Horizontal dumbbell press

The advantage of this exercise is that you can rotate the dumbbells, thereby adjusting the tension on the chest muscle. Additionally, bringing the dumbbells together at the top will cause the chest to contract more strongly.

If you want to be able to bench press a lot while lying down, you must use dumbbell presses from time to time. This engages a significant number of stabilizing muscles, which positively affects your bench press results with the barbell.

Nuances and Mistakes

1. You can hold the dumbbells either parallel to each other (fully turned to the sides) or at a slight angle (with palms turned slightly inward). In the first option, your chest will be stretched more, resulting in greater activation. However, this also increases the load on the chest tendons and shoulder tendons, which raises the risk of injury when using heavy weights. So, it's up to you to decide how you prefer to press.

2. If you rotate your hands with palms facing each other at the top and bring the dumbbells together, it will make your chest muscles contract more strongly.

3. You should lower the dumbbells to the point where the ends of the dumbbells touch your shoulders or slightly above. But not lower.

4. If your partner is handing you the dumbbells, they should be handed to you at arm's length.

5. The dumbbell press is a foundational exercise. Therefore, it can replace the barbell bench press without the risk of decreasing your results in barbell pressing.

6. You should press all the way up, fully extending (straightening) your elbows. This will cause your chest to contract more.

7. No pause is needed at the bottom. As soon as you lower the dumbbells to the lowest point, press them back up immediately. This will make it easier.