resistance band chest workout · resistance band workout · resistance bands · Resistance training · Nov 27, 2022

10 Resistance Band Chest Workouts That You Can Do Anywhere

by Priya Samuel

Having a strong chest is important for several reasons. It can help:

Improve your posture and your back strength.

In lifting heavier and training harder.

In pushing heavy objects.

In swinging and throwing things better.

And let’s not forget the ‘aesthetic’ value of a muscular chest. Research suggests that women's and men's perception of the ideal male body includes a muscled, broad-chested, V-shaped torso!

So, if you wanna have pecs like Dwayne Johnson or Salman Khan, resistance bands can come in super handy.

Resistance bands have been proven to increase performance and strength faster when compared to using weights alone, thanks to their linear variable resistance.

In this blog, we’ll show you 10 resistance band chest workouts that’ll give you those pecs of steel!

10 Amazing Resistance Band Exercises For Chest

1. Banded floor press

Muscles worked: Chest, shoulders, and triceps.

How to perform

Wrap a resistance band across your upper back, under your shoulders. Hold the ends of the band in each hand.
Lie on the floor with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor.
Keep your forearms at 90 degrees to the ground with your upper arms resting on the floor. This is the starting position.
With your palms facing upwards, extend your arms out until they are straight.
Pause for a second and then lower back to the starting position.
Perform 10–15 reps.

Tip

Keep your wrists straight to prevent any injuries.

2. Resistance band lying pullover

Muscles worked: Pectorals, latissimus dorsi, triceps, deltoids, core.

How to perform

Secure a resistance band to an anchor point close to the floor.
Lie down on the floor facing away from the anchor point.
Extend your arms out behind you and grab the other end of the band in both hands.
Keep your arms above your head as shown in the video. This is the starting position.
Engaging your pecs, slowly bring your arms in front of you as far as you can go, in line with your chest.
Return to the starting position.
Perform 10–15 reps.

Tip

For maximum gains, ensure that your hands are close together.

3. One arm chest fly with resistance band

Muscles worked: Chest muscles

How to perform

Secure a resistance band to an anchor point at chest height.
Grab the other end of the band in your right hand.
Stand a few feet away from your anchor point with your right side facing it. There should be sufficient tension in the band.
Place your right arm so that it is pointing toward the anchor. This is the starting position.
Keep your chest up, chin up, back straight and your feet shoulder-width apart.
Squeezing your pecs and core, pull the band towards you until your arm is right in front of your chest.
Return to the starting position in a slow and controlled manner.
Perform 8-10 reps before switching sides.

Tips

Keep your chest out and your shoulder blades together. If you slouch forwards, you will be using more of your shoulders and triceps rather than your chest muscles.
Perform the full range of motion by pulling the band across the midline of your body.

You might also like: 8 Super Effective Resistance Band Bicep Exercises

4. Single Arm Low Crossover with resistance band

Muscles worked: Pectorals, serratus anterior, anterior deltoid, triceps

How to perform

Step into a resistance band with your feet shoulder-width apart.
Hold one end of the band in your left hand with your palm facing up. Your hand should be directly above your left foot at around hip level. This is the starting position.
Squeezing your chest, pull the band upwards so that your hand is extended out in front of you at your head level.
Pause for a second and then lower your hand back to the starting position.
Perform 8-10 reps before switching sides.

Tip

Avoid leaning to whichever side the band is working. This will ensure that your pecs are properly activated.

5. Prone punch out with resistance band

Muscles worked: Upper chest muscles

How to perform

Secure a resistance band to a floor-level anchor point.
Lie down flat with your belly facing the floor and your feet facing the anchor point.
Grab the other end of the band in your right hand.
Now press your right arm straight out until it is fully extended in front of you. Your arm should not touch the floor at any point during this exercise.
Squeeze for a second and then bring your arm back.
Perform 8-10 reps before switching sides.

You might be interested in: 8 Awesome Resistance Band Shoulder Workouts

6. Svend press with resistance band

Muscles worked: Chest muscles

How to perform

Stand erect with your feet slightly apart.
Wrap the band around your upper back and your hands.
Bring your palms together touching your chest as shown in the video. This is the starting position.
Squeezing your chest, press the band forward until your arms are fully extended out in front of you.
Pause for a second before returning to the starting position.
Perform 10-15 reps.

