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Dumbbell incline bench press

If you want to strengthen your shoulder muscles, you have various options to choose from. A common foundational exercise is shoulder pressing with the barbell. This closely resembles shoulder pressing with dumbbells on a flat bench. However, the focus here is on the anterior part of the shoulder muscles. For many sports enthusiasts, this is the preferred exercise for targeted strengthening of the front shoulders.

Alternatively, you can perform shoulder pressing on a machine, with the cable machine, or using a fascia roller. An advantage compared to dumbbell training is the more variable range of motion for your shoulders. Additionally, this exercise is possible in almost any gym since barbells and shoulder press benches are widespread.

Muscles engaged in barbell shoulder pressing During barbell shoulder pressing, the emphasis is primarily on the anterior part of the deltoid muscle (musculus deltoideus pars clavicularis). Unlike other shoulder exercises, the focus here is on the upper region. Furthermore, barbell shoulder pressing also stimulates the lateral part of the deltoid muscle, the triceps (musculus triceps brachii), and the upper trapezius muscle (musculus trapezius pars descendens).

Execution of barbell shoulder pressing To achieve optimal effectiveness in barbell shoulder pressing, several points regarding body position and movement execution should be considered. To achieve efficient muscle-building or targeted fat loss, carefully follow the instructions for body position and movement execution.

Body position

For this exercise, start by sitting on a shoulder press bench. The backrest should have an angle between 15 and 60 degrees. It's important that you and your joints feel comfortable. Every person is different, so it's advisable to listen to your body.

An angle up to 15 degrees promotes the activation of the entire deltoid muscle, while 30 degrees focus on the upper part. A steeper angle of 45 degrees and more also involves the anterior shoulder muscles. For targeted training of the upper deltoid muscle, an angle of 30 degrees is recommended.

Place your feet in front of the shoulder press bench and ensure a stable seat. Then, grab the barbell in your desired weight and place it on your shoulders.

Movement execution

Now, bend your arms and press the barbell upward. Ensure that your forearms are perpendicular to the ground. Breathe out and move the barbell above your head. When inhaling, lower the barbell in a controlled manner and return to the starting position.

Tip Slightly tilting the backrest of the shoulder press bench can be helpful. This prevents uncomfortable sliding forward. Your position becomes more stable, allowing you to focus better on the execution of the movement.

Stressed muscles and common mistakes

The proper execution of fitness exercises is crucial to avoid injuries and maximize training success. The following highlights common mistakes in incline bench pressing with dumbbells.

✅ Excessive weight: Many athletes tend to choose dumbbells that are too heavy out of motivation. This results in a careless execution of the exercise.

✅ Rapid lowering of weights: Due to excessive motivation or the use of weights that are too heavy, some athletes almost drop the dumbbells. It is important, however, to control the eccentric movement slowly, as both the lifting and lowering phases are significant for muscle building.

✅ Head movement: The head should remain on the incline bench throughout the entire movement. If you move your head during incline bench pressing with dumbbells, you risk injuring the neck muscles.

✅ Forward diagonal pressing: A common mistake is that many athletes press the dumbbells diagonally forward and upward. This strains the shoulders and increases the risk of injury. Therefore, it is important to ensure that the movement is executed vertically upward.

Alternatives and similar exercises to the incline bench press

Effectively targeting the upper chest is achieved through incline dumbbell press. To add more variety to your workout routine, I present various alternatives.

Incline bench press with a barbell

A comparable exercise to incline dumbbell press is incline barbell press. Both the body position and the movement are similar. The distinction lies in using a barbell, providing less shoulder mobility.

Chest press at an angle

Another option to train the upper chest is the adjustable incline chest press. Note that not all chest presses are adjustable. The inclined chest press offers beginners a simple and secure way to strengthen the chest muscles.

Cable fly up for the upper chest

For an alternative way to engage the chest muscles, you can turn to cable flys, also known as cable crossovers. Advanced and professional individuals can specifically target the upper chest with two cable towers and an incline bench. More information about cable flys can be found in this article: Cable Fly Upward for the Upper Chest.

Bench press variations for middle and lower chest

Additionally, there are fitness exercises with a similar movement execution that focus on the middle and lower parts of the major chest muscle. In a gym with a decline bench, you can train the major chest muscle with both dumbbells and a barbell. This applies to flat bench press with dumbbells or flat bench press with a barbell as well.

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Dumbbell incline bench press

Body position

Movement execution

Stressed muscles and common mistakes

Alternatives and similar exercises to the incline bench press

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