How to do an Alternating Dumbbell Bench Press
Reviewed by Jim Parker, CPT, B.A. Kinesiology
Dumbbells
Flat Bench
Workouts with Alternating Dumbbell Bench Press
Instructions for Proper Form
Alternating Dumbbell Bench Press is a variation on the more standard Dumbbell Bench Press. Like other Bench Press variations, this compound exercise primarily targets your chest, shoulders, and triceps. By alternating arms, you add instability and a greater need for core stabilization, helping to address any strength discrepancies between sides. This variation can also increase time under tension, making it an excellent exercise for muscle endurance.
- Lie your back onto a bench while squeezing your shoulder blades together and placing your heels firmly on the ground underneath your knees.
- The bench should be in contact with your head, shoulders, and butt at all times.
- Position a dumbbell to rest just outside of our chest in your left hand.
- Keeping your core braced, extend your left elbow while keeping it at a 45 degree angle from your torso.
- Once your arm is fully extended over your shoulder, exhale to return the dumbbell back to the starting position.
- Repeat with opposite side.
Weight & 1 Rep Max Calculator
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Alternatives & Variations to Alternating Dumbbell Bench Press
1. Dumbbell Bench Press
99.7 mSCORESWAPPED 2,216 TIMESDumbbell Bench Press is a variation on the standard Bench Press. Like Bench Press, this compound exercise primarily targets the chest, while also training the triceps and shoulders. The use of dumbbells allows for greater instability which can help you become more stable on pushing movements in general, while also isolating each side of the body to prevent you from compensating for any weaknesses between sides.
2. Dumbbell Incline Bench Press
99 mSCORESWAPPED 823 TIMESDumbbell Incline Bench Press is a variation on the more standard Barbell Incline Bench Press. This compound exercise primarily targets the chest, but the incline also places more emphasis on the shoulders. The use of dumbbells makes this exercise more unstable than its barbell counterpart, while also forcing you to address any strength discrepancies between sides.
3. Barbell Bench Press
99.2 mSCORESWAPPED 730 TIMESBench Press is one of the three Powerlifting movements, and one of the most common upper body exercises. It’s a fantastic compound exercise that can help you build strength in your chest, shoulders, and triceps. It’s a staple in most fitness programs, and is often used as a metric for tracking upper body strength in general.
4. Dumbbell Fly
98.3 mSCORESWAPPED 686 TIMESDumbbell Fly’s are one of the most common isolation chest exercises, and for good. It primarily targets the muscles in the chest, but also recruits the shoulders for stability. The use of dumbbells ensures that you’re targeting each side of the body independently, and prevents compensating for any weaknesses between sides. In addition the isolated nature of this exercise is a great way to fatigue your chest, and focus on building both muscle mass and increasing strength in your chest.
5. Dumbbell Squeeze Press
91.1 mSCORESWAPPED 485 TIMESSimilar to other Bench Press variations, this compound exercise primarily targets your chest, shoulders, and triceps. Unlike many other variations, some of the tension from this exercise is caused by pressing two dumbbells together rather than simply relying on the weight of those dumbbells. This helps maintain more tension in your chest throughout the movement without relying on other pieces of equipment. The positioning of the dumbbells can also take some tension out of your shoulders, and helps to further isolate your chest.
6. Machine Bench Press
93.5 mSCORESWAPPED 475 TIMESMachine Bench Press is a compound exercise the primarily targets the chest, shoulders, and triceps. The use of a machine forces you to use a fixed range of motion which can be a great way to learn the movement, or to focus your effort on exertion rather than stability.
7. Machine Fly
98.2 mSCORESWAPPED 461 TIMESMachine Fly is a variation on the more standard Dumbbell Fly. This isolation chest exercise primarily targets the chest, but also recruits the shoulders. The use of a machine makes the exercise more stable allowing you to focus on exertion or learn the movement with minimal risk of injury. This is a great exercise for beginners looking to learn the movement, or advanced lifters looking to push this movement to it’s limit.
8. Cable Crossover Fly
97.3 mSCORESWAPPED 394 TIMESCable Crossover Fly is an isolation exercise that targets the chest. It’s a variation on the more standard Dumbbell Fly, and can easily be adapted to further isolate specific areas of the chest. Using cables to add resistance allows you to keep more consistent tension on your chest, as well as control the angle that the resistance is coming from.
9. Hammerstrength Chest Press
94.3 mSCORESWAPPED 310 TIMESHammerstrength Chest Press is a variation on the more standard Barbell Bench Press. Similar to Bench Press, this compound exercise primarily targets your chest, shoulders, and triceps. The use of a Hammerstrength machine forces you to use a fixed range of motion. This can help you either learn the movement, or focus your efforts on exertion rather than stability.
10. Around the Worlds
62.4 mSCORESWAPPED 293 TIMESAround the Worlds is an isolation exercise that primarily targets the shoulders and chest. It involves moving a pair of light dumbbells in a circular motion above your head and out to the sides, forming a full range of motion around your body. This exercise can help improve shoulder mobility and stability, while also engaging the chest muscles for added muscle activation.