incline dumbbell chest press

The Incline Dumbbell Chest Press is a variation of the classic Dumbbell Chest Press, performed on an incline bench. This modification strategically targets the upper pectoral muscles, making it a valuable addition to your Chest & Biceps Workout and a good way to add volume to your upper chest.

Here we will delve into the muscles worked, how to perform the Incline Dumbbell Chest Press, benefits, common mistakes to avoid, reps and sets, how to progress this exercise, how and where to fit it into your workout plan and finally other exercises targeting the same muscle groups.

Muscles Worked When Performing the Incline Dumbbell Chest Press

The Incline Dumbbell Chest Press primarily engages the following muscle groups:

Upper Pectoral Muscles (Upper Chest): The incline position of this exercise places additional emphasis on the upper chest, which makes it the perfect exercise for anyone who wants to build some fullness into their upper chest.

Anterior Deltoids: Naturally, through the pressing movement, the anterior delts, aka, the front of your shoulders are recruited throughout the move.

Biceps and Triceps: While predominantly a chest exercise, these muscles come along for the ride.

You can use the muscle highlighted image at the top of this page for a visual guide of the muscles worked.

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How to Perform the Incline Dumbbell Chest Press

1. Bench Set Up: Begin by adjusting a bench to an incline position, around a 45 degree angle. When you sit down your back should be pressed flat against the bench, ensuring your head, shoulders, and upper back are fully supported.

2. Dumbbell Selection: Choose a pair of dumbbells that are appropriate for your current strength level. Hold one in each hand with an overhand grip.

3. Start Position: With the dumbbells in hand, push them up over your chest. Your arms should be fully extended, and your wrists facing forward, so the ends of the dumbbells are almost touching at the top. This is your start position.

4. Execution: Slowly lower the dumbbells by bending your elbows until your upper arms are parallel to the floor. You should feel a stretch in your upper chest muscles as you do this.

5. Brief Hold and Return: Hold this position for a moment to maximise the muscle contraction. Then, press the dumbbells back up to the start position through the same clean and controlled movement.

6. Go for reps.

Benefits of the Incline Dumbbell Chest Press

Upper Chest Shape and Size: This exercise specifically targets the upper chest, helping to fill out that area with lean muscle, pushing any breast tissue out and up.

Functional Strength: It’s not just about aesthetics, the Incline Dumbbell Chest Press enhances functional chest strength, which can be beneficial in other chest or upper body exercises and in everyday life.

Incline Dumbbell Chest Press: Common Mistakes to Avoid

Wrist and Grip Weakness: Ensure that your grip is firm, and your wrists are steady and engaged throughout the exercise, if you don’t have a firm grip of the dumbbell, don’t start the exercise.

Dumbbell Alignment: Keep the dumbbells in line with your chest at all times, they should not fall forwards or backwards at any point throughout the exercise.

Proper Form: Maintain good and controlled form from start to finish to avoid any acute or repetitive strain injury.

Mind-Muscle Connection: Stay focused on the upper chest muscles during the exercise this will not only help you ensure that you are performing the exercise correctly, it will also support faster muscle growth.

Reps and Sets

The number of reps and sets you perform depends on your current strength with this exercise.

Beginners: Start with simply mastering the move. Keep in mind that if you’re just starting out, 3 reps is a valid set.

To determine how many reps/sets of the Incline Dumbbell Chest Press you should start with, you first need to figure out how many reps you can comfortably perform. Then add 2, and perform that number of reps for 3 sets.

For example; let’s say you can perform 4 reps comfortably. Add 2 to make 6 reps. Perform those 6 reps 3 times over, allowing yourself sufficient rest inbetween.

Experienced lifters: You know your body and its abilities better than anyone, use your own judgment.

We recommend that you avoid performing more than 12 reps per set. If you’re comfortably performing 12 reps for up to 6 sets, it’s time to make the exercise more challenging.

How to Make the Incline Dumbbell Chest Press More Challenging

Progression in weightlifting is almost always about adding more weight. But you can also slow this exercise right down, increasing your time under tension. Another thing you can do is slow down one half of the exercise, so go one way at your usual tempo, and come back in a much slower, yet controlled movement. Or vice versa.

Because this is an incline bench exercise, you also have the option to perform the exercise on a flat bench or a decline bench, each variation will hit your pecs differently.

How to Incorporate the Incline Dumbbell Chest Press into Your Workouts

The Incline Dumbbell Chest Press belongs in your Chest Workout or Upper Body Workout Plan. Because it is a dumbbell exercise, it should be performed in the middle of your workout after your barbell exercises, but before any cable, bodyweight or ab exercises.

Always start with the exercise that expends the most energy and uses the most weight, work your way down through barbell exercises, dumbbell exercises, cable/machine exercises and finish up with bodyweight exercises. You can learn more about the importance of exercise order here.

Exercises That Work Similar Muscles to the Incline Dumbbell Chest Press

Keep in mind that while this is a compound exercise, it’s not the biggest compound chest exercise out there. Compound exercises are crucial for muscle growth, and barbell variations allow you to move more overall weight than dumbbell exercises, helping you build the muscle faster. So don’t neglect key exercises such as the Bench Press, Decline Bench Press, Incline Bench Press, Wide Grip Bench Press, Close Grip Bench Press or Chest Dips.

You can also pair this exercise with other exercises, such as the Dumbbell Chest Press, Dumbbell Pullovers or the Pec Deck Chest Fly. If you’re looking for more chest isolation exercises, you can try the Seated Chest Press Machine. A combination of compound and isolation exercises is always recommended for well rounded results.

You can find more Chest Exercises at the bottom of this page. Or you can check out our entire exercise database broken down by muscle group here.

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