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

Incline Dumbbell 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. 1Bench at 30°
  2. 2Sink deep until you feel the stretch
  3. 3Press without clanking the dumbbells at the top

Most common mistake

Cutting the range short to move heavier dumbbells.

Watch a demo

Good for

  • Top 10 for chest

Compare with

vs Incline Machine Pressvs Low-to-High Cable Fly
A
For chest
#10 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 allow a deeper stretch than a barbell, on an incline that brings in more upper chest.

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
  • ADumbbell Bench PressDumbbell

Takes

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needed to post
280