Incline Dumbbell Flyes

Why Should You do Incline Dumbbell Flyes?

Your chest muscles have two major tasks. To push things in front of you with your arms and help pull your arms over your body. Incline Dumbell Flyes mainly train the latter. As you do the exercise on an inclined bench, the resistance will go from the bottom up, which puts more strain on the upper part of your chest muscles.

Be careful with this exercise as it can easily strain your shoulders too much, and they are in a vulnerable position. Be careful how you do this exercise rather than how much weight you lift. First technique, then reps, and finally weight.

Performance

The exercise is almost identical to regular Dumbbell Flyes, but you now use an inclined bench with about a 30-degree angle. The more you tilt the bench, the more you first engage the upper part of the chest and then move on to your shoulders. 30 degrees is, therefore, a good angle.

Choose a pair of reasonably heavy dumbbells. Sit on the bench. It can be advantageous if the dumbbells are not too heavy; you should be able to lift them to the armpits before you sit down. Let your buttocks, shoulders, and head rest against the backrest throughout the exercise. Lift the dumbbells to the ceiling so that your arms are straight. The dumbbells should now be above your shoulders. Pull back your shoulders and pinch your shoulder blades together. Push the chest forward. Your feet should be pressed firmly against the floor, and your feet should be behind your knees.

Now slowly lower the dumbbells to the side with slightly bent arms until your hands are at the same level as your shoulders. Do not go lower than this position as it may injure your shoulders. Your arms should be fixed at the same angle as if you were hugging a large tree. Your wrists should be straight throughout the movement. When you have reached the same height as your shoulders, reverse the movement and bring your arms up and above your chest. Your arms should not bend more on the way back, but they should have the same angle as before.

Perform the exercise slowly and inhale on the way down and exhale on the way up.

Stop for a while before keeping your arms straight. When the arms are straight up, the chest is not loaded at all but rests. Therefore, stop previous to that.