Stop Doing Dumbbell Bench Press Like This (I'M BEGGING YOU!)

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Do you really know how to dumbbell bench press for a bigger chest? Look, when it comes to building a bigger chest, the dumbbell bench press my be much more valuable than being a fallback “option” to the classic barbell bench press. In this video, I am going to the show you how to fix the 5 most common mistakes people make when performing the dumbbell press and you my just find that it’s the superior exercise choice for you to make your overall best chest gains.

The first mistake you might be making has to do with your posture. Have you ever noticed what it looks like before you even ready to press the dumbbells? I’m talking about when you’re sitting at the end of the bench with dumbbells on your thighs. Instead of slumping over your dumbbells with your shoulders rounded, sit up tall and pull your shoulders down and back. From here, engage the lats by digging your elbows into your sides.

The easiest way to think about this is to focus on your traps and shoulders. Un-shrug them. Again you should feel your elbows packed tightly against your sides and your chest and lats should already feel engaged. Your posture should be noticeable better regardless of what angle someone looks at you from.

The second mistake is not making sure that your elbows are in there right place. Not getting this right can lead to unnecessary and avoidable shoulder pain whenever you bench press. Instead of making your body a “T”, make yourself a tree. In other words, stop bench pressing with your elbows flared directly out the your sides. Tucking your elbows while keeping your wrists stacked above them at all times will place you in the optimal position to press.

An easy way to make sure that you are getting this right every time you bench press is focus on the dumbbell touch point. Make sure that the inside of the dumbbell touches the outer lower corner of your chest muscle on every rep. Aim for contact right at tis outer portion of the lower chest and the only way you can do this is with a 45-60 degree elbow tuck.

The next mistake you are likely making when performing the dumbbell bench press is allowing the dumbbells to lower without control. While we often focus on the concentric pressing during the lift, not paying attention to the eccentric lowering of the dumbbells is a problem. You should actively be pulling the weight down and engaging your back through the movement. You almost want to “row” the dumbbells to the bottom as opposed to just letting gravity take over. Doing so will ensure that the shoulder blades stay engaged and that the chest doesn’t collapse or disengage in favor of the shoulder muscles at the bottom of the rep.

Speaking of lowering, that brings us to our next mistake; rushing the eccentric. A slow eccentric is perhaps more vital on a dumbbell bench press than it is any other exercise you’ll perform in the gym. This along with the tucked elbows makes the bench press a viable exercise for anyone that stopped due to shoulder pain or discomfort. Remember to slow down the tempo that you use when performing the eccentric portion of this chest exercise. A controlled eccentric will help create stability in the shoulder joint that will likely remove any of the pain and discomfort you were feeling prior.

Another mistake on the dumbbell bench press is ignoring your feet. Yes, your feet! If you engage your feet and create leg drive while pressing the dumbbells up, you will likely experience a 10-15% increase in the amount of weight you can press. Push down into your tows and think about straightening your legs out in front of you like during a leg extension (just keep your feet on the ground during this movement). This will assist you in generating that up and back force you’re using.

The next problem facing the db bench press is allowing your shoulders to dominate the press. Remember, you want to make sure you’re initiating the ascent of the dumbbells with your chest first - think about what your sternum and rib cage are doing. When you press, drive your shoulders back into the bench and reach for the sky with your sternum.

Mistake #7 is forgetting to manipulate the dumbbells in space as you press them up. We know that the function of the pectorals major is to horizontally adduct the arms as you press. To simulate this adduction, tilt your thumbs up to the sky to bring the dumbbells closer to the midline of your chest, almost like bringing your biceps together.

Make sure to stay tuned for a bonus tip!

