Liftworthy
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Liftworthy

Every exercise ranked by research, by lifters and by results. Find what’s S-tier for your goal, then train it.

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Explore/Chest

Dumbbell Bench Press

DumbbellCompoundEasy to learn
Front
Back
Primary Secondary

Works

Chest

Also delts, triceps

You need

Dumbbells, Bench

How to do itPictures · 3 steps
1Start
2Bottom
Main musclesAlso working
  1. 1Lower until the dumbbells sit beside your chest
  2. 2Forearms vertical at the bottom
  3. 3Press up and slightly in

Most common mistake

Stopping short of the stretch, which is where dumbbells beat the barbell.

Watch a demo

Good for

  • Top 10 for chest

Compare with

vs Barbell Bench Pressvs Machine Chest Pressvs Single-Arm Cable Chest Press
A
For chest
#9 of 32
See the full list →
Research
75
Scored by hand
Results
Soon
From the app
How lifters rate itBe the first
S
A
B
C
D
F
Why research scores it 75
Target tensionStrong
Loaded stretchStrong
ProgressionStrong
Low costStrong

Dumbbells go deeper than a barbell, giving the chest a bigger stretch.

Research behind these criteria

  • Target tension: Zabaleta-Korta et al., 2021 · Kinoshita et al., 2023
  • Loaded stretch: Maeo et al., 2021 · Maeo et al., 2023 · Pedrosa et al., 2022 · Kassiano et al., 2023
  • Progression: Plotkin et al., 2022 · Pelland et al., 2026
  • Low cost: Schoenfeld et al., 2021 · Refalo et al., 2023
How scores work

Machine taken? Swap to

  • SCable FlyCable
  • SPec DeckMachine
  • SHigh-to-Low Cable FlyCable
  • AIncline Dumbbell PressDumbbell

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