What muscles does the dumbbell bench press work?

Mainly the chest, with the triceps and the front of the shoulders helping.

Is the dumbbell bench press better than the barbell bench press?

Neither is better for everyone. In one study, dumbbells worked the chest about as hard with 17% less weight; the barbell lets you lift more and add weight in smaller steps.

How do I convert my barbell bench to dumbbells?

Roughly: take your barbell weight, subtract about 15 to 20%, and split it over the two dumbbells. A 100kg bench press often means pressing about 40kg dumbbells for the same reps.

How do I get heavy dumbbells into position?

Sit with them on your thighs, then lie back and kick them up with your knees as your back reaches the bench.

Dumbbell Bench Press: Muscles Worked and Form

How to do a dumbbell bench press

Sit on the end of a flat bench with the dumbbells standing on your thighs, close to your knees.
Lie back and use your knees to help bring the dumbbells to your chest as you go. Hold them above your chest, arms straight.
Pull your shoulder blades back and down into the bench and plant your feet.
Lower the dumbbells to the sides of your chest, elbows angled back at about 45 degrees, forearms vertical.
Go down until you feel a stretch across your chest, usually with the dumbbells about level with your chest.
Press them back up and slightly together until your arms are straight above your chest.

Cues that help

"Forearms vertical": the dumbbells stay right above your elbows the whole way.
"Press up and in": the dumbbells finish close together, but don’t clang them.
"Chest up, shoulders back": the same tight upper back as on a barbell bench.
"Control the stretch": the bottom is where the dumbbells pull you out of position.

Common mistakes

Fighting the dumbbells into place. Use the knee kick to get them up, it saves your shoulders and your energy.
Letting the dumbbells drift too low and wide, beyond a comfortable stretch, which strains the front of the shoulders.
Elbows flared out at 90 degrees.
Dropping the dumbbells from full arm length at the end of a set. Bring them to your chest first, then sit up or lower them to the floor.

Dumbbells or barbell?

In a study of 12 trained men, the heaviest dumbbells they could press were 17% lighter than their barbell maximum, and 14% lighter than on a Smith machine (Saeterbakken et al., 2011). Even so, chest and front shoulder activity were about the same in all three. Triceps activity was lower with dumbbells, and the biceps worked more, to stabilise the weights.

So dumbbells train your chest about as well with less weight, and are kinder to shoulders that dislike a fixed bar. The barbell lets you lift more and is easier to load in small steps. Many programmes use both.

Sets, reps and weight

For muscle: 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps, resting 2 minutes.
Leave 1 to 2 reps in reserve: getting stuck at the bottom with heavy dumbbells is awkward.
Dumbbell jumps are big, so add reps first and move up a pair once you reach the top of your rep range on every set.

Safety

If a rep fails, lower the dumbbells to your chest and roll them down to your sides; never try to hold them out over your face.
With heavy dumbbells, ask someone to hand them to you, or to spot your wrists.

Variations and alternatives

Bench press: the barbell version, for heavier loads.
Incline dumbbell press: the same with a tilted bench, for more upper chest.
Chest press machine: a fixed path with no balancing.
Push-up: the same movement with your body weight, anywhere.

Tracking your dumbbell bench press

PushBeyond logs the weight and reps of each set and charts the history of the exercise. Its muscle map counts the dumbbell bench press for your chest, with your triceps and shoulders as helpers.

Dumbbell bench press: muscles worked and how to do it

At a glance