Greetings to everyone who decided to look at the blog "About Your Sport". Today is a special topic. Recently, at my next training session, the thought came to me, why not tell me about my favorite exercises.

I don't know why, but I especially like the different bench presses. One of these is a dumbbell bench press lying on horizontal bench... He, in fact, will be discussed in this material. In the article you will find out what the technique for performing this exercise should be, which muscles are mainly involved in the work, and something else. Intrigued? Then go straight to the main part.

A little about the exercise itself

Dumbbell bench press is polyarticular exercise which is an excellent support for development pectoral muscles, anterior deltoid bundles (shoulders) and triceps arms (triceps). But this is so, the main loaded muscles, there are also those that are also involved in the process of lifting weights, but to a lesser extent. Naturally, due to less load, such muscles grow, gain strength less. Tell me, how often do you use "services" of this exercise?

A frequent occurrence in gyms is the use of a bench press of dumbbells lying as a "finishing" exercise after the main one - the press of a bar while lying on a horizontal bench. This makes sense if the athlete is seeking to gain muscle mass by pumping a large volume of blood into the working muscles.

It turns out that the first exercise (barbell press) depletes the reserves of strength, injures the muscles, brings some blood there, and the second (dumbbell bench press), as it were, finishes the muscles completely, making up even more blood there. Muscle growth is inevitable due to pumping.

But this is not the only purpose of this wonderful exercise. If you take enough heavy weight, only with its help (if you do 4-6 sets of 6-12 repetitions) you can significantly increase the growth of muscle tissue in the arms, shoulders and chest.

The movements in this exercise (and the very peculiarity of the execution) differ from its closest fellow exercise - the bench press. The fact is that the barbell is a single projectile, it is easier to control it. And dumbbells are separate shells, here there is already a question behind the technique of execution and the body's getting used to the movements of the dumbbells up and down. By the way, the dumbbell press on up and down movements does not end there, everything is somewhat more complicated there.

I also watched quite a lot how inexperienced beginners who saw everything (I think so) once performing this movement, confuse the press of dumbbells with raising dumbbells to the lying sides ("spreading"), do something in between, mixing these two different exercises... This is another reason why I am writing this information. So what's the right way to do this exercise?

Correct technique

Let's start, as expected, from the starting position - the starting position, on which a lot depends. For example, can you raise more weight and distribute the load evenly between the working muscles, or if you take on too much and get injured (stretching, for example) the pectoral muscle. Plus, the right technique is the key to quick results.

Starting position. You sat down on the edge of a horizontal bench, and the dumbbells you picked up are lying on the floor in front of you. Lean forward, grab the dumbbells, and throw them over your hips. You are sitting again, but with dumbbells.

Now you can lie down on the bench, holding both dumbbells on your chest along the body. Have you gone to bed? From this position, straighten your arms with the weights and unfold them so that the handles look with their outer parts in different directions. It is important to place the dumbbells not over the face, not over the neck, but over the chest. Ideally, over the lower chest.

Now put your legs: bring your feet under you as far as possible, but so as not to lift your heels off the floor. Firmly rest your feet on the floor, slightly raising the torso above the bench: a deflection is obtained in the lower back, and the buttocks barely touch the bench, one might say, they touch symbolically.

It turns out that you are leaning on your legs, back and head - three points of support. If it is also on the ass, then this is wrong - in the future you will not be able to work with large weights. This is the correct starting position of the body and shells.

Downward movement. Bending your arms at the elbow and shoulder joints, lower the additional weights on your chest, barely touching it, but not putting it completely (you can not touch it, almost bringing the dumbbells to the pectoral muscles). If there is not enough stretching of the pectoral muscles, then bring it to a feeling of stretching - this can be much higher than the chest.

You need to lower it not just down, but down through the sides (in an arc) if you want to evenly stimulate the working muscles, and not focus on the shoulders and triceps. In the starting position, you held the dumbbells as if in a narrow position of your arms, but you need to lower it in a wide one. So you have to lower it down in an arc.

Important note. As in the initial position of the body, so in the dynamic phase you should hold the dumbbells strictly above the chest or bottom of the chest, but not above the neck - this is another exercise, similar to the "Guillotine" exercise. V correct position arms, elbows (if you look at you from the side) will be slightly below the shoulders.

