The dumbbell bench press is a flat press with each arm carrying its own weight, so neither side can be carried by the other and the hands are free to travel a natural arc. You will press less total weight than on a barbell, and you will feel the chest more — that trade is the whole reason to pick it.
How to do it
- Kick the dumbbells up with your knees as you lie back rather than curling them into place.
- Lower until your upper arms are roughly level with the bench — deeper than a barbell allows.
- Press up and slightly inward, without clanging the dumbbells together at the top.
Common mistakes
- Dropping the dumbbells straight down at the end of a set instead of setting them on your thighs.
What it trains
- Chest
- presses the arms up and in, and gets more range than a barbell allows because nothing stops at your ribcage
- Triceps
- extend the elbows through the top of the press
- Front delts
- assist off the chest and stabilise the weight overhead
- Upper back
- stays tight against the bench to give the press a fixed base
Variations and alternatives
Common questions
How do I get heavy dumbbells into position?
Sit on the end of the bench with a dumbbell resting on each knee, then kick them up one at a time as you lie back. To finish, bring your knees up, sit forward with the weights and set them down — never just drop them beside you with your arms extended, which is how shoulders get hurt at the end of a hard set.
Why is my dumbbell press so much lighter than my barbell bench?
Because you are now stabilising two independent weights instead of one bar, and each arm works alone. Two dumbbells totalling around 70 to 80 percent of your barbell bench is normal. The numbers are not comparable, so track them separately.
Should the dumbbells touch at the top?
Bring them close but do not clang them together. Touching tempts you to rest at the top and to push them inward instead of upward, which bleeds tension out of the chest. Stop a few centimetres short and go straight back down.
In StackUp. Logged as weight and reps per set, and your heaviest working set decides whether the weight goes up next time. Get the app.
Chest
