Dumbbell Bench Press Overview:
The dumbbell press is a variation of the-1 bench press and is an exercise used to develop the chest muscles.
2-It is often recommended that you perform the dumbbell press after reaching a certain level of strength in the bench press to avoid injury to your chest muscles and shoulders.
3-In addition, the dumbbell press allows you to control the amount of weight used because of the need to keep your shoulders stable throughout the exercise.
4-The exercise itself can be used as the main exercise in training or as an additional exercise to the bench press, depending on your goals.
Dumbbell Bench Press Instructions:
1-Grab the dumbbells from the floor with a neutral grip (palms facing inward). Position the ends of the dumbbells in a hip crease and sit on the bench.
2-To get into position, lie on your back and hold the dumbbells close to your chest. Once you’re in position, take a deep breath and squeeze the dumbbells until they lock in at the top point.
3-Slowly lower the dumbbells under control as far as is comfortable (the handles should be about chest level).
4-Squeeze your chest and raise the dumbbells to the starting position.
5-Repeat the required number of repetitions.
Lowering the dumbbells to the side is not” recommended unless you are proficient in this technique or using too much weight.”
**Ideally, you should return the dumbbells to a neutral position (palms facing each other), raise your knees so that the ends of the dumbbells touch your hips, and then use the dumbbell weight to return to an upright sitting position.
Read also:
Military Press (AKA Overhead Press) Exercise Guide
Dumbbell Bench Press Tips:
- Maintain more tension in the pecs without closing your elbows completely.
- Keep the dumbbells slightly tilted at a 45-degree angle to keep your elbows in a neutral position.
- Do not allow the dumbbells to collide at the top of each repetition – hitting them can lead to loss of stability in the shoulder joint and injury.
- Squeeze the dumbbells as hard as possible to improve a phenomenon known as “irrigation,” which promotes greater shoulder stability.
- Keep your shoulder blades pressed together to keep your shoulders in a safe position.
- Imagine that you are trying to push yourself away from the kettlebell, not push the kettlebell away from you.
- If you feel pain in the shoulder joint itself (especially in the front), make sure your shoulder blades are slightly retracted and try to keep your shoulder girdle “collected.
- Keep your abdominal muscles tight and avoid excessive arching of your lower back.
- Keep your feet flat on the floor and don’t let your lower body move during the exercise.