Incline Dumbbell Bench Press

The incline dumbbell bench press, unlike the basic barbell version, involves pressing a pair of dumbbells straight above your chest. It does not let you lift as heavy as the incline barbell bench press.

How to do Incline Dumbbell Bench Press

Lay back on an incline bench, holding a pair of dumbbells with a neutral grip and placing them with their heads on top of your thighs. Push the weights up using your thighs and lift the dumbbells to shoulder width. Rotate your wrists so that your palms are facing forward. Push the dumbbells up using your chest and pause for one second at the lockout position. Lower the weights slowly back to the initial position.

Incline DB Bench Press Tips

• Keep your pecs under more tension by not locking out at the top of the movement.
• Prevent the weights from colliding at the top, which might result in loss of shoulder stability and injure your shoulders.
• Make sure to keep your feet flat on the ground and lower body stationary during the entire movement.
• You can adjust the angle on the incline bench you are using by setting it to 20, 30, or 45 degrees.

Variations

1. Alternating Incline Dumbbell Bench Press: Performed by lifting one of the dumbbells, while keeping the other close to your chest and then repeating the same movement with the other.
2. Single Arm Incline Dumbbell Bench Press: Performed by holding one dumbbell and then doing the same movement as in the basic version.

Alternative Exercise

Smith Machine Incline Bench Press