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The incline dumbbell press is often overlooked because of the bench press and its many exercises. Even so, it is a great way to build muscles in your chest while giving you a good break from the flat bench. This exercise can also help you develop stronger pectoral muscles which will lead to a bigger bench in the end.
It's time to shake up your workout routine with a new upper chest exercise—the incline dumbbell press.
Incline Dumbbell Bench Press Overview
Incline dumbbell presses can be a great exercise for blasting your chest. To perform this exercise, choose a weight that allows you to complete 2–3 sets of 8–12 repetitions. While performing the exercise, maintain good technique by keeping your back straight and your movements fluid.
To do the incline dumbbell press:
- Place two dumbbells in the creases of your hips.
- Lie back on an incline bench and engage your core muscles.
- Press the weights toward the ceiling with your palms facing forward.
- Rotate your shoulders outward to engage your lats, or latissimus dorsi, a broad muscle on either side of the upper back that attaches to both arms and helps you lift them when they’re outstretched toward the ceiling.
- Make sure to keep your upper back tight and stable throughout the entire set.
- Squeeze your chest and push the dumbbells back up to the starting position.
- Push until your arms are extended with a slight bend in your elbows.
- Finish the movement at the top by squeezing your chest.
- Keep the dumbbells close together at the end of each repetition.
Benefits of the Incline Dumbbell Press
Here are some of the reasons why you should include this exercise in your workout routine:
1) Excellent for increasing muscle mass and strength
The incline dumbbell press trains your chest and front delts in a steady stance and across a wide range of motion. It's a fantastic muscle-building formula! Your triceps are also utilized to move things around.
2) Strengthens the chest
The incline dumbbell press targets your upper chest muscles more effectively than flat pressing workouts. Incorporating incline presses into your routine can help you develop your entire pectoral muscle.
3) Keeps muscular balance
The incline dumbbell press can be utilized to detect and correct muscular imbalances from side to side because you're using dumbbells. Allow your weaker side to take the lead, and your stronger side will catch up soon.
4) It is shoulder-friendly
Many people believe that incline pressing is less taxing on their shoulders than flat dumbbells or bench pressing.
Other Variations of the Incline Dumbbell Press
1) Neutral Grip Dumbbell Press
This is a good exercise for those who have shoulder issues, as it requires less rotation than other exercises.
2) Reverse Grip Dumbbell Press
For the same reason as the exercise above, this is another good dumbbell bench press variation if you suffer from shoulder issues.
3) Half-Half-Full Press
If you have a hard time bringing the weight back up during Dumbbell Bench Presses, try switching to the Half-Half-Full Press. It allows you to spend more time at the bottom of the movement, so you can focus on bringing the weight back up from there.
4) Legs on Bench Press
This variation of the move reduces the emphasis on your legs and brings it to your chest, shoulders, and triceps.
5) Crush Grip Dumbbell Press
This dumbbell exercise works your triceps, just like a close-grip bench press, which you can do with a barbell. But you'll need hexagonal dumbbells to do this variation.
6) Floor Press
This variation of the exercise emphasizes the triceps lockout by bringing the exercise to a stop once your arms are straight.
7) One-Arm Floor Press
This variation of the floor press, in which you use one arm to lift a weight while keeping the other arm extended on the floor, will help fix any issues with muscle imbalance in your chest and work the obliques more than regular floor presses.
Tips and Techniques for Incline Dumbbell Press
- Research shows that a 30 to 45 degree angle will best engage your upper chest. If you perform a bench press with an incline of 90 degrees, the focus will be primarily on your shoulders.
- Doing a chest press with a flat bench results in a 0-degree incline and puts the emphasis on your middle chest.
- A 45-degree incline will engage your upper chest muscles but it also involves your deltoids.
- Select dumbbells that are lighter than you'd use for a flat dumbbell bench press and start light while lifting a barbell incline press.
- If you're unsure of the right weight, start light and work your way up until you feel challenged but can still do an entire set using proper form.
Common Mistakes That Can Happen While Performing Incline Dumbbell Press
1) Wrong angle
While you may feel strain on your upper chest from a 45-degree slope, your shoulders will be performing just as much lifting. 30-degrees is the best angle for focusing on your upper chest since it maximizes clavicular head activation.
2) Too much wrist-bending
This is dangerous for your wrists and can cause injury. The wrists should be straight and parallel to the forearms.. Bending them backwards while rising puts them under unnecessary strain.
3) Heavy Dumbbells
Because the incline angle works under-worked chest muscles, you won't be able to raise as much weight as a flat press. Start with a weight you can handle to assist in steady the movement, then gradually increase the weight.
4) Incorrect Form
When you use more weight than you can handle, the weight will be propelled up and down. It may appear to be a workout hack, but it is unsuccessful since the targeted muscles will not be challenged, and the focus will likely transfer to the supporting muscles required to stabilize this fast-paced activity.
Safety and Precautions to Keep in Mind
Incline dumbbell presses are a great exercise for the chest muscles. But if you're new to working out, you should start with light weights. You should be able to do 8 to 12 repetitions of this exercise before your muscles get too tired to go on.
The incline dumbbell press is a safe exercise, but you should be somewhat familiar with strength training before trying it. Start with machine weights or a barbell incline press to get accustomed to the movement, then move on to the incline dumbbell press once you're ready.
If your shoulders are prone to injuries, try the incline press out first with a machine or barbell before attempting it with dumbbells. If you experience any sharp pain during the exercise, stop immediately and choose an alternative exercise.
Bottom Line
If you are looking for something different and fun to work your chest muscles and don’t have access to a machine that allows for incline presses, using a pair of dumbbells would be best.
Just make sure you are using the proper form, especially as you increase the weight of those individual dumbbells during each set. By incorporating it into your workout plan at least once a week, you’ll definitely feel a difference in your upper chest strength overall.
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