Dumbbell bench press is an upper-body exercise that activates the pecs more as compared to using a barbell. When you press up dumbbells on a bench, you can move your arms up and down together bearing exactly equal loads, which doesn’t happen with a barbell as your stronger arm tends to bear more load. This is exactly the reason why dumbbell bench press works better to build chest.
Moreover, dumbbells allow you a greater range of motion in the chest and also achieve a deeper stretch as compared to that which you can get using a barbell.
Also as your each arm works independently, it helps improving muscular balance.
Strengthen Muscles: Chest, Shoulders, Biceps and Triceps
How To Do Bench Press With Dumbbell? – Technique, Tips, Mistakes & Video!
Learn here how to do dumbbell chest press properly – tips, mistakes plus VIDEO at end of article demonstrating perfect technique, start position & movements.
Start Position
Sit on the end of a flat bench with a dumbbell in each hand placed on top of your respective thighs. Position the palms of your hands facing each other. Lie back on the bench carefully. Use your thighs to help lift the dumbbells up. Hold them in front of you at shoulder width, directly over your chest. When at shoulder width, turn your wrists forward so that the palms are facing away from you. The dumbbells should be just to the sides of your chest, with your upper arm and forearm forming a 90-degree angle. This is your starting position.
Movement
While breathing out, engage your chest to press the dumbbells up toward ceiling until your arms are fully extended. Lock your arms at the top of the lift and squeeze your chest, hold for a second and then start lowering both dumbbells to the sides of your chest slowly – back to the start position. This completes one rep. Repeat the movement for the desired number of repetitions.
Tips:
(i) Make sure to keep full control on the dumbbells all through the movement.
(ii) Don’t touch the dumbbells together at the top because that momentarily take some of the tension from the working muscles, which you don’t want.
(iii) To get the best results, lowering the dumbbells should take about twice the time as for raising them.
Variations
(i) A variation of this workout is to do it with the palms of your hands facing each other.
(ii) Another variation is to this workout with the palms facing each other & then turning the wrists as you raise the weights so as that at the top of the movement your palms are facing away from you. Do this variation with caution, as it can be hard on your shoulders and wrists.
Mistakes
Avoid these mistakes:
(i) Lifting Your Head: This is the most common mistake that beginners and even experienced lifters make. Never raise your head and neck up when performing the motion. Doing so is likely to result into neck pain & injury. Make sure that your head, shoulder blades and butt always remain in contact with the bench all times during the movement.
(ii) Arching Your Back: Arching your back when bench pressing means cheating as it restricts the range of motion & it becomes easier for you to make use of the momentum to press the weight upward. This decreases the effectiveness of the exercise because the limited range of motion will cut down the number of muscle fibers engaged, so one should not do it.
Moreover, arching the back enhances the risk of lower back injury, which can in turn really derange your weightlifting and muscle building progress.
Watch this VIDEO to learn how to do Dumbbell Bench Press On A Flat Bench in proper form using the correct technique:
