Many guys in the gym are literally addicted on doing the bench press for building their pectoral muscles (pecs) or chest muscles.
I couldn't agree more, the barbell bench press is one of the fundamental exercise I use to build my chest muscles either.
However, most of the time, bodybuilders need variation on their routine or else they might hit a plateau on muscle gain.
Your chest muscles isn't an exception to that rule.
Good ole bench press is also often dangerous when you're alone or doesn't have a partner to spot/ assist you during your routine.
You might experience the dreaded feeling of getting stucked under a 100lb barbell weight when you were trying to push for that extra repetition.
You might be guessing by now that fancy gym machines and equipment is the way other than free weight bench presses.
Well think again.
I don't give too much credit on machines other than they are easier to use than free weights.
However, I notice that machines don't give me the flexibility I need while doing my exercise similar to free weights.
Results may also vary when you stick with gym equipments alone compared with free weights.
One good alternative is the dumbell bench press.
I like doing dumbell presses whenever I'm alone at the gym since I could get off from the heavy loading easily.
Also, dumbell presses are tougher to do than regular barbell bench press because you need to balance the dumbells in sync.
Weighted Dips is also a good alternative to bench press and it's also good in developing your triceps too.
I will suggest to use the wide dip instead of the regular ones to target your chest muscles effectively.
Cable Flyes / dumbell flyes are good in developing flexibility and building your chest muscles.
However, I must admit that these two are the least of my choices since I can't overload my chest muscles effectively unlike the previous two chest exercises above.
Flyes are great for routine variations and busting yourself out from hitting plateaus.