Dumbbell Bench Presses

Overview

The dumbbell bench press is essentially the same exercise as the barbell bench press, with some minor differences. The main difference is that pressing with the dumbbells allows for a wider movement, meaning that this exercise is higher intensity when done with dumbbells. The stabilizing muscles in your chest and arms will also play a greater role in this exercise because balancing two dumbbells is more difficult than balancing a single barbell. For these reasons, the amount of weight that can be done will be less than can be done with a barbell.

As with the barbell bench press, the dumbbell bench press can be done in the incline and decline variations. The basic rules are the same for these exercises: inclining the bench focuses more on the upper chest, while declining the bench focuses more on the lower and outer chest muscles.

Setup

Flat Bench: Select your weights and sit on the edge of the flat bench with each dumbbell resting atop your lower thigh / knee area. Slowly begin to lean back and use your knees to help kick the dumbbells up to your shoulders. Lie completely flat on the bench with your feet flat on the floor on either side of the bench. Enter the starting position by bringing your elbows outward away from the body.

Incline Bench: Choose an incline bench that does not have the racks used for the incline barbell press. The racks will interfere with the lift, and other adjustable incline benches should be available in the gym. If necessary, adjust the seat portion of the bench so that it is at a 90 degree angle to the back.

Sit on the bench with the weights resting atop your lower thighs / knees. Lean back against the bench and use your knees to help kick the weight up to your shoulders. Bring your elbows out to your sides to enter the starting position.

Decline Bench: Getting into position with the decline bench can be much more difficult than the flat or incline positions. Again, as with the incline, do not use a bench with racks for a barbell. These racks can interfere with your lift and cause injury.

Place one leg into position and place the dumbbell on top of the thigh. Get onto the bench and then get the second leg into position with the dumbbell on top of the thigh. Now, slowly lean back and use your arms to bring the weights into the starting position.

Alternately, you can get into position by lying on the bench and having a spotter or two hand the weights to you. If a spotter is handing you the weights, make sure they hold the dumbbell by the weight on either side so that the hand grip is clear when it is handed to you.

Movement

The motion for dumbbell bench presses is the same for the flat, incline, and decline presses. Exhale as you forcefully press the dumbbells upward to a fully extended position. Breathe in as the weight is slowly lowered back down to the chest. For maximum results, bring the dumbbells all the way back down until they touch or almost touch the side of your chest.

When finished with the flat bench dumbbell press, leave your arms extended and simply lift your knees up above you until they meet the dumbbells. Then, simply roll forward until you end in a sitting position with the dumbbells safely on top of your knees. On the incline press, use the knees to assist when lowering the weights back down. Having someone take the weights down for you is generally dangerous when performing the incline dumbbell bench press. For the decline, have a couple spotters help you to take the weight or just set them back down as lightly as you can.

Tips From the Trainer

Dumbbell bench presses can be spotted in one of two ways. The spotter can firmly grasp the wrists of the person performing the exercise to help them complete the repetition, or the spotter can place his or her hands beneath the elbows and press upward. We strongly recommend spotting from the elbows because it helps keep the person performing the exercise in control. Spotting from the wrist is more strenuous for the spotter and also tends to through off the balance of the person performing the exercise.

Finally, Avoid arching your back when pressing the weight upwards. This moves the stress from the chest muscles to other parts of the body and is a great way to get injured.

The dumbbell bench press is a high-intensity exercise which brings a high level of risk. Be sure to warm up properly before lifting heavy weights and work your way up to maximum exertion. Know your limits, and if you’re new to weight lifting, go light for a while until you get the hang of this movement. As with all exercises where weight is held above the head, this exercise should never be done without a spotter.