Upward movement. In the same way, straighten your arms at all bent joints (elbows not completely, but almost - this is to avoid injury). Naturally, you need to move the shells in an arc, but in the opposite direction: from a wide set of arms to a narrow one.

It is at the time of the bench press that you will feel (if you have taken the correct starting position) how much the legs help - according to unofficial data, they account for 30% of the entire load. This does not mean that they steal almost a third of the load from the muscles of the chest and arms. This means that you can lift 30% more weight, thereby putting a greater (emphasis on "o") load on the chest and arms. Consequently, the increase in mass and strength is greater, and the personal list of achievements will be replenished.

The phase of lifting weights also has its own important remark. At the highest point, when the dumbbells are as high as possible above you (arms are straightened), do not hit them against each other, such manipulations lead to muscle relaxation at the moments of impacts, allowing them to rest. As a consequence, the effectiveness of the exercise is less.

Although I agree - it looks and sounds impressive, attracting the attention of the opposite sex. You raise heavy dumbbells, you strain, muscles are drawn, and even this knock of iron ... Well, you get the idea.

Conclusion

Dumbbell bench press is an exercise for pumping all parts of the chest. To fully utilize the top, bottom and middle of the pectoral muscles, it should be performed at different angles. Consider a bench press in a horizontal position, as well as at an angle of 30, 45, 60 degrees and upside down.

Working muscles

In fact, the dumbbell press affects all the same muscle groups as the barbell press. The main load falls on the chest. Additionally, the front bundles of deltoids and triceps work. A large number of other muscles in this exercise are involved in a supportive manner.

The load on the pectoral muscles may vary depending on the position of your core.

• If you are doing the exercise on a horizontal bench, the middle part works.
• Performing a dumbbell press on incline bench you are loading the top of the chest.
• And if the slope is reversed, that is, you are lying on the bench upside down - the lower part of the pectorals takes on the main load.

Why dumbbell bench press is convenient

Let's see why the bench press with dumbbells is so good. Why is it often preferred over the same basic barbell press.

When is it necessary to press dumbbells on an incline bench, and when is it better to press on a horizontal bench.

Easy start for beginners

When you are in the gym for the first time, there is no point in lifting a barbell. Your body has not yet mastered the technique, and the muscles will not be able to fully contract to complete all the reps.

An Olympic bar weighs 20 kg, for the first bench press in life this can be a lot. Dumbbells, on the other hand, will allow you to work out the technique of performing with small weights, which is very important at first.

Over time, the weights will grow, and it will become possible to move on to the barbell. But even in this case, you should not forget about dumbbells. For example, you can do a dumbbell press lying on an incline bench (or a horizontal version) after a barbell press.

Ability to "hammer" muscles

After heavy basic exercises you need to squeeze the remnants of strength from the muscles. It is sometimes too difficult to do this with a barbell. A beginner may not have enough strength even for an empty 20 kg bar. Therefore, it is possible to refine the muscles of the chest, shoulders and triceps using dumbbells.

In this case, the incline dumbbell press works well as the last exercise. After all, if the wiring can only use the chest and part of the deltoids, then the dumbbell press at an angle and horizontally allows you to distribute the load on the entire chest, triceps and front bundles of deltoid muscles.

For a full-fledged feeling of "refusal", you can work with small weights 15–20 times in 2 sets. The muscles will burn incredibly, followed by the proper feeling of fatigue.

No attachment to place

The point is that for the barbell press you need stands, you need a barbell. There is no mobility. Whether the case with dumbbells.

Dumbbell bench press lying on a horizontal bench is the easiest in this regard. It is enough to look after the bench-bench. And dumbbells can be brought to her anywhere. At home you can use lined stools. Lie down and work.

If you are doing an exercise in the gym, you do not need to take off the pancakes from the dumbbells, put on new ones. If you plan to do several weights, just put them side by side. Finished with some, you can immediately take others and make supersets, circuit training etc.

If you plan to do a dumbbell bench press lying on a bench with a positive incline, or, conversely, upside down, it will be a little more difficult. This requires an incline bench. However, usually there are several of them in gyms, so this should not be a problem.