7. Half-Kneeling Low Crossover with resistance band

Muscles worked: Pectorals, serratus anterior, anterior deltoid, triceps

How to perform

Get into a half-kneeling position with your left knee on the ground.
Your front and back legs should be at right angles to each other. Maintain a neutral spine.
Wrap a resistance band around the back of your left foot and hold the other end of the band in your hand with your palm facing up.
Your hand should be a few inches away from your foot at hip level. This is the starting position.
Squeezing your chest, slowly pull the band across your body so that it reaches above your head level as shown in the video.
Pause for a second before returning to the starting position.
Perform 10-15 reps before switching sides.

Tip

Place your non-working hand on your chest to ensure that it is being properly activated during the exercise.

You might also like: 10 Resistance Band Tricep Workout For Bigger Arms

8. Decline push-up with resistance band

Muscles worked: Upper chest muscles

How to perform

Wrap a resistance band around your upper back and hold the ends in each hand.
With your palms on the floor, lift your feet and place them on a chair or table for support.
Your hands should be more than shoulder-width apart with your fingers pointed overhead.
Ensure that your body is in a straight line from your head to your feet. This is the starting position.
Now lower down until your upper arms are parallel to the floor.
Raise yourself up back to the starting position.
Perform 8-10 reps.

Tip

Don’t allow your butt to sag down or push up during the exercise.

9. Crossover push-up with resistance band

Muscles worked: Chest muscles, deltoids, triceps, core.

How to perform

Secure a resistance band to an anchor point that is close to the ground.
Hold the other end of the band in your right hand.
Get into a push-up position a few feet away from the anchor point so that there is sufficient tension in the band.
Do a regular push-up, but when you come up to your high plank position, pull the band across your left hand and touch the floor as shown in the video.
Bring your right hand back to the original position and repeat your push-up.
Perform 8-10 reps and then switch sides.

Tip

Keep your core engaged throughout the exercise.

10. Explosive Negative push-up with resistance band

Muscles worked: Pectorals, anterior deltoids, triceps.

How to perform

Wrap a resistance band around your upper back and hold the ends in each hand.
Get into a standard push-up position on the floor with your hands slightly further than shoulder-width apart. This is the starting position.
In a slow and controlled manner, lower your body down until your arms are at 90 degrees to the floor. Take about 3 seconds for this “negative” part of the exercise.
Now push through your chest explosively back to the starting position.
Perform 8-10 reps.

Tip

The key here is to focus on slowing down the eccentric part of the move to improve your upper body strength.

Tips for performing chest exercises using resistance bands

Maintain a stable upper body for all chest exercises. If you find yourself swinging with your back, you might be better off switching to a band of lower resistance.
Don’t rush through your reps. Always squeeze your chest muscles at the top of the movement, pause for a moment and then slowly return to the starting position. This will ensure sufficient time under tension.
For exercises like chest presses and chest flyes, you can always adjust the resistance level by moving closer to or away from the anchor point.

You might be interested in: 10 Amazing Resistance Band Exercises To Fire Up Your Legs

Frequently asked questions

1. Can resistance bands build / tone chest?

Yes. Resistance bands can build and tone your chest.

Here’s why.

Resistance bands help you target every section of your chest (upper, middle, and lower) effectively as they allow for a wider range of motion. Since you can apply resistance from any angle, you can maximize the stress exerted on your chest muscles, leading to larger gains.
Your muscles are under constant tension both during the concentric and eccentric parts of the move.
Due to the linear variable resistance, your muscles will experience the greatest resistance at the top of the movement leading to better chest muscle activation.
Bands are great for practicing unilateral exercises (like single-arm chest fly). Such exercises aid in correcting muscle imbalance and permits you to strengthen your weaker side.
Training with resistance bands also fires up your smaller stabilizing muscles, something that doesn’t happen as effectively with free weights or gym equipment.

2. How many reps should I do with resistance bands?

As per a study by Harvard Health, anywhere from 6-12 reps per exercise is beneficial. As a beginner, you can aim for doing 10 reps using a light or medium resistance band. As you advance, try doing 6-8 reps with heavier resistance bands.

One thing to remember is that higher tension leads to bigger strength gains, while longer time under tension leads to bigger size gains.

For building muscle, aim for a time under tension of 30-70 seconds, focus on your isometric squeezes, and spend more time on the eccentric part of your moves.

To know more about how you can build muscle using resistance bands, read our post here.

Final words

As you can see, you don’t need heavy weights or gym equipment to build and strengthen your chest. You can simulate various movements including your chest presses and chest flyes with just a resistance band.

Plus resistance bands are lightweight, versatile, portable, easier on your joints, and more.

So what are you waiting for? Grab a set of Burnlab’s uh-mazing resistance bands and try these chest workouts now!

Which one’s your favorite resistance band chest workout? Let us know in the comments below!