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Dumbbell Bench Press

Dumbbell Bench Press trains 3 of the 18 muscle groups Full Coverage tracks: Chest 100%, Triceps 45%, Front delts 40%.

Backbone movement Level: Beginner DumbbellsBench Push Easy on the lower backEasy on the kneesNo load on the spineEasy on the shoulders

Dumbbell Bench Press - Start position
Start position
Dumbbell Bench Press - Finish position
Finish position

How to do it

  1. Sit on the end of a bench with a dumbbell on each thigh.
  2. Lie back, using your thighs to kick the dumbbells up to shoulder level.
  3. Press them up until your arms are straight, palms facing forward.
  4. Lower until your elbows are just below your shoulders - the dumbbells let you go deeper than a bar.
  5. Press back up without clashing the weights together at the top.

Muscles it trains

Percent of one session's target for that muscle. Anything at 100% finishes that muscle on its own.

Light Main

How it compares

Compared with the Barbell Bench Press, it loads Triceps 5 points lower. It needs Dumbbells + Bench where the other uses Barbell + Bench. Compared with the Dumbbell Flys, it loads Triceps 45 points higher, Front delts 25 points higher, Chest 10 points higher.

Other ways to train this

Other exercises for the Chest

Related guides

Exercise illustrations and data by RepDB (repdb.co), used under licence.

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