Separate weight advantage

When you press the barbell, the weight is evenly distributed between your two hands. Negative side this event is as follows: if one arm is weaker than the other, then you may not finish the exercise. Because one hand will lag behind. And the second is not able to squeeze the entire barbell - it's hard.

When you work with dumbbells, each hand is one-on-one with its own dumbbells. That is, if one hand is weaker, it will not prevent the other hand from squeezing out the weight.

In addition, when you work with dumbbells, you spend more energy holding the shells. Since each hand is independently weighted, you can easily lose your balance. If one hand did not have the strength to squeeze the dumbbell, you immediately became unbalanced. Therefore, balance stabilizers are intensely tense and strengthened during such exercises.

When you do a dumbbell press on a bench with an upward slope (45 and 30 degrees) - the weight is mostly distributed between the heels and the pelvis. This position is more stable than lying on a horizontal bench.

Execution technique

To use the exercise effectively, you must first learn how to do it correctly.

Press on a horizontal bench

We choose dumbbells and a bench for ourselves. It is better to put a towel under your head and back.

The technique is as follows:

1. We lie down so that the pelvis, back and back of the head are on the bench. Nothing should hang!
2. We place our legs at an angle of 50-60 degrees, press the floor with the heels. Make sure that you are hard to roll onto your side in this position. If so, you are lying fairly stable and you can start the exercise. Remember how you lay down. Now sit down.
3. The dumbbells should initially be positioned so that when you sit down, they are within reach of your hands. Take dumbbells and place them on your knees.
4. Lie down as you tried earlier. At the same time, you need to transfer the dumbbells to your chest. Now that you are in bed, extend your arms so that the dumbbells are up, leaving a slight angle at the elbow joint.
5. You need to turn your arms so that the handles of the dumbbells are parallel and in one line, as if you are holding a barbell in your hands.
6. From this position, we begin to smoothly lower the weight down, the elbows move strictly to the side and down.
7. When your elbows are as low as possible, and you feel a stretch in the chest area, it's time to return the dumbbells to their original upper position. We do this on exhalation, we release the air through the mouth. We inhale through the nose while moving the dumbbells down.

By the way, do not forget about the warm-up approach - 10-15 times with light weight. Then we take up the working weights and do 3 sets of 8-10 reps.

Benches at an angle

The dumbbell bench press on an incline bench differs from the horizontal one in several nuances: the angle of the backrest and your movements.

It makes sense to do a dumbbell press on an incline bench at angles of 45 and 30 degrees after the basic bench press with a barbell.

Once a week, if the lower chest is lagging behind, you can practice the dumbbell press lying downside down (30 or 45 degrees in the minus).

The technique is the same as for the horizontal version. Just pay attention to the nuances.

When performed on a bench with a positive bias:

• Since you are not lying horizontally, you will slide down. To prevent this from happening, slightly lift the edge of the seat up. How correctly - you will understand yourself, because you will stop sliding down.
• Movements up and down are carried out strictly along the vertical axis. Thanks to the angles of 30 and 45 degrees, the loaded part of the chest changes.
• Legs should be spread wider than on a horizontal bench. This will make you sit more stable.

Dumbbell bench press with an incline down from the chest also requires some knowledge:

• When your head is lower than your body, more blood rushes to it. This can cause increased intracranial pressure, dizziness, and darkening of the eyes. It is dangerous for elderly people to perform such tricks.
• Taking dumbbells from this position is not very convenient. This is where you need the help of a gymmate or coach.

An exercise is done in 3-4 sets of 10-12 repetitions. We work to failure! If we clog a muscle, we work with small weights.

When you are done with the dumbbell bench press with a downward slope, stand up slowly. If you stand up abruptly, there may be problems with your head - it will spin.

Major mistakes

pay attention to following errors and try to avoid them:

1. If you choose too much weight, then during execution you will involuntarily make jerks. The movement will be incorrect, it will be difficult to stabilize it, and as a result, you may simply not be able to maintain the weight.
2. A very important nuance - during the exercise, try to take your elbows to the sides of the body at a right angle. That is, the right and left shoulder in the lower position forms one straight line when viewed from above. When you press your elbows against the body, or keep them closer to the head, the meaning of the exercise is lost.
3. Wrong insurance. The problem is that most people do not know how best to feed dumbbells to an upside-down athlete. So, he takes one dumbbell himself. Lies on the original one and then you give it the second one. When working with a positive angle of 45 or 30 degrees, the person usually lifts the dumbbells himself.
4. Sometimes there is such a mistake: a raised head, gazes to the sides, and sometimes it is just a head hanging from the edge of the bench. The head should fit snugly with the back of the head in the bench.
5. Trying to do a dumbbell press upside down without fixing the legs. You understand that this is fraught with your debut slide down.
6. The correct speed of movement is an important component of the success of any workout. We make smooth, slow, clear movements. Technique is the key to achieving the desired results.

