Dumbbell Bench Press
Horizontal push, dumbbell, chest
The dumbbell bench press pushes two dumbbells up from the chest while you lie on a flat bench. It trains the chest, with the triceps and front delts helping, and each arm works on its own, which evens out the sides. It suits beginners and experienced lifters alike, at home or in the gym.
Setting up
- Sit on the end of a flat bench with a dumbbell resting on each thigh.
- Lie back and bring the dumbbells up beside the chest as you go down, feet flat on the floor.
- Squeeze the shoulder blades back and down into the bench.
- Start with dumbbells you can press ten times with control.
How to do a dumbbell bench press
- Press both dumbbells up until the arms are straight above the chest.
- Keep the wrists straight and the dumbbells in line with the forearms.
- Lower the dumbbells slowly to the sides of the chest, elbows at about 45 degrees.
- Pause for a moment at the bottom without relaxing.
- Press back up to straight arms.
- After the last rep, bring the dumbbells to the thighs and sit up.
Breathing. Breathe in as you lower the dumbbells and breathe out as you press them up.
Muscles worked
- Mainly
- Chest
- Also
- Triceps and front delts
Common mistakes
- Dropping the dumbbells too low. Going far below the chest moves the work from the chest to the shoulders, so stop when the elbows are just below the bench.
- Elbows flaring straight out. Wide elbows move the work from the chest to the shoulders, so keep them at about 45 degrees from the body.
- Banging the dumbbells together at the top. The clash takes tension off the chest, so stop with the dumbbells just short of touching.
- Hips lifting off the bench. Arching off the bench changes the press, so keep the glutes down and the feet flat.
Guide
Guide
