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Dumbbell Bench Press

Some people want to bulk up their chest muscles to create the perfect V shape, which is highly sought after in the body-building community. Others want to improve performance and prevent upper-body muscular imbalances.

Whether you want to increase muscle strength or work on your conditioning, the dumbbell bench press is the ideal exercise.

In this article, we will give practical tips on how to do the dumbbell bench press. We’ll also provide insight into the best ways to work this functional exercise into your weekly gym routine.

How To Do

  1. Start by sitting down on a flat bench with a dumbbell in each hand, dumbbells resting on your thighs. Your feet should be flat on the floor.
  2. Use your thighs to help lift the dumbbells up as you lie back. Once lying down, your back should be pressed firmly against the bench. Also, ensure your shoulder blades are retracted (pulled back) to create a stable base. Position the dumbbells at the sides of your chest with your palms facing forward. Your elbows should be at a 45-degree angle to your torso.
  3. Take a deep breath in and engage your core. Press the dumbbells upward until your arms are fully extended but not locked out. Keep your wrists straight. At the top of the movement, the dumbbells should be directly above your shoulders. Your arms should be perpendicular to the floor.
  4. Pause briefly at the top, maintaining tension in your chest muscles. Slowly lower the dumbbells back to the starting position, keeping the motion controlled and smooth. Breathe out as you lower the dumbbells down.

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Tips From Expert

  • Start with a weight that you can easily control to help prevent injuries while you learn to perfect your form

  • Squeeze your chest together at the top of the movement. Focus on contracting your chest muscles throughout the lowering phase of your lift.

  • Avoid using momentum to help you lift your weight. Use a lighter weight if you can’t do slow and controlled movements.

  • When increasing weight or going for a new personal best, find a friend or trainer at your gym to spot you for safety.

Optimal Sets and Reps

There is no one-size-fits-all regarding the number of sets and reps you should aim for. Instead, you will want to customize each workout to best suit your unique fitness goals, as shown below.

Training TypeSetsReps
Strength Training3–51–5
Hypertrophy3–48–12
Endurance Training3–415–20
Power Training3–53–5
Optimal Sets & Reps of Dumbbell Bench Press

How to Put in Your Workout Split

The dumbbell bench press is a compound exercise that targets multiple muscle groups simultaneously, including the chest, shoulders, and triceps. This makes it a versatile exercise that you can work into several split options, as listed below.

  • Push Day – Follow the dumbbell bench press with other push movements such as a shoulder press or tricep extension.
  • Upper Body Day – Follow the dumbbell bench press with other upper body exercises. Examples include the incline bench press, bent-over rows, overhead press, bicep curls, and tricep extensions.
  • Full Body Day – Follow the dumbbell bench press with other movements designed to target each muscle group. These may include dumbbell squats, bent-over rows, deadlifts, and overhead presses.

Strength Training Focus

  • Weight: Heavy, 80%–100% of 1RM.
  • Rest: Two to three minutes between sets.

Hypertrophy Training Focus

  • Weight: Moderate to heavy, 60%–80% of 1RM.
  • Rest: 60–90 seconds between sets.

Endurance Training Focus

  • Weight: Light to moderate, 40%–60% of 1RM.
  • Rest: 30–60 seconds between sets.

Power Training Focus

  • Weight: Heavy, 80%–90% to 1RM.
  • Rest: Two to three minutes between sets.

Above, you might have noticed the term 1RM, which refers to your single repetition maximum. Simply put, this is the heaviest weight you can lift for a single rep.

For example, if your maximum weight for a dumbbell bench press is 10 kg, then the appropriate weight will be:

  • Strength training: 8kg–10kg.
  • Hypertrophy: 6kg–8kg.
  • Endurance: 4kg–6kg.
  • Power training: 8kg–9kg.

Primary Muscle Groups

Clavicular Head of Pectoralis Major

Muscles located at the top of your chest, running from your armpit to collar bone. Smaller portion of your chest muscle.

Sternal Head of Pectoralis Major

Large muscles located underneath your clavicle head. Makes up most of your chest area

Abdominal Head of Pectoralis Major

Muscles located at the bottom of your pectoral region, just above your abdominal muscles.

Clavicular Heads

Your clavicular heads are the upper part of the pectoralis major muscle. They originate from the clavicle, or collarbone, and extend into the humerus, or upper arm bone.

If you want to target your clavicular heads in particular, using an incline bench can help. During incline bench press, muscle activation moves from your middle to your upper chest. This makes it the better option for individuals wanting to strengthen their upper chest muscles.

Sternal Heads

Your sternal heads are the middle part of the pectoralis major muscle. These muscle fibers originate from the sternum, or breastbone, and connect to the humerus.

During a flat dumbbell bench press, the sternal heads are the most active of the pectoral muscles. This makes it an ideal choice for anyone wanting to target their middle chest area.

Abdominal Heads

Contrary to what the name suggests, the abdominal heads are not a part of the abdominal muscle group. Instead, they are the lowermost fibers of the pectoralis major muscle group. They originate from the lower part of the sternum and connect to the humerus.

The abdominal heads act similarly to the clavicular heads. They play a stabilizing role to the sternal heads. These are responsible for the bulk of the power during a dumbbell bench press.

Secondary Muscle Groups

Serratus Anterior

Small, fan shaped muscle that lies deep under your chest and scapula.

Anterior Deltoid

Muscles located at the front of your shoulder region

Triceps Lateral Heads

Muscles located on the back of your arm between your shoulder and elbow.

Triceps Medial Heads

Small muscles located at the back of your arms. Deep to the triceps long heads between the shoulder and elbow.

Triceps Long Heads

Large muscles located at the back of your arms between your shoulder and elbow. Most outside portion of the tricep.