Dumbbell bench press and weight gain

Achieve significant growth muscle mass thanks to only one press of dumbbells, including at angles of 30 and 45 degrees - it is almost unrealistic. It is advisable to give the muscles a complex load with weights close to or exceeding your body weight (for experienced athletes). We are talking about men. For women, of course, these limits will be smaller.

If increased mass growth is not among your priorities, and you just want to keep your muscles in good shape, you can use dumbbells to quite effectively “drive blood” both sitting and lying down.

Press with one hand

It makes no sense to do a dumbbell press with one hand. First, you strain yourself once more to keep your body in balance. Secondly - why do you need a second hand then?

One-arm dumbbell bench press is an exercise rather for those who, for some reason, cannot use the other hand. Only in these cases should you resort to this option.

Dumbbell bench press on fitball

For people with lower back pain, doing bench presses can be problematic. In order to relieve the lower part of the spine, you can do the exercise on a fitball. With very light weights, this exercise option can be done even during pregnancy.

Dumbbell bench press lying on a fitball is performed by analogy with a bench press: the technique is the same here, you just lean top back on the ball.

If you systematically perform a dumbbell press lying on a horizontal bench, you can quickly and effectively pump the entire chest muscles. By changing the angle of inclination of the body, it is possible to work more on the upper, lower or central part of the chest. You can perform a dumbbell press lying on a bench at an angle of 30, 60 or 45 degrees, and even upside down. The technique is suitable for men and women, you just need to choose the right weight and develop a training scheme.

On a note! Since many women are afraid to do the bench press, the dumbbell exercise option is ideal for them. With this exercise, girls will be able to pump up the muscles that are under the mammary glands. This lifts the chest.

What muscles are involved?

Similar to the barbell press, this basic dumbbell exercise helps you build your chest muscles quickly and effectively. It is on them that the main load is transferred. In addition, the triceps work, as well as the front delta bundles.

The load can be shifted by changing the position of the body. When exercising a dumbbell press lying on a horizontal bench, the central part of the chest is more effectively worked out. If you do it on a bench with a slope, the main load goes to upper muscles... When performing a press with your head down, you can use the lower part of the chest muscles.

Horizontal Bench Press Technique

How effective the dumbbell bench press will be is influenced by the execution technique. You should also choose the dumbbells of the optimal weight. You can add extra comfort by placing a towel under your head and back.

Technique for the execution of the classic dumbbell press lying on a horizontal bench:

1. Lie horizontally on a bench or bench. The entire body, from the head to the pelvis, should be on the surface. Spread your legs at an angle of about 60 degrees, and rest your feet on the floor. It is necessary to fix the position horizontally so that, at the slightest deviation of the load, it does not fall on its side.
2. Having taken the starting position and picking up the dumbbells, you can begin to perform the exercise. Raise your hands with inventory up. The palms are turned away from you, the arms are straight. The inventory handles are parallel to each other. The dumbbells should be in line, in the same way as holding the barbell.
3. Take your time, put your hands down. Having reached the lowest possible point, you can feel the load on the chest muscles, feel how they are stretched.
4. Raise the dumbbells again.

It is enough to do 3 approaches several times.

The final result is also influenced by the correct breathing technique. On the exhalation, carried out through the mouth, the weight is lifted, and on the inhalation made through the nose, the dumbbells are lowered down.

Other versions

In addition to the standard dumbbell bench press technique, there are other ways to do the exercise. Some of them are described below.

Incline dumbbell bench press

In fact, the technique for performing this exercise is not much different from the previous one. The difference lies in some nuances:

• the body is not lying on a horizontal bench, but at an angle;
• in order not to slide down, it is necessary to slightly raise the edge of the bench where the lower body is located;
• the legs will have to be spread wider than in the classical execution of the exercise in order to maintain balance.

