Dumbbell Fly
Muscles worked: Chest.
How to do it
- Lie down on a flat bench with a dumbbell on each hand resting on top of your thighs.
- Then using your thighs to help raise the dumbbells, lift the dumbbells one at a time so you can hold them in front of you at shoulder width with the palms of your hands facing each other.
- With a slight bend on your elbows in order to prevent stress at the biceps tendon, lower your arms out at both sides in a wide arc until you feel a stretch on your chest.
- Return your arms back to the starting position as you squeeze your chest muscles and breathe out.
- Hold for a second at the contracted position and repeat the movement for the prescribed amount of repetitions.
Coaching cues
The two cues IronPack shows on this exercise's card mid-workout:
- Wide arc, slight elbow bend
- Stretch is the stimulus - don't go too heavy
Logging it
IronPack suggests working in the 10 to 15 rep range, progressing in 1 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
- Dumbbell Bench Press - chest
- Incline Dumbbell Press - chest
- Incline Barbell Press - chest
Track the dumbbell fly 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.
Get IronPack free on the App StoreFree download, iPhone. Currently on the New Zealand App Store, wider rollout to follow.
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.