Anterior Deltoid

The anterior deltoid is located on the front of your shoulders. During a dumbbell bench press, anterior deltoid activation helps stabilize the shoulder and aids the pressing motion. A dumbbell bench press will therefore provide a smaller muscle-building stimulus.

Serratus Anterior

The serratus anterior are fan-like muscles that line the side of the ribcage. Although they’re not particularly involved in the lifting action during dumbbell bench press, they play an important supporting role.

They’re responsible for stabilizing the shoulder blades, keeping them in a retracted state during your entire lift.

Triceps Lateral Heads

The tricep is a muscle group made up of three separate muscles. Of these, the lateral heads are the most activated during a dumbbell bench press.

The lateral heads are located on the outermost part of the triceps, near the upper arm bone.
During a dumbbell bench press, the most important role of the lateral heads is help to extend the elbows. However, they also aid in stabilizing the elbow, allowing for slow and controlled movements.

Triceps Medial Heads

The medial head muscle is a small muscle located below the long head just above the elbow. Their role is to stabilize the elbow, especially when it is in an extended position.

Although the tricep medial head is active during a dumbbell bench press, it isn’t the most effective movement for this muscle. Instead, it should be paired with a tricep-specific exercise like tricep dips or skull crushers to hit the entire muscle.

Triceps Long Heads

The tricep long heads are the largest of the tricep muscle group and originate from the shoulder blades. They are located along the back of the arm, just above the tricep medial heads.

The main function of the long heads is to help straighten the arm. They do this by extending the elbow joint. The long heads are mainly involved in the pressing motion of the dumbbell bench press rather than the lowering phase.

Equipment

Dumbbells

Flat Bench Without Rack

Dumbbells

You can use these for a wide range of unilateral and bilateral exercises. Avoid using momentum to lift. Ensure a secure grip to prevent drops.

Flat Bench Without Rack

This is great for pressing and pulling movements. Ensure the safety catch is firmly locked in. If you can't find this bench, use one with a rack for barbell exercises.

Variations

Exercises that target the same primary muscle groups and require the same equipment.

Decline Dumbbell Bench Press

Incline Dumbbell Bench Press

Dumbbell Chest Fly

Dumbbell Floor Press

Dumbbell Svend Press

Alternatives

Exercises that target the same primary muscle groups and require the different equipment.

Barbell Bench Press

Chest Dip

Cable Chest Fly

Chest Fly Machine

Smith Machine Bench Press

Push-Up

Doorway Chest Stretch

Dynamic Arm Swing

T Push-Up

Standing Torso Twists

Who Should Do?

Individuals With Muscular Imbalances

The dumbbell bench press is a unilateral movement, meaning it works one side of the body at a time. This makes it a viable option for individuals wanting to prevent muscular imbalances — a common occurrence in weight lifting.

It’s recommended to include at least one single arm exercise in your upper body workout split.

Rehabilitation Patients

Individuals working with a physical therapist to rehabilitate an injury can benefit greatly from using unilateral movements.

New research shows that strengthening one arm can also positively affect the limb on the other side of the body. These improvements occur without you even needing to use the opposing arm.

Older Adults

Everyone knows the phrase, ‘If you don’t move it, you lose it.’ This is absolutely true for aging adults. Studies point to them losing approximately 3%-8% of their muscle mass yearly after age 30.

The dumbbell bench press can help to build functional strength, prevent muscular imbalances, and improve bone density in aging populations.

Who Should Not Do?

Beginners

If you’re just starting your bench press journey, a barbell bench press will be a better option. Unlike when using dumbbells, you can grip the barbell with both hands, which allows for greater stability.

More stability allows for more room to focus on form and building strength for more challenging bench press options. Once you’ve developed the correct technique, you can try the dumbbell version.

Individuals With Injury-Prone Wrists Or Elbows

The dumbbell bench press might not be the best option for people dealing with tendonitis in their wrists or elbows. This variation can add additional load to these joints due to the additional stability required.

Instead, try starting with a bench press using the Smith machine.

Benefits Of The Dumbbell Bench Press

Strength And Muscle Gains

The dumbbell bench press remains the best bench press option for strengthening your pectoral muscles and biceps. It outperformed the same exercise carried out with a barbell or on the Smith machine.

Increased Unilateral Strength And Stability

The unilateral nature of the dumbbell bench press makes it a perfect candidate for working on and preventing muscular imbalances. Balanced muscles are key to injury prevention. They help to support your joints and reduce unnecessary strain on ligaments and tendons caused by muscular imbalances.

Wider Range Of Motion

The dumbbell bench press allows a greater range of motion compared to other pressing exercises. Because of this, your primary movers are taken through a bigger stretch. This greater range of motion can lead to better muscle activation when performed correctly. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Is bench press with dumbbells effective?

Yes, bench presses with dumbbells are as effective as traditional barbell bench presses. In fact, it is a better option for people with limited shoulder mobility and individuals wanting to treat muscular imbalances.

How heavy should the dumbbell bench press be?

How heavy you choose to lift during a dumbbell bench press will differ from person to person. Experienced trainers wanting to build muscle will lift heavier than a beginner or individuals wanting to improve endurance.

Why is the dumbbell bench press harder?

The dumbbell bench press is more difficult because it requires more stability and balance than two-handed variations.

How to dumbbell press properly?

To dumbbell bench press properly, focus on engaging your core and keeping your shoulder blades retracted. Ensure you use a weight that you can do slow and controlled movements with. Avoid using momentum to swing the weights.

Resources

Endomondo.com refrains from utilizing tertiary references. We uphold stringent sourcing criteria and depend on peer-reviewed studies and academic research conducted by medical associations and institutions. For more detailed insights, you can explore further by reading our editorial process.

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