Ready to hit your upper body and core? The dumbbell chest press is the move for you.
I’m personally a big fan of this exercise, as it really makes me work hard and I know the benefits are great. That’s why I decided to do 50 dumbbell chest presses every day for two weeks.
But first, more about this move. I spoke with fellow personal trainer Will Duru who said: “As a compound exercise, the dumbbell chest press works multiple joints and muscles in one go, namely the shoulders and elbows. Because it’s a compound move, it’s a great exercise to start off with during an upper body session.”
As for the muscles worked during a dumbbell chest press, Duru adds: “The dumbbell chest press works the four chest muscles, including the pectorals, as well as the triceps, which run down the back of your upper arms, and the deltoid muscles in your shoulders.” Your core muscles will also benefit as they fire up to keep you stable.
So it’s a pretty impressive exercise. Besides, using dumbbells rather than a barbell (which tends to be the “norm” when doing the chest press), also has its benefits. But more on that below. With a set of the best dumbbells ready, here’s what happened when I took on my dumbbell chest press challenge.
How to do a dumbbell chest press
There’s less stability with the dumbbell chest press than with a barbell, so it’s a little more challenging. Plus, it’s technically a unilateral exercise because you hold a weight in each hand, so both sides of the body must work independently to lift, lower and control the weight. Using barbells, the dominant side of the body can sometimes take over.
Ideally, this move requires a bench as it gives your arms more space to move up and down, improving your range of motion. But it can also be done on the floor.
Here’s how to do the bench press:
- Start lying on a bench with both feet flat on the floor
- Hold a dumbbell in each hand with your arms pressed out straight overhead and over your chest
- Your palms should face forward away from your face using an overhand grip
- Bend your elbows and slowly lower your dumbbells toward your chest with control
- Pause at the bottom, then explosively press the weights upward again. That’s one rep.
And here’s how the challenge went!
I had to fight against my ego
The chest press isn’t my strongest exercise and I struggle to go heavy when using a barbell, often finding that the bar alone (20kg) is enough.
Having already given this challenge a try before, completing 100 dumbbell chest presses every day for one week, I knew it would be tough. So when I picked up my dumbbells, I had to push my ego aside and start a little lighter than I’d like.
Although dumbbells feel harder than barbells, research has found that they elicit the same results, so if you’re more of a barbell fan, stick to what you prefer.
My biceps felt it
The biceps, which run along the fronts of the upper arms, aren’t typically associated with the dumbbell chest press; however, I definitely felt them working as I pressed the dumbbells up.
Will says: “Secondary muscles, such as your biceps in this instance, will be working during the dumbbell chest press; they just aren’t the main muscle.”
However, my technique may not have been perfect, particularly towards the back end of my 50 reps. “If your elbows are flaring out during the exercise, then it might mean your arms are doing more work than your chest. It might be a case of either tucking your elbows in or lowering the weight slightly,” says Will.
“Boob pain” is real
Naturally, as the dumbbell chest press works the pectoral muscles, which lie beneath the breasts, mine were feeling it after the session. In fact, after a few days of doing 50 dumbbell chest presses, I wondered what had happened to my chest; the pain was real!
The following day I used lighter dumbbells to help swerve the pain. But I will just add, that the exercise won’t change the composition of your actual breasts, so pec muscle pain is its own thing and doesn't signal growth here.
I did opposing “pull” moves
As the name suggests, this is a pressing exercise, meaning it targets the muscles that help you push, such as the chest, shoulders, and triceps. Will says it’s important to ensure your push exercises are balanced with pull moves. This doesn’t necessarily have to be back-to-back on the same day, but over, say, the course of a week.
“Push exercises are important but many people spend much of the day sitting slouched over a keyboard, which can cause backs to hunch over,” says Will. “So to counteract this and balance out the push exercises, such as the dumbbell chest press, it’s important to do pull exercises, which could include single arm dumbbell rows or pull-ups for example.”
I mixed it up
Doing 50 dumbbell chest presses every day for two weeks gets tedious. To make things more interesting, I mixed things up a little.
First up, I added a slight incline to the bench. Will explains: “By adding a slight incline you’re targeting the upper pectoral muscles a little more which can massively help support your shoulder joint.”
I also varied the tempo, as suggested by Will. “Slowing down the exercise means your muscles have to work harder which then stimulates more growth.” So, I would press the dumbbells up for a count of one, and then slowly lower them for a count of three to four seconds.
Rather than doing 50 dumbbell chest presses straight off the bat, I also broke them into sets, typically 10 to 12 reps. This meant my muscles had a chance to recover slightly between sets and I could go heavier when I was working.
I did 50 dumbbell chest presses every day for two weeks: my verdict
This exercise really does target a large proportion of the upper body, and by the end of two weeks, my chest and shoulders were ready for a break. Although it’s a great exercise, it’s challenging, and I struggled with increasing weight over the two weeks.
However, it’s probably just a case of me working on these more often and training my muscles to get stronger. Ultimately, if you want to build your upper body, this is a must-do move and a great alternative to the barbell press as it works both arms individually.
I might need a few leg days to let my chest recover…
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