Incline Dumbbell Bench Press: Gym Shorts (How To)

How to Incline Dumbbell Bench Press

Gym Shorts videos provide short video demonstrations of correct form for various exercises.

Incline Dumbbell Bench Press Correct Form: Follow These Steps

• Lie back: keep your arms flexed and the dumbbell close to your torso
• Bench: 30 to 60 degrees
• Seat: flat or slightly elevated
• Setup: chest arched and shoulders back (just like a bench press)
• Lock out over shoulders
• Bring dumbbells down as far as you can
• Gaze at point on ceiling
• Breathe and pause at the top
• Wrists over elbows
• Feet flat and shoulder width
• Arms 45-70 degrees from body
• Don’t flare your elbows
• Move dumbbells to thighs as you sit up

What is the Incline Dumbbell Bench Press

This requires equipment that many home gym lifters lack: an adjustable bench and either a set of dumbbells or adjustable dumbbells.

If you have the ability and equipment to perform this movement, however, this is a great accessory lift to help both the bench press or press.

A more vertical back assists the press more (60 degrees), a more horizontal back aids the bench press more (30 degrees), but the default is right in the middle at 45 degrees.

This exercise, compared to the bench press, has a higher touch point at the top of the pecs just below the collar bone.

This exercise primarily trains the muscles of the pectoralis major, anterior deltoids, and triceps brachii.

Programming the Incline Dumbbell Bench Press

As a dumbbell accessory lift, this lift is primarily programmed for hypertrophy, not driving up its 1RM or similar low-rep PRs.

Because of this, lifters tend to perform 2-5 sets of 6-20 repetitions.

This exercise is usually performed on an upper body day following the primary, supplemental, and upper body pulling lift. It can be performed in a circuit or superset to reduce the workout duration.

In more bodybuilding programming, it can be performed on more of a chest, triceps, shoulder day.

Click HERE to watch our gym short video on the incline bench press and HERE to read an article on the muscles worked during the bench press.