Dumbbell Incline Bench Press
Horizontal push, dumbbell, chest and front delts
The dumbbell incline bench press pushes two dumbbells up from the chest while you lie on a bench set at an incline. It trains the upper chest and front delts, with the triceps helping, and each arm works on its own. It suits anyone who wants a fuller upper chest, at home or in the gym.
Setting up
- Set the bench to about 30 degrees.
- Sit back with a dumbbell on each thigh, then lie back and bring them beside the chest.
- Set the feet flat and squeeze the shoulder blades back and down.
- Start with dumbbells you can press ten times with control.
How to do a dumbbell incline bench press
- Press the dumbbells up and slightly in until the arms are straight over the upper chest.
- Keep the wrists straight over the elbows.
- Lower the dumbbells slowly to the sides of the upper chest.
- Pause for a moment at the bottom without relaxing.
- Press back up.
Breathing. Breathe in as you lower and breathe out as you press up.
Muscles worked
- Mainly
- Chest and front delts
- Also
- Triceps
Common mistakes
- Bench set too steep. A steep bench turns it into a shoulder press, so keep it at about 30 degrees.
- 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 just short of touching.
Guide
Guide
