Many consider the barbell bench press to be ultimate upper body strength exercise. So, it poses a dilemma for home gym owner; to do it properly requires a spotter along with a set of bars, weights, and a rack to hold them all. Most home gyms is unable to accommodate such bulky equipment.
That leaves a hole for those interested in developing their chest but unwilling to purchase an entire station. One way to fill this hole is with another extremely versatile implement: the kettlebell. It replicates pressing movements and forces users to maintain control and stay stable throughout the rep.
With nothing more than a kettlebell and some floor space, you’ll be well on your way to building a strong chest. For most, the single-arm kettlebell floor press provide the next best alternative to the traditional bench press. Lie down on the floor, press the kettlebell up over your head and let handle rest on the ground.
Effective Kettlebell Chest Workouts For Home Gyms
The Case for Kettlebell Floor Presses
The floor acts as hard stop for the exercise, so you don’t need a spotter. Your elbows won’t go past your torso. This variation alters range of motion to keep tension on pecs while protecting the shoulder joint.
Core Stability and Anti-Rotation
That’s where the real difficulty of this exercise come in… The anti-rotation requirement. While you can use a barbell and have both sides support it, you don’t have that option with a single kettlebell.
To maintain your hips squared up, your core has to work perfectly. When one side begin pushing more than the other, it’ll cause your body to twist and the press become more of an entire-body stability exercise. It’s not only a chest exercise; it’s a core exercise that also impacts the chest.
Powerlifters tend to use floor presses as accessory movements for correcting their lockout problems. But it also offer a distinct advantage for building muscle. You’re limited in how far you can stretch on the way down, which means you can apply more force during your push upwards.
This leads to a brutal lockout. It forces you to really squeeze those chest fibers in a way you might not be able to do if you are fatigued from a full range of motion barbell press. To bring it closer to what you’d do with a barbell, switch to double kettlebell press.
Switching to Double Kettlebell Presses
Here, you’re holding a bell in both hands and pressing them simultaniously. This eliminates the rotational demand; now all your attention go into pushing the weight. But the downside is that it need more coordination and grip strength.
To prevent bells from clashing, you need to go wide. Either by widening your stance or grip. A wider grip is good for the chest because it take the load off triceps and onto the pectorals.
With this position, you’ll feel the inner chest burning more sharply. Your shoulders will complain and your grip will shake. It’s an awkward position initially but once you get used to it, you can move some serious weight.
It is a good test of raw pushing power. If you have a solid bench or some type of box, then you can also do incline pressing with kettlebells. When your torso is raised, the angle of force shift to focus on upper chest.
Incline Kettlebell Chest Press
Most guys over-train their mid-chest, so this neglected part of the pecs will respond well to this exercise. It’ll give you that fuller looking upper chest. You can place a kettlebell on a low box and lie back against it, then press up.
It uses same mechanics but targets different muscle. On an incline, your base of support is reduced, making stability more difficult. You will need to work your core overtime to keep you from sliding off.
This adds intensity without increasing weight. So, maybe go lighter with the bells. No worries there, it’s all about muscle use, not ego lifting.
Control the descent; focus on the squeeze at the top. The kettlebell is tough for flyes since it’s impossible to get a good stretch when you’re holding onto the handle. A way around this would be to lie down on the ground and hold one bell in each hand.
Kettlebell Chest Flyes Variation
From here, straighten your arms out to the side and then lower them so that your elbows touch the floor. Bring them back together and squeeze your chest. Not exactly a fly, but there’s still some serious tension on pecs throughout the motion.
The movement also isolates the chest differently than a pressing movement. You have to think about bringing your arms together, emphasizing the pulling-together function of the pectorals. The problem with many lifters is all they think about is pushing.
Bringing your arms together is an important part of training and this exercise will activate those fibers. It also creates a pump that’s hard to ignore. With limited gear, volume and intensity becomes important factors.
Progressive Overload Without Small Weights
There’s no gradual overload; you can’t pile on five more pounds each week. Kettlebells don’t come in increments of five; they’re big jumps. To get muscle growth you should of use set/rep manipulation: Do more reps, shorten rest intervals, include a pause during the press.
These little tweaks will give you necessary stimulus to stimulate muscle growth. Consistency is everything. Make the floor press your main movement; do it on chest twice a week.
Then follow with some incline variations and cap off with flyes for the pump. Don’t do the same thing everyday or your body will adapt and plateau. Challenge yourself and mix it up.
A chest worthy of bragging rights? Discipline and intent are required. It is not a barbell.
Humble your ego with the humbling nature of the kettlebell… A test of stability that challenges you to get used to feeling awkward. A builder of a functional, balanced, and strong chest.
Convenience is delivered by the barbell. The kettlebell builds toughness. Decide which road leads to greater than muscle mass development.
Your choice won’t matter to the iron. It cares about whether or not you’re willing to put in the work.
