Incline Bench Press Technique
Incline Dumbbell Bench Press Technique: How to Pump-Up Your Chest Like a Warrior |
The Incline Dumbbell Bench Press is another great exercise for adding strength, muscle mass, and power to your chest, shoulder, and arm muscles. Although you will use significantly less weight than you use for the Flat Barbell Bench Press, your upper-body will be working differently by pressing dumbbells instead of the barbell. When pressing dumbbells, your stabilizing muscles are called on to prevent you from losing control of the dumbbells. Additionally, pressing on the incline bench causes your chest and shoulder muscles to be hit from a different angle than on the flat bench.
Muscles worked during the Incline Dumbbell Bench Press |
• Chest (Pectorals)
• Front Shoulders (Anterior Deltoids)
• Arms (Triceps)
It is important to learn how to perform the Incline Dumbbell Bench Press to receive all of its benefits and avoid injuries, particularly to the shoulder and elbow joints.
Incline Dumbbell Bench Press Step 1: Setting Up |
The set-up is crucial for performing the exercise properly. You must be in a tight and stabilized position before and throughout the movement.
• First, tightly grab two dumbbells of the same weight and walk to an incline bench.
• Sit down on the incline bench with the dumbbell in your left hand resting on your left thigh, and the dumbbell in your right hand resting on your right thigh. Your palms should be facing each other as you hold the dumbbells.
• As you lean back to lie against the incline bench, kick-up both dumbbells with your legs until they are resting on your shoulders.
Head Position: Adjust your body (slide your back up or down the bench) so that your head and back are firmly pressed against the bench. Keep your chin tucked, and your eyes looking above.
Hand Position: Position the dumbbells so they are resting on your upper chest/front shoulders. Make sure your palms are facing each other, and your elbows are tucked and directly under your wrists. Hold the dumbbells low in your hands (as close to your wrists and away from your fingers as possible) to prevent the weight of the dumbbells from bending your wrists and placing stress on your elbows. Be sure to wrap your thumbs around the dumbbells, and squeeze them as hard as you can. A “thumbless” grip can be extremely dangerous because you have less control of the weights.
Upper-body Position: Puff your chest out by pulling your shoulder blades together and pressing your back against the bench. Keep everything tight. This position will make your body a more stable surface to push from, allowing you to press more weight. It will also place less stress on your shoulder joints.
Feet Position: Your feet should be flat on the ground, and about 30 inches apart. Try to drive your heels into the floor.
Now that you have gotten into that tight position, you must hold it throughout your entire set.
Incline Dumbbell Bench Press Step 2: Bench! |
As you are incline pressing, remember to keep your chest out, shoulder blades pinched together, back against the bench, and feet firmly on the ground.
• First, take a big breath. As you release the air by breathing out, explosively push or “press” the dumbbells in a straight line directly above your upper-chest by extending your arms. Keep your palms facing each other, and your elbows tucked to your sides. Squeeze the dumbbells as hard as you can as you are doing this.
• Slowly lower the dumbbells in a straight line until they touch the sides of your upper-chest. As you are doing this, try to keep your elbows tucked to your sides, and your wrists in line with your elbows. Do not follow the dumbbells with your eyes as you lower them to your chest; keep looking up.
• Once the dumbbells touch your upper-chest, pause for a second to eliminate the tendency to bounce them off your chest.
• Repeat from the first bullet-point of Step 3.
Practice this technique with low-weight dumbbells until you have developed muscle memory. The movement may seem awkward at first but it will become more comfortable as you continue practicing it. Remember to stay 100% focused during every single rep!
Disclaimer: There are risks associated with any physical regime. When you use the information provided on this site you do so at your own risk, and Bright 'N Fit and its founders are not responsible for any losses or damages of any kind.
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