Depending on the angle of inclination, the main load goes to a certain part of the chest. It is important to replace that doing the dumbbell bench press at an angle is worth after mastering the basic press with a barbell.

If your lower pectoral muscles are lagging behind the rest, you can do a face-down press once a week. The technique for performing the exercise is similar to the others. However, the change in position obliges to emphasize the toes of the feet on the floor.

Downward Bent Dumbbell Press

It is worth noting that you can only press on an incline bench with a positive slope. But this exercise is more preferable for experienced athletes, and not for beginners. It is more difficult to give, but it provides excellent and quick results.

When bench pressing dumbbells, incline down, you also need to consider several important nuances. For example, when the head is lowered below the rest of the body, a large amount of blood begins to flow into the brain, so when symptoms such as dizziness, blurred consciousness, and others appear, it is worth stopping the exercise and taking the usual posture. It is not recommended to do presses in this performance for people over 50 years old, in the presence of certain diseases associated with pressure or heart function. It should be understood that, sitting on a bench with his head down, it is inconvenient to pick up dumbbells, it is worth using outside help.

One-handed dumbbell bench press

It is quite possible to perform a dumbbell bench press with one hand. True, this version of the exercise for healthy people is meaningless. Indeed, in this case, you will have to load one hand, while the other will be at rest. It is worth noting that the press of a dumbbell or kettlebell with one hand is more suitable for people who, for some serious reason, cannot use the other limb. In other cases, it is undesirable to use this method of pressing dumbbells.

However, there is such a thing as "alternate" dumbbell bench press. In this case, each side is worked out separately. In fact, the same one-sided press is performed, but after one cycle of exercises a second one follows, but it is already performed on the other side.

Of course, it may seem to some that the bench press technique is not difficult. In fact, this is not the case. It is quite difficult for physically unprepared people to do the exercise.

In order not to get unpleasant consequences, you need to avoid certain mistakes:

• you do not need to make sudden movements, they should all be smooth;
• it is forbidden to suddenly throw equipment on the floor when the body is lying on the bench, since this can injure the shoulder joints;
• when performing presses, the legs must be immobilized and stable;
• as you know, novice athletes try to survive the dumbbells parallel to each other, but experts say that this should be done diagonally;
• Another common mistake for beginners is the use of a lot of weight, you must first master the technique with light equipment and only then choose the best option for yourself;
• having reached the top point, dumbbells or weights should not hit each other, although they need to be at a close distance;
• at the lowest point, long breaks are undesirable, the muscles must work without interruption;
• Before each workout, a warm-up is required to warm up the muscles and avoid injury.

In addition, there are certain technical points that you need to know when doing a dumbbell bench press:

• if it is difficult to throw the equipment on your chest, you should ask a friend or coach for help;
• if you press on a large bench, the pectoral muscles will be difficult to stretch;
• when using collapsible dumbbells, it is important to check their strength, if the structure disintegrates during exercise, it can cause injury;
• if the exercise is completed and you need to lower the dumbbells to the floor, and there are no assistants nearby, you need to smoothly spread your arms to the sides and slowly put the equipment;
• you can choose a bench press trajectory suitable for yourself on your own, after conducting several experiments and feeling the pectoral muscles;
• in order to transfer the maximum load on the chest muscles, it is necessary to squeeze the dumbbells up with their help, and not with the whole body;
• the back should be straight, but the natural deflection of the spine should be preserved;
• lifting and lowering the dumbbells should be carried out synchronously, the equipment should move in the same plane.

Main advantages

In the end, I would like to note several main advantages for which the dumbbell press is valued more than the barbell press:

• greater range of motion;
• the ability to separately work out each side of the pectoral muscles;
• the ability to practice without an assistant;
• several execution options.

Thus, the dumbbell bench press is suitable not only for beginners, but also for more experienced athletes, whose goal is to effectively work out the pectoral muscles.

Video: lying dumbbell press technique

Dumbbell bench press lying on a horizontal bench is a bodybuilding exercise that trains the entire chest well. The difference between a dumbbell press and a barbell bench press from a lying chest is that with the help of dumbbells you can set a large range of motion, thereby stretching the muscle more and increasing efficiency. In addition, there is no strong pressure on the hands, since the dumbbell can be held as you like.

