Decline Bench Press Alternative – Introduction
What are the best alternatives exercises for decline bench presses?
A lot of exercisers want to develop picture-perfect pecs.
To achieve this goal, they make sure they hit their chest muscles from several different angles.
Invariably, this means doing flat, incline, and decline exercises and also using pressing and flying movements.
Combining these angles and movements means you should be able to develop your upper chest, middle, and lower chest area, as well as your inner and outer pecs.
Effectively, your entire chest.
One of the most popular chest exercises for your lower chest muscles is the decline bench press.
This exercise not only hits your lower pecs but the joint-friendly and mechanically advantageous movement means you should be able to lift heavier weights or do more reps.
It’s a bonafide pec builder!
Decline Bench Press Muscles Worked
Before tackling great alternative exercises for the decline presses, it is important to know the muscles worked.
After all, you are going to want to get similar results by hitting the same muscles.
While a traditional flat bench press targets primarily your chest and shoulder muscles, the decline bench press is a great exercise to particularly target your lower pectoral muscles.
Additional muscle groups include:
- anterior deltoids (front shoulder)
Deltoids
- triceps brachii (back of arm), and
Triceps Brachii
- serratus anterior (muscle around ribcage)
The decline angle of the bench also activates your core muscles such as your rectus abdominis and obliques to stabilize you on the decline bench during each rep.
Core muscles
With proper form, this bench press variation can be an effective way to build muscle mass and size.
All in all, this compound exercise is a great way to improve your upper body strength and physique, while also helping to prevent the risk of injury.
But what if you work out at home and don’t have access to a decline bench press station?
Does that mean you can’t work your lower pecs?
Not so fast!
The good news is that there are several exercises you can do that work and are just as effective as decline bench presses for pumping up your lower pecs.
The Best Decline Bench Press Alternatives for Home Lifters
No decline bench at home?
No problem!
You can still develop your lower pectorals with these alternative exercises.
#1. Push-ups
The humble push-up is a very effective chest exercise.
And, if you take a moment to look at the angle of your body relative to the floor, you’ll quickly see that it’s actually a decline pressing movement.
This is yet another reason that push-ups deserve a place in your workouts.
How to do it:
- Squat down and place your hands on the floor so they’re slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
- Walk your feet out and back, so your legs and body are straight.
- Brace your abs, and pull your shoulders down and back.
- Bend your arms and lower your chest down to within an inch of the floor.
- Keep your upper arms close to your body.
- Push yourself back up and repeat.
Do NOT raise your feet to make push-ups more challenging.
This turns your declined chest exercise into a horizontal one.
Instead, wear a weighted vest or a backpack if you want to make decline push-ups more demanding.
#2. Parallel bar dips
Before the standard bench press became the world’s favorite chest exercise, bodybuilders and physical culturists built their pecs with parallel bar dips.
This exercise is quite a step up from push-ups, and you’ll need parallel bars to do it.
But if you’ve got the strength and equipment, this is an excellent lower chest builder.
How to do it:
- Place your hands on the bars, using a slightly wider-than-shoulder-width grip if available.
- Your palms should face inward.
- Support your weight on straight but not locked arms, so your feet are off the floor.
- Brace your abs and push your shoulders down and back.
- Bend your arms and lower your chest down below the level of your hands.
- Get a good stretch in your pecs.
- Push yourself back up and repeat.
Make this exercise easier by stretching a resistance band between the dipping handles and kneeling or standing on it to offset some of your body weight.
Wear a weighted vest or a chin/dip belt to make dips harder.
#3. Decline floor press
The floor press used to be a very popular exercise.
However, it was largely replaced by bench presses during the middle of the last century.
That’s a shame because the floor press is a very effective and shoulder-friendly chest exercise.
Lifting your hips to create a declined body angle means it’s also an excellent lower chest move.
How to do it:
- Lie on your back with your legs bent and feet flat on the floor.
- Hold a barbell above your chest with your arms straight and using a slightly wider than shoulder-width grip.
- Brace your abs and pull your shoulders back and down.
- Drive your feet into the floor and push your hips up, so there is a straight line between your knees and shoulders.
- Bend your arms and lower the bar until your elbows touch the floor.
