Pectoral exercise Developed with dumbbells

Developed with dumbbellsPectoral exercise

Developed lying dumbbells

The bench press is a basic exercise to target the pectorals. It can be executed with a bar or on a machine. But, with dumbbells, it has the advantage of allowing a more natural movement, a better contraction of the pecs and a greater stretching of the muscles. It is an exercise that uses the stabilizing muscles and is not as easy to master as the bench press. Indeed, the body must first get used to finding balance. Because stabilization adds difficulty, it is not possible to lift as heavy as with a bar.

Muscles used

The bench press mainly solicits the large and small pectoral. But, it also involves the triceps and the front of the shoulders (the anterior deltoids). Performed with dumbbells, it involves the stabilizing muscles such as serratus and coraco-brachial.

Execution of the exercise

Grasp the dumbbells in pronation. Lie on a flat bench, back against the back, and place your feet on the floor. Position yourself with the dumbbells on each side of the torso, tighten the shoulder blades so that your shoulders sit back. They must not move forward during movement.

Push each dumbbell upwards in a converging motion, contracting the pecs, until your arms are stretched and the dumbbells gathered over your head. Then, go back down to the starting position and repeat until the end of your series.

Breathing

Blow when you push the dumbbells up. Then inhale down. It is possible to block breathing during the most difficult part of the movement, when using a really heavy load.

Safety instructions

If you have never performed the movement and, especially if you are a beginner, it is recommended to start your work with a light load, in order to get used to the movement. Even for a non-beginner practitioner, who has never worked with free loads, it can be difficult to control the dumbbells. So it is better to learn to stabilize them before charging heavier. Otherwise, you risk going too far back and damaging your shoulders.

If your arms are long and your torso narrow, it is better not to go down too low as this could over-stretch your pectorals and hurt you.

Keep your back against the bench, avoid over-arching. If you want, it is even possible to practice the exercise with the feet on the bench, legs at 45 degrees, in order to have a straight back. Attention, however, this posture is less stable.

When working hard or to failure, it is advisable to have the help of a partner in case you lose balance. If you are using heavy dumbbells, be careful when handling them. Whether it's before or especially after your series. It is easy to get hurt, carried away by their weight.

To position yourself on the bench, you can grab the dumbbells as for a raised ground, then sit with the dumbbells on your knees and finally tip back onto the bench. To get up, bend your legs towards you, place the dumbbells on your knees and tip forward using this counterweight.

Developed lying dumbbells

Tips for the developed dumbbells

With the dumbbells, the movement is more difficult than at the bar. Use slightly heavier loads. Generally, a 15% decrease in total load is recommended.

To accentuate the demand of the pectorals, mark a time of stop at the top of the movement, contracting strongly the muscles.

Do not knock the dumbbells against each other at the top of the movement, this only facilitates movement and reduces the time under tension by making exercise less effective.

During the climb, it is possible to gain a little strength by pushing on the feet and contracting the buttocks to gain stability. However, it is not necessary to take off the basin of the bench.

variants

As with the bench press, you can practice the dumbbell bench press to tip the upper part of the pectorals.

Dumbbell-develops can be done with a neutral grip. Thus, the pectoralis major is less stressed and the triceps, as well as the anterior deltoids, work more. This position is interesting to continue to train the chest even with a shoulder that is painful.

Developed inclined dumbbells neutral grip

The main variants to the coated dumbbell are the developed coated at the bar and machine. But it is also possible to solicit the pectorals thanks to pulleys.

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