Jeff Cavaliere MSPT, CSCS served as both the head physical therapist and assistant strength coach for the New York Mets. Jeff earned his Masters of Physical Therapy and Bachelor’s of Physioneurobiology from the College of Health Sciences University of Connecticut Storrs. He is a certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist by the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA).
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athleanx
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I owe this channel a debt of gratitude. I'm 61, gym rat off/on since 15...my chest always lacked every other body part relatively speaking in terms of size and strength. A couple months ago I learned it was because I would raise/shrug my shoulders (as opposed to keeping them DOWN)....which is actually working the shoulders too much and less the pecs. Now, my chest workouts are leaving me very sore with less effort....and in truth, at 61, my pecs are growing!!! Force your shoulders DOWN when you bench or press or doing flys.

lazvt
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My notes
DB BP
- Elbows 45-60 deg.
- Touch point - side peck (see screenshot)
- When lowering, retract with the upper back, don't just let gravity alone lower the weight
- When raising, retract the shoulders and focus on pec engagement, "reach the sky" with the sternum
- Tilt the DBs at the top position at a slight /\ shape

passenger
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This video is an absolute game changer for me. I just did everything you said and the difference in my dumbbell bench press is almost a night and day difference. No shoulder pain at all and my chest was on fire when I got done. Best channel on the interweb! Thank you Jeff for all the help!

tranon
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I remember watching my first ATHLEAN-X video at age 17, 16 years later I’m still watching. Jeff is one of those rare gems who genuinely wants to help others.

BrawnyNerd
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Hey Jeff you're my go- to fitness page. Thanks for all the work you do for us

zacharygroat
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Quality content as always, Jeff. Having lifted for years, it becomes easier to get complacent and have form start to slip as weight increases. These videos always remind me of the importance of the quality of each rep, rather than just the number on the DB. There’s value in this for ANYONE, whether your first time benching or your 15th year of benching.

chrismcguigan
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Convinced coach has a camera following me. Was in the gym yesterday with my step sons and we reviewed everything in this video - except the feet! That's the first it's been mentioned and I saw the promised 10%. That sternum/rib tip really helped with mind/muscle connection. Both my sons said their shoulder pain was gone after following coach's advice. Thanks as always!

jayringo
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fractured my shoulder and had surgery at 14. ever since then my shoulder has impingement and weakness. I can finally get back to dumbbell presses. Thank u Jeff!

prince_shabbas
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I actually stopped doing this exercise due to shoulder pain / discomfort for a few months now. Will give it another try with these new tips and see how it goes, Thanks Jeff !

orishem
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this is how I discovered Athlean-X about 8 years ago had so much trouble with my shoulders and internal rotation. Had gone to multiple physios who gave me corrective exercises but never looked at what I did in the gym which was the cause of my problems. Once started doing chest and shoulder exercises the way Jeff talks about immediate improvements

gavinburke
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Been watching Jeff’s vids for years and STILL getting SO much value from them! Crazy!

samfcarvalho
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I've did the exercise according to these tips. And OMG it made a HUGE difference, the "tree hold" with tilt and the tempo were especially helpful.

BuffedPotato
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Turning the elbows is awesome! I just did a chest/dumbbell workout applying this principle. (Turning elbows by 45 degrees). Everything Jeff said is right. Much more pec recruitment and not nearly as much work by the delts.

jamesjuranek
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The tips from your videos are so helpful for so many of us. Your content is so beneficial. Thanks so much Jeff!

rajwant
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I can't believe how many exercises I've been doing wrong for so many years! Thanks for this awesome video. I'm going to watch it again before I head out to the gym and give it a try.

kickyouinhalf
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Just tried this out. No pain in my right shoulder I have been avoiding chest workouts because of shoulder pain. Feels good to get a good chest workout done. Thanks Jeff😊

becomingabetterhuman.
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Everyone should buy a program off of you just because of the amount of good advice you give. Truly someone that is not selfish and cares about improving others. You've left your mark in the fitness community.

jessefarias
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Extremely informative I always love the small details like thumbs up and flexing your lats that make such a huge difference

RowdyChicken
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Hi from Montreal ! Thank you for the awesome content! Love your videos! I would love for you to make a session about 3 things...1-The kinds of warm-ups to do before a training, 2- The stretching after a training(heard its not too good to do it right after a training session, should wait a bit), and 3- Integrating swimming into a gym plan! Thank you very much again! Say hi to my favorite cameraman!😂✌🏾

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