Dumbbell Incline Bench Press
What Is the Dumbbell Incline Bench Press?
Dumbbell Incline Bench Press is a compound exercise that primarily targets the chest and also engages the shoulders and triceps. It is an intermediate-level movement performed on an adjustable bench set to a moderate incline, roughly 30 to 45 degrees above horizontal, with a dumbbell in each hand and the palms turned toward your feet. Because each arm carries its own weight, the dumbbells spread wider at the bottom than a bar allows and travel in toward each other as you press.
The bench angle is what separates this from the flat Dumbbell Bench Press, and it has been measured rather than guessed. In 30 resistance-trained adults pressing a barbell at 60% of their one-rep max across five bench angles, the upper portion of the pectoralis major was most active at a 30 degree bench angle, while inclines above 45 degrees significantly raised anterior deltoid activity and reduced what the pectoralis major contributed. The middle and lower portions were most active on the flat bench in that same study. So the incline biases the work toward the collarbone end of the chest and toward the front of the shoulder, but it does not isolate a region: the whole pectoralis major contracts on every repetition, and the flat and decline presses are complements to this one rather than lesser versions of it.
In a program the incline dumbbell press usually sits as the first chest movement of a session, or as the second press after a flat bench press or the Barbell Incline Bench Press. It is not a competition lift and no standard strength test is built on it, so there is no benchmark to chase: sets of 6 to 12 repetitions with a weight you can control on the way down cover both the strength and the size reasons people program it. Expect to handle noticeably less than on a flat press, because the shoulder position is less favorable and the front of the shoulder takes a larger share of the load.
It suits lifters who already press dumbbells comfortably on a flat bench, since the setup is the hard part: getting two heavy dumbbells into position on an incline takes practice, and there is no rack to catch them if a repetition stalls. If that is the sticking point, build up with the flat Dumbbell Bench Press or the Machine Incline Bench Press, where the handles start in position and the path is fixed. Thinking about driving the dumbbells up and slightly together, rather than simply up, keeps the chest doing the work instead of letting the shoulders take the press over.
Muscles Worked
- Pectoralis Major
- Primary
- Deltoid
- High
- Flexor Carpi Radialis
- Minimal
- Rectus Abdominis (Lower)
- Minimal
Instructions
- Set an adjustable bench to a moderate incline, around 30 to 45 degrees above horizontal, and sit down with a dumbbell standing on each thigh.
- Plant both feet flat on the floor with your knees bent, so your legs give you a stable base.
- Lie back against the pad, using your thighs to drive the dumbbells up to the sides of your chest as you go, and rest your head on the bench.
- Pull your shoulder blades back and down against the pad and keep them there for the whole set.
- Turn your palms to face your feet so the dumbbells sit level across your chest, with your knuckles stacked over your forearms.
- Press both dumbbells up and slightly inward until your elbows are straight and the dumbbells are close together above your upper chest.
- Lower them under control, letting your elbows travel down and back at a moderate angle rather than straight out to the sides.
- Stop when the dumbbells reach the sides of your upper chest and your elbows are roughly level with your torso.
- Press back up along the same path, keeping your hips and shoulders in contact with the bench, and repeat for the required repetitions.
- To finish, bring the dumbbells to your chest, guide them down onto your thighs, and use that momentum to sit up and set them on the floor.
Common Mistakes
Setting the bench too steep
Past about 45 degrees the front of the shoulder takes over the press and the chest handles less, so a bench angle near vertical turns the exercise into an awkward shoulder press.
Flaring the elbows straight out
Letting the upper arms line up square with your shoulders puts the joint in its most exposed position at the bottom, so keep the elbows traveling down and back at a moderate angle to the torso.
Lifting the hips off the bench
Driving the hips up to grind out a heavy repetition flattens the angle your chest actually works at and turns the set back into a flat press.
Sinking the dumbbells too low
Dumbbells will let the elbows drop far below the line of your chest, and pushing into that end range loads the front of the shoulder without adding anything for the chest.
Letting the wrists bend back
A dumbbell that settles behind the forearm cocks the wrist into extension under load, so keep the knuckles stacked over the forearm from the bottom to the top.
Swinging the dumbbells into position
Hoisting heavy dumbbells straight up from the floor or from a seated position loads the shoulder at an angle it cannot control, so rest them on your thighs and drive them up as you lie back.
Injuries
Dumbbell Incline Bench Press is a medium risk exercise when performed with proper technique. Two independent weights sit over your head and upper chest with no rack underneath them, and the incline puts the shoulder into more flexion at the top than a flat press does, so both the bottom of each repetition and the moment you run out of strength deserve care.
The front of the shoulder is the first strain point, and it is loaded at the bottom, not at the top. Dumbbells let the elbows sink well below the line of the chest, and with the upper arms flared straight out to the sides that end range puts the joint into the position it protects itself least well in. The chest muscle itself is the second. Pectoralis major tears are uncommon, but when they happen in a gym it is almost always during heavy bench pressing, at the bottom of a descent the lifter can no longer control. Wrists come third, because a dumbbell allowed to settle behind the forearm cocks the wrist backward under load.
Keep your shoulder blades pulled back and down against the pad for the whole set, let the elbows travel down and back at a moderate angle instead of straight out to the sides, and end the descent when the dumbbells reach the sides of your upper chest rather than chasing depth. Keep the knuckles stacked over the forearms. Getting into and out of position is its own risk: bring the dumbbells up on your thighs and drive them to your chest as you lie back, and reverse that at the end of the set instead of lowering the arms out wide to set the weights down. Leave a repetition or two in reserve when you train alone, or have a spotter at the elbows rather than the wrists.
If the bottom position bothers your shoulder, the Machine Incline Bench Press and the Smith Machine Incline Bench Press both fix the path and give you somewhere to rack the weight, and flattening the bench toward the Dumbbell Bench Press keeps the shoulder in a less demanding position. Move to the Barbell Incline Bench Press when the goal shifts toward heavier loading. Stop the set on sharp pain at the front of the shoulder, on any pulling or tearing sensation near the armpit or the front of the chest, on wrists that collapse backward, or as soon as you can no longer lower the dumbbells under control.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Q: What bench angle should I use?
Anywhere from 30 to 45 degrees. Below 30 degrees you are close to a flat press, and above 45 the front of the shoulder takes enough of the load that the movement starts behaving like a shoulder press.
- Q: Does the incline press really build the upper chest?
The evidence points that way, but it is thinner than the claim usually implies. In 47 untrained men training once a week for eight weeks, the group that trained only the incline barbell press gained more pectoralis major thickness at the upper measurement site than the flat-bench group, though that was one of three sites measured and strength gains were the same in every group.
- Q: How much weight should I use compared with the flat dumbbell press?
Less, and for most people noticeably less. Start with a pair you can get into position on your own and control for 8 to 12 repetitions, then add load once the descent is clean on every rep.
- Q: Is this better than the Barbell Incline Bench Press?
Neither is better, they trade different things. The dumbbells let each arm find its own path and give a wider bottom position, while the Barbell Incline Bench Press takes heavier loading and is far easier to set up and rack.
- Q: Should I still do flat and decline pressing?
Yes. The flat bench is where the middle and lower chest work hardest, and the Dumbbell Decline Bench Press keeps the emphasis at that end, so the incline is one angle in a chest program rather than a replacement for the others.