How to do a Dumbbell Larson Press
Reviewed by JP Michelsen, CPT, B.A. Kinesiology
About Dumbbell Larson Press
Instructions for Proper Form
Dumbbell Larson Press is a variation of the bench press that eliminates leg drive by keeping your legs elevated or off the ground. This compound exercise primarily targets the chest, shoulders, and triceps. By removing leg drive, you focus purely on upper body strength and stability, making it a great exercise to improve your bench press form and muscle isolation.
- Grasp a dumbbell in each hand.
- Lie back on a flat bench and extend your legs. There should be a straight line from your head to your feet and your toes should be pointed up.
- Position the dumbbells just wider than shoulder-width apart, palms facing your feet.
- Keep your head, shoulders, and hips in contact with the bench to maintain proper posture.
- Use heavier dumbbells if your legs are causing you to come off the bench.
- Press the dumbbells above your chest, extending your arms and engaging your chest.
- Hold this position for a moment at the end of the movement.
- Slowly lower the dumbbells, while maintaining tension in your chest.
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Alternative Exercises to Dumbbell Larson Press
1. Dumbbell Bench Press
99.7 mSCORESWAPPED 2,750 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 Fly
98.3 mSCORESWAPPED 1,436 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.
3. Dumbbell Squeeze Press
91.1 mSCORESWAPPED 1,424 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.
4. Alternating Dumbbell Bench Press
82 mSCORESWAPPED 1,104 TIMESAlternating 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.
5. Dumbbell Incline Bench Press
99 mSCORESWAPPED 878 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.
6. Barbell Bench Press
99.2 mSCORESWAPPED 711 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.
7. Machine Fly
98.2 mSCORESWAPPED 650 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
8. Around the Worlds
62.4 mSCORESWAPPED 593 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.
9. Incline Dumbbell Squeeze Press
85.9 mSCORESWAPPED 547 TIMESIncline Dumbbell Squeeze Press is a variation on the more standard Bench Press. Like other Bench Press variations, this compound exercise primarily targets the chest, shoulders, and triceps. The incline position emphasizes the upper chest and shoulders, while the act of squeezing the dumbbells together helps to maintain tension in the chest throughout the movement. This is a great exercise for building both strength and muscle mass in the upper chest.
10. Machine Bench Press
93.5 mSCORESWAPPED 498 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