower yourself back toward the bench, rotate the dumbbells and bring them up to chest level.
• Drive the dumbbells upward, allowing a slight bend in the elbows at the top of the range of motion.
• Lower the dumbbells in a slow, controlled manner back to the starting position.

Decline Dumbbell Flys

Flys are an essential exercise for building a muscular chest. You can do flys in all three bench positions – incline, flat, and decline. 

Start with lighter weights until you develop familiarity with the movement. Using heavy weights when you’re starting can increase your risk of a shoulder injury.

How to Do Decline Dumbbell Flys

• Lie on a decline bench. Hold a dumbbell in each hand with your palms facing each other. Extend your arms so you are holding the pair of dumbbells over your chest.
• Lower the dumbbells, maintaining a slight bend in your elbows.
• Allow your arms to come outward as you lower the weights. You should feel a good stretch in your chest at the bottom of the range of motion.
• Reverse the movement, returning the weights to the starting position.

Dumbbell Pullover

The dumbbell pullover targets the chest muscles, lats, and triceps. This exercise works best on a flat bench.

How to do the Dumbbell Pullover

• Lie flat on a bench holding a single dumbbell with both hands. Make sure you hold the dumbbell vertically with your arms extended over your chest. Your hands should form a diamond shape.
• Lower the dumbbell in a slow, controlled manner behind your head to just above parallel. Maintain a slight bend in the elbows.
• Bring the dumbbell back to the top of the movement.

Dumbbell Chest Dips

This exercise targets the sternal chest muscles and triceps. It’s a great way to build strength and develop muscular endurance.

How to Do Dumbbell Chest Dips

• Place a non-plate loaded dumbbell vertically on the ground. Place both hands in a diamond shape on top of the dumbbell. You can use two dumbbells (or kettlebells) for this exercise if you don’t have one that works for this position.
• Extend your legs in front of you so your heels are on the ground.
• Lower your butt toward the ground, bending your elbows until they form a 90-degree angle.
• Drive your body upward and outward until your elbows are extended.

Incline Push-Ups

Push-ups are technically not a dumbbell workout. But they are a great way to work the lower chest when you don’t have a lot of equipment.

How to Do Incline Push-Ups

• Place your hands shoulder-width apart on an elevated surface.
• Walk your feet back until your heels are off the ground. Keep your back straight, your neck aligned with your spine, and your eyes forward.
• Lower your chest down to the surface.
• In a controlled motion, raise yourself back to the top of the movement, squeezing your chest at the top.

Sample Lower Chest Workout With Dumbbells

Below are three sample lower chest workouts with dumbbells tailored to specific training objectives, including hypertrophy, strength, and muscular endurance.

Sample Hypertrophy Chest and Triceps Workout Using Dumbbells

If muscle growth is your goal, include training blocks in your fitness program that use a rep range of 6-12 reps at 70-90% of your one rep max.

Warm-Up:

• 5-10 minutes of light cardio, such as jogging or cycling, to get your heart rate up and warm up your muscles.

Workout:

• Decline Dumbbell Bench Press: 4 sets of 8-12 reps
• Decline Dumbbell Fly: 4 sets of 10-12 reps
• Incline Push-Up: 3 sets of 12 reps
• Dumbbell Skull Crushers: 3 sets of 10-12 reps
• Dumbbell Triceps Kickbacks: 3 sets of 10-12 reps

Sample Strength Lower Chest and Triceps Workout Using Dumbbells

If strength is your goal, incorporate training blocks that use lower rep ranges of less than 6 reps at 85% one rep max and above. You will need heavy dumbbells for strength training.

Warm-Up:

• 5-10 minutes of light cardio, such as jogging or cycling, to get your heart rate up and warm up your muscles.

Workout:

• Decline Dumbbell Bench Press: 3 sets of 3-5 reps
• Dumbbell Pullovers: 3 sets of 5-6 reps
• Dumbbell Skull Crushers: 3 sets of 6-7 reps
• Overhead Dumbbell Tricep extensions: 2 sets of 6-7 reps

Sample Muscular Endurance Chest and Triceps Workout Using Dumbbells

If muscular endurance is your goal, incorporate training blocks that use rep ranges greater than 12 at less than 70% of your one rep max.

Warm-Up:

• 5-10 minutes of light cardio, such as jogging or cycling, to get your heart rate up and warm up your muscles.

Workout:

• Incline Push-Ups: 3 sets of 15 reps
• Dumbbell Dips: 2 sets of 20 reps
• Decline Dumbbell Flys: 2 sets of 15 reps
• Triceps Kickbacks: 3 sets of 15 reps

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