- Press the weight back up and repeat.
You can also do this exercise with dumbbells.
Increase the angle of the decline by putting your feet on a step or a couple of bumper plates.
#4. High-to-low resistance band crossovers
High-to-low cable crossovers are a great chest exercise but may also be something you cannot do at home.
No problem because you can replicate this champion lower chest exercise with a couple of resistance bands.
How to do it:
- Attach two resistance bands to head-high anchors, such as the uprights of your squat rack.
- Stand between the anchors with the ends of the bands in your hands.
- Take a couple of steps forward to tension the bands, and then adopt a staggered stance for stability.
- Your hands should be level with your shoulders, arms straight but not locked, core braced, and your body inclined slightly.
- Without bending your elbows, bring your arms forward and down, so your hands meet in front of your hips.
- Pause here for a second and tense your pecs as hard as possible.
- Open your arms and return to the starting position.
- Continue for the desired number of reps.
You can also do this exercise using one arm at a time, which may be necessary if you only have one band or space for one anchor point.
#5. Isometric towel crossover
Isometric exercises put your muscles under tension but do not involve any joint movement.
Because of this, you can exert a lot of pressure on your muscles with very little joint stress.
In addition, most isometric exercises require no equipment or make use of household objects.
This makes them more than perfect for home workouts.
How to do it:
- Cross your wrists and, with your palms turned downward, pick up a small rolled towel.
- Grip it tightly.
- Keeping your hands level with your abdomen, try to push the ends of the towel out and away from each other.
- Push as hard as possible.
- Maintain the contraction for 10-30 seconds or until you can no longer generate maximal force.
- Relax, rest a moment, and repeat.
#6. Diamond push-ups
Diamond push-ups are a lot like regular push-ups, but you’ll be doing them with your hands closer together.
This not only hits your lower chest but also increases triceps and inner chest engagement.
However, this is a biomechanically disadvantageous position, so don’t expect to be able to do as many reps.
How to do it:
- Squat down and place your hands on the floor, so your thumbs and first fingers form a diamond or triangle.
- Walk your feet out and back, so your legs and body are straight.
- Brace your abs, and pull your shoulders down and back.
- Bend your arms and lower your chest down to the backs of your hands.
- Push yourself back up and repeat.
Remember, do NOT raise your feet to make push-ups more challenging, as doing so will turn your declined chest exercise into a horizontal one.
Instead, wear a weighted vest or a backpack if you want to make diamond push-ups more demanding.
#7. Decline floor dumbbell flyes
You won’t see many people doing decline dumbbell flyes, and that’s a shame, as they’re a very effective lower chest exercise.
You can mimic this movement by adopting the hip bridge position outlined in exercise #3.
How to do it:
- Lie on your back with your legs bent and feet flat on the floor.
- Hold a pair of dumbbells above your chest with your arms straight, and your palms turned inward.
- Brace your abs and pull your shoulders back and down.
- Drive your feet into the floor and push your hips up, so there is a straight line between your knees and shoulders.
- Open your arms and lower the weights out and down until they lightly touch the floor.
- Squeeze your arms back together and repeat.
7 Best Alternatives for Decline Bench Press – Closing Thoughts
While the decline bench press is an excellent exercise, it’s not the only way to build your lower pecs.
Any of the seven movements in this article will work just as well, if not better.
That said, you may be able to do decline exercises at home if you have an exercise bench.
Just raise one end up on a sturdy box or bumper plates to replicate the decline bench at the gym.
That way, you can do decline barbell and dumbbell bench presses and decline flyes at home.
No bench?
That’s okay – you can do these decline bench press alternatives and still get your lower pec workout on!
However, remember that the lower pecs are actually involved in most regular chest exercises, so they may not need much individual attention.
Most people tend to have underdeveloped upper pecs and should focus more on incline rather than decline chest exercises.
Related Posts
- How to Bench Press with Dumbbells: Chest Exercise Guide + Workout
- 7 Best Lower Chest Exercises to Build Your Pecs + Workout
- Top 10 Bench Press Benefits: How To, Muscles Worked & Variations
- Incline Bench Press vs Flat Bench Press: Which Is Better?
Rich is a NASM-CPT (Certified Personal Trainer),