The dumbbell bench press is an exercise that require total body coordination. It is also an exercise that is more difficult to perform with dumbbells than the barbell bench press because the dumbbells dont provide the same rail to assist with the movement of weight. When performing the dumbbell bench press, the body utilize its stabilizer muscle to control the movement of the dumbbells.
These muscles have to work more harder during the performance of the dumbbell bench press as compared to the barbell bench press. These stabilizer muscles include the muscle in the rotator cuff and the core of the body. Many individuals use the concept of strength standards in the performance of the dumbbell bench press exercises.
How to Do the Dumbbell Bench Press
Strength standards is used to help individuals with tracking there progress in the exercise. A novice lifter will use lower strength standard as compared with an intermediate lifter. An intermediate lifter who has trained with weights for approximately six month will have higher standards compared with a beginner lifter.
An intermediate lifter may aim to press dumbbells that equals their total body weight. However, the lifter should always focus on proper form with the exercise rather then the weight lifted. The dumbbell bench press allow for a deeper range of motion in comparison with the barbell bench press exercise.
The deeper range of motion during the exercise will deepen the stretch of the pectoral muscle. The deeper stretch of the pec major muscles lead to more muscle growth, or hypertrophy, of those muscles. Additionally, the dumbbell bench press will also result in more activation of the muscles that support the movement of the dumbbells, such as the upper back and serratus muscle.
These muscles are activated to provide additional stability for the moving dumbbells. Using the dumbbell bench press can help fix muscle imbalance in the body. This is accomplished by forcing each dumbbell to be move indepandently of the other dumbbell.
To perform the dumbbell bench press with proper technique, the feet should be planted flat on the floor and the lifter should retract the scapula. The dumbbells should be stacked on the wrist. The elbows should be at a 45-degree angle to the body.
The dumbbells should be lowered slow to the outer chest in a period of two to three seconds. The lifter should then press the weights upward in conjunction with exhale the breath. The core should be braced as the dumbbells are lowered.
If the form isnt maintained throughout the exercise, the lifter may strain their shoulder muscle instead of their chest muscles. There are a variety of rep schemes for the dumbbell bench press exercise. If the goal is strength with the dumbbell bench press, perform four to six repetitions of pressing the dumbbells to the chest at high strength.
Rest for three minute between each set of repetitions. If the goal is to develop muscle size, or hypertrophy, perform eight to twelve repetitions at a moderate strength level. Allow sixty to ninety seconds of rest between sets.
If the goal is to develop explosive power with the dumbbell press, perform three to five explosive repetitions of the exercise. If the goal for the body is endurance with the dumbbell bench press exercises, perform fifteen to twenty repetitions with lighter dumbbell weight. There are a variety of variation to the dumbbell bench press exercises.
One variation is to perform an incline dumbbell press to a 30-degree angle to target the upper chest muscle. A decline dumbbell press can be used to target the lower chest muscles. Using a neutral grip on the dumbbells can help to reduce the stress place on the shoulders.
Paused repetitions can also be performed to increase the time under tension for each of the muscle. Performing various types of dumbbell bench press exercises ensure that the training program for the muscles is more diverse. Additionally, performing each of these variations can help to target specific muscle fibers within the body.
Finally, there are specific pieces of equipment that should be used to perform the dumbbell bench press. The dumbbell weights should allow for small increment in the weights used to allow for incremental development of strength. Twenty-five or fifty-pound increments in the dumbbell weights are preferred.
Use a weight bench that can take a high amount of weight to ensure that the equipment is safe for the lifter. If the lifter is tracking the strength standards each week with the dumbbell press exercise, the lifter will be able to determine if they are meeting there goals for the weight lifted.
