How to do a Dumbbell Bench Press
Reviewed by JP Michelsen, CPT, B.A. Kinesiology
About Dumbbell Bench Press
Instructions for Proper Form
Dumbbell 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.
- 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 the dumbbells so that they are just outside shoulder-width apart.
- Keeping your core braced by breathing into your stomach and flexing the abdominal muscles, extend your elbows while keeping them at a 45 degree angle from your torso.
- Once your arms are fully extended over the shoulders, exhale to return the dumbbells back to the starting position.
Common Form Mistakes
Flared Elbows
Flaring your elbows out can sometimes help you lift heavier weights, but it places more tension on your shoulders. The ideal position can vary slightly from person to person, but try to keep your elbows around 45 degrees from your torso, and make small adjustments from there.
Heavy Dumbbells
Dumbbells are less stable than a barbell. This added instability means you won't be able to move the same weight you would with a barbell. Keep your weights on the lighter side, and focus on stability and control.
Weight & 1 Rep Max Calculator
Average Dumbbell Bench Press standards by male, female, weight, age and height
Use this calculator to see Fitbod's possible first recommendations for you. This would be your starting line, based on more than 4.5 billion logged sets from 1.1 million users.
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Alternative Exercises to Dumbbell Bench Press
1. Barbell Bench Press
99.2 mSCORESWAPPED 42,023 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.
2. Dumbbell Incline Bench Press
99 mSCORESWAPPED 21,054 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. Machine Bench Press
93.5 mSCORESWAPPED 13,180 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.
- Beginner
- Chest
- Bench Press Machine
4. Hammerstrength Chest Press
94.3 mSCORESWAPPED 10,352 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.
- Beginner
- Chest
- Hammerstrength (Leverage) Machine (all forms)
5. Machine Fly
98.2 mSCORESWAPPED 8,409 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.
- Beginner
- Chest
- Fly Machine
6. Smith Machine Bench Press
89.5 mSCORESWAPPED 7,815 TIMESSmith Machine Bench Press is a compound chest exercise that also recruits the triceps and shoulders. The use of the Smith Machine adds stability to the movement allowing you to focus more on exertion, or learning the movement.
- Beginner
- Chest
- Flat Bench
- Smith Machine
7. Barbell Incline Bench Press
98.9 mSCORESWAPPED 6,642 TIMESBarbell Incline Bench Press is a variation on a standard Bench Press. Similar to Bench Press, this compound exercise primarily targets your chest, but this variation places much more emphasis on your shoulders and upper chest.
8. Cable Crossover Fly
97.3 mSCORESWAPPED 6,017 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.
- Beginner
- Chest
- Cable Crossover
9. Dumbbell Fly
98.3 mSCORESWAPPED 6,015 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.
10. Hammerstrength Incline Chest Press
96.5 mSCORESWAPPED 4,732 TIMESHammerstrength Incline Chest Press is a variation on the more standard Barbell Incline Bench Press. This compound movement primarily targets your chest, shoulders and triceps. The incline allows you to further emphasize your upper chest and shoulders. The use of a Hammerstrength Machine forces you to use a fixed range of motion which adds stability, and allows you to focus more on exertion.
- Beginner
- Chest
- Hammerstrength (Leverage) Machine (all forms)