Perfect for gaining breast mass. There are also some difficulties in performing this exercise - you will have to strain your arms more in order to balance the dumbbells in a working position. Besides, total weight dumbbells will be less than your working weight with a bench press, but this does not in any way reduce the effectiveness of the exercise.

Dumbbell bench press technique lying on a horizontal bench:

Lie on a bench and press your buttocks and lower back. Keep them pressed against the bench throughout the exercise. Place your feet on the floor and rest on them. Take the dumbbells in your hands (or ask them to hand them to you). Begin to lower the dumbbells in a controlled manner to about the level of the lower chest. At the lowest point, try to stretch your pectoral muscles as much as possible and feel this stretch. From the bottom (having achieved maximum stretch), squeeze them up with force. The arms should be at a 45 degree angle to the body. Do not press your elbows against the body and do not spread them too far to the sides. At the bottom, your forearms should be perpendicular to the floor. Dumbbell bench press is an exercise in which performing at speed can result in a shoulder injury, so perform all movements smoothly and under control. Watch your breathing, breathe in when lowering the dumbbells, and exhale when raising them.

1. Dumbbell bench press is an exercise in which it is better to ask someone to back you up. Although the dumbbells can be dropped if something happens, an extra safety net will not hurt.
2. If you feel that you can no longer squeeze the dumbbells up, then you can simply throw them down.
3. Do not take dumbbells that are too heavy, otherwise you will automatically press with triceps to somehow squeeze the dumbbells up. The feeling that you have pressed too much weight and thus created more stress on the muscle will be imaginary, since most of the load will go from the target muscle to the triceps.

Errors in the exercise of a dumbbell press lying on a horizontal bench:

1. They flex the lower back. In this case, the load from the chest is distributed over many extra muscles, thereby removing the maximum load from the chest.
2. Breeding arms strongly to the sides. With this design, the load on shoulder joints and you can get hurt.
3. Incomplete range of motion. In this case, you do not stretch the muscle enough, thereby reducing the effect of the exercise.

Execution options:

Important! To prevent injury, observe correct technique performing a dumbbell press lying on a horizontal bench.

Watch a video about dumbbell bench press on a horizontal bench:

- one of the best basic exercises for working out the pectoral muscles. The dumbbell press is great alternative bench press. When working with dumbbells, many athletes feel the load on the chest better, also in this exercise you can work without a partner and there are no long queues for the barbell. But unfortunately, few visitors to gyms are able to perform dumbbell presses correctly technically, which significantly decreases the effectiveness of the training.

During the bench press with dumbbells lying, most of the load is received by the pectoral muscles, depending on the angle of inclination of the bench, the load can be accentuated on the middle, upper or lower beams of the chest. Also, when pressing, triceps, front deltas and stabilizer muscles are involved.

Execution technique

• Take the dumbbells in your hands and place them on your knees. Lie on a bench and take a starting position, help to throw the dumbbells with your knees.
• Inhale and evenly squeeze both dumbbells up. Exhale on the hardest part of the press.
• Take another breath and gently lower the dumbbells to starting position... Do the required number of repetitions.
• If you do not want to overload the triceps, then during the bench press, do not straighten your arms to the end.

​

Dumbbell press options

The dumbbell bench press can be performed on a bench with different angles tilt. A horizontal bench concentrates the load on the mid-chest, a negative slope trains the lower pectorals, and a bench with a positive slope trains the upper pectoral muscles. Most often, the bench press is performed with a positive incline (angle from 25 to 40 degrees), since the upper chest for most athletes is lagging behind. The same can be said about the barbell press - now more and more athletes are abandoning the horizontal bench and switching to the incline.

We considered the technique of execution and other features of the press with dumbbells on an incline bench in.

A set of exercises for chest training

• Bench press lying on an incline bench (2 warm-up + 3 working sets of 10-12 reps);
• Dumbbell bench press lying on an inclined or horizontal bench (2 warm-up + 3 working sets of 10-12 reps);
• (2 warm-ups + 3 working sets of 10-12 repetitions).

As a rule, this set of exercises is enough to completely deplete the pectoral muscles. If your training experience exceeds several years, then you can safely add more or

Video: Technique for doing bench press with dumbbells

​