Dumbbell Bench Press
Muscles worked: Chest (assisted by triceps, front delts).
How to do it
- Lie down on a flat bench with a dumbbell in each hand resting on top of your thighs.
- Then, using your thighs to help raise the dumbbells up, lift the dumbbells one at a time so that you can hold them in front of you at shoulder width.
- Once at shoulder width, rotate your wrists forward so that the palms of your hands are facing away from you.
- Then, as you breathe out, use your chest to push the dumbbells up.
- Repeat the movement for the prescribed amount of repetitions of your training program.
Coaching cues
The two cues IronPack shows on this exercise's card mid-workout:
- Elbows ~45° from torso
- Press up and slightly in, dumbbells over chest at top
Logging it
IronPack suggests working in the 6 to 10 rep range, progressing in 2 kg jumps when you own the top of the range. Records are tracked automatically at every rep count from 1 to 12. Check your estimated 1RM from any hard set.
Related exercises
- Barbell Bench Press - chest
- Incline Dumbbell Press - chest
- Incline Barbell Press - chest
- Dips - chest, triceps
Track the dumbbell bench press properly
IronPack logs every set, tracks your records at every rep count, shows these form photos mid-workout, and turns the training into a card game you play with your mates.
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Photos and steps: free-exercise-db (public domain). Cues, muscle weighting and logging guidance are IronPack's own app data. Last generated 2026-07-17.