Dumbbell Bench Press
The horizontal push with dumbbells. Each arm works on its own, which makes the movement freer than a barbell — and how you set up on the bench matters more than the load.
With dumbbells each arm moves on its own. The movement is freer than with a barbell, and each side stabilises itself — so a good part of the work goes into holding the dumbbells steady, on top of the pressing. In return, the movement fits you rather than the other way round.
Most of it is decided before your first rep: chest up, shoulder blades pinned back into the bench. A slight arch in your lower back comes with that — it follows from lifting the chest. Your hips stay on the bench. For beginners this is the pressing exercise I start with: it scales from very light to heavy, and you can set the dumbbells down at any point.
Starting position
Sit on the bench with the dumbbells on your thighs. Brace, keep them tight against you, and lie back in one piece — drive your knees up as you go so your thighs punch the dumbbells into the top position. That gets you flat on the bench without your shoulders lifting the weight. At the end of the set, bring the dumbbells back down to your chest, pull your knees up, and let your thighs carry them back down as you sit up.
The three cues
- Push your chest up — really exaggerate it, and keep your shoulder blades pinned into the bench
- Lower slowly, as far as you can go, pause briefly at the bottom — then press back up hard
- The dumbbells stay in line with your chest, not drifting up towards your shoulders
Common faults
| Fault | How to fix it |
|---|---|
| The dumbbells drift up towards your shoulders | Keep them in line with your chest. Once they end up over your shoulders, you're pressing with your shoulders instead of your chest — and that's usually where shoulders start to complain. |
| Your chest stays flat and your shoulders roll forward | Get set first, then press: chest up, shoulder blades pinned. That happens before rep one, not during it. |
| You push your hips up to move more weight | Your glutes stay on the bench. The slight arch comes on its own from lifting your chest. If the hips start pushing up to help, the weight's too heavy. |
| You lift the dumbbells into place with your arms, or dump them on the floor at the end | The thighs do the loading, both ways. That's how you handle heavier dumbbells safely. |
| Lowering too fast, no pause at the bottom | Lower slowly, pause, then press back up hard. The bottom position is where the work happens. |
Variations
| Variation | When to use it |
|---|---|
| Floor press | No bench, or your shoulder doesn't like the deep position yet — the floor limits how far you can go |
| Flat bench, two-arm | What we do in the studio |
| Incline bench | A different angle, upper chest — often easier on the shoulder |
| Single-arm | Evening out side-to-side differences, and your core has to resist the rotation |
Reps and load
Tempo matters more here than the number on the dumbbell: lower slowly, pause at the bottom, then press back up hard. If the dumbbells start drifting towards your head, or your chest collapses, the weight's too heavy. Coming from a barbell you'll use noticeably less weight — that's normal, because each arm has to stabilise itself.
Which muscles do the work
| Muscle | Role | What it does here |
|---|---|---|
| Chest M. pectoralis major | Prime mover | Brings the upper arm in and up — the main driver |
| Triceps M. triceps brachii | Prime mover | Extends the elbow; does most of the work in the top half |
| Front delt Anterior deltoid | Synergist | Helps press up and forward |
| Serratus anterior M. serratus anterior | Stabiliser | Keeps the shoulder blade on the ribcage, especially on the way down |
| Rhomboids and mid traps Mm. rhomboidei, M. trapezius | Stabiliser | Hold the shoulder blades pinned back — the base of the whole position |
| Biceps M. biceps brachii | Stabiliser | Keeps the dumbbell on track; measurably more active with dumbbells than with a barbell |
| Trunk and glutes Abdominals, M. gluteus maximus | Stabiliser | Hold the position on the bench; the glutes stay in contact |
Because each dumbbell takes its own path, the stabilisers do the guiding — which is why so much of the list is holding work.
Explained in full
How to get into position safely with the dumbbells, why your chest should come right up, and how to tell the dumbbells are staying in line with your chest instead of creeping up to your shoulders. · 1:07
Seeing it done right is not the same as doing it right
Video, cues and variations take you a long way. What they cannot give you is an outside eye at the moment the movement isn't quite there yet. That is what training with me is for — in the studio or in a workshop.
See the workshopsNew exercise pages are added all the time — the newsletter keeps you posted.
Sources
Saeterbakken AH, van den Tillaar R, Fimland MS. (2011). J Sports Sci 29(5):533–538. DOI: 10.1080/02640414.2010.543916 — Dumbbell, barbell and Smith machine compared: the same chest activity, less triceps and more biceps with dumbbells — at roughly 17% less load (n = 12, young trained men). (Evidence type: EMG)
Farias DA, et al. (2017). J Strength Cond Res 31(7):1879–1887. DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000001651 — Across four sets, more reps and higher chest activity with dumbbells than with a barbell, less triceps (n = 19, trained men). An acute measurement, not evidence of more growth. (Evidence type: EMG)
Noteboom L, et al. (2024). Front Physiol 15:1393235. DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2024.1393235 — Pinning the shoulder blades lowers calculated shear forces in the shoulder joint and modelled rotator cuff activity. A modelling study on n = 10 strength athletes — calculated load, not injury data. (Evidence type: Modelling)
Martínez-Cava A, et al. (2022). J Strength Cond Res 36(1):10–15. DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000003391 — After 10 weeks, training the bench press through a full range produced greater strength gains than partial ranges (RCT, n = 50 trained men, barbell). Strength was measured, not muscle size. (Evidence type: RCT)
A note on context: EMG studies show which muscles an exercise recruits — that is a good reason to pick it, but it does not replace adjusting things to the person in front of you. See a doctor for persistent or severe pain.