Name: Dumbbell Chest Press and Progressions
Uploaded: 2023-04-26T01:02:54.000Z
Duration: 5 min 4 s

English captions

https://stream.mux.com/GgdDsMk9iMIQPFR4CTxuZ6Lr01AC3tGjqVcICnAbCBD4.m3u8

Learn how to properly perform the dumbbell chest press and its progressions in this comprehensive step-by-step instructional video from the Brookbush Institute. Improve chest (pectoralis major) and shoulder (anterior deltoid) muscle development, enhance pushing strength, and boost overall performance with professional guidance to prevent injury and maximize results. Ideal for athletes, fitness enthusiasts, and rehabilitation clients looking to enhance their strength and hypertrophy training.

Introduction to the Dumbbell Bench Press

Proper Technique and Form

Sagittal vs. Transverse Plane Pressing Techniques

Progressive Techniques: Alternating Dumbbell Press

Maintaining Proper Form During Variations

Conclusion and Practice Tips

Dumbbell Chest Press and Progressions

This is Brent, President of B2C Fitness, and we're talking about one of my favorite strength training exercises for the chest, one of our favorite pushing motions, the dumbbell bench press. I'm going to have my friend Joe come out, help me demonstrate this exercise. First things first, when we grab these dumbbells, notice Joe gets into a nice deadlift form, nice straight back, lifts using his glute complex, and then sits down with the dumbbells on his lap. He's not twisting, he's not grabbing one at a time, he's not trying to lift them onto his lap from a seated position which is going to put more strain on your lower back. He's then going to roll back and get into his dumbbell press position. I'm going to make sure he stabilizes his core first, that's going to include drawing-in, and then I want you to press your heels through the floor, engaging your glute complex. Good. Let's go ahead and see what a dumbbell press looks like just right off the bat here. So go ahead and push up. I don't want to over queue, all we want to get people doing is a push to start. Now we can go for a couple variations from here. If Joe had upper body dysfunction leading to an extensibility issue in his shoulder complex, we could start with a sagittal plane press. Now, what a sagittal plane press is going to look like is Joe's going to drop down this way, toward the bottom of his rib cage, and then push straight back out like he's pushing open a door. So, what that does, is it maintains the space between his acromion shelf and the top of his humeral head, so that we don't contribute to an impingement syndrome. If I know that he has optimal extensibility though, we can go back and go ahead and do a transverse plane press. This is a more traditional way of doing a dumbbell bench press. It also incorporates a lot more of the chest musculature. Of course this is fairly easy for Joe, so we're going to make it a little bit more challenging for you. So the first thing we're going to try is the alternating dumbbell press. Now, the trick of the alternating dumbbell press, this is a challenge for Joe, is to not shift. You want to try to keep this dumbbell directly over your shoulder, or whatever arm is straight directly over your shoulder, and you want to try to not shift at the pelvis. Keep going. A little tougher? -A little bit. Good. You also want to try not to collapse at the arm, I'll show you a different angle for that. Let's try another progression. Now, I'm going to take one dumbbell away. Now, of course, at this point Joe loses his counter balance, which means now he's going to have to press his heels into the floor even harder, keep that glute complex engaged and really draw-in to keep this dumbbell from flipping him off sideways from the bench. How does that feel? -Good. Think 12 of those on each side will be a little difficult? -15 15, awesome! Of course you can go ahead and switch arms after he does his 15 reps. I want to show you just one last angle so we talk about proper form completely with this dumbbell press. Let me have you stand up really quickly. I'm going to turn the bench this way. Let's go ahead and have you sit back down, we're going to do a dumbbell press one more time. Alright Joe, go ahead and show me a press. Let's do our nice transverse plane press with that wide grip we were talking about before. Now, one thing I want you to notice in his dumbbell press form, is he maintains his forearms perpendicular to the floor, so they're straight up and down throughout the entire range of this movement. Now, that should persist throughout our progressions as well. So, let's try alternating. This arm stays up nice and straight, perpendicular to the floor, and hopefully the arm that's going down, the forearm stays perpendicular to the floor so he's not collapsing in. And even when I take him to a single dumbbell, now you can see he's collapsing just a little bit. He's going to have to work to maintain perpendicular, maintaining to keep the stress off his elbow joint. You should also note that one hip isn't raising up. He's staying nice and drawn- in, his shoulder complex is staying nice and stable. So those are our form queues as well as some progressions for our dumbbell bench press. Thanks again to Joe for helping me demonstrate this exercise! Have fun.

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This can be a challenging exercise to learn due to the relatively awkward steps required to get the dumbbells into the starting position. Although the form of this exercise is nearly identical to a bench press, extra time will be needed to learn how to attain the starting position. It is strongly recommended that the professional demonstrate the starting position set-up.

We recommend that the client or patient starts by unracking the dumbbells while in a standing position. If the weights are on the floor, we recommend that the first step is teaching a deadlift to a standing position.

Cue the client or patient to stand in front of a bench at the appropriate distance so that sitting places their glutes on the ideal portion of the seat. (Attempting to shift after sitting with weights on the lap is more awkward.)

Cue the client or patient to gently swing the dumbbells forward and place them on the middle of the front of their thigh.

Have the client or patient sit so the weights are now “upright” on mid-thigh.

Warning, this is the most challenging step. The client or patient should now roll back onto the bench, using their legs to assist their arms to “quickly” pull the dumbbells into the “bottom position” of a dumbbell press.

Because the “bottom position” achieved with this method is often less than optimal, it may be more comfortable to use the initial stretch and momentum from rolling back to quickly bounce into a concentric dumbbell press to the top position.

Once the “top position” is achieved, the form is very similar to a bench press (although less stable).

Start by cueing the client or patient so that their hands, elbows, and shoulders are in alignment, they have a firm grip around the dumbbell handles, and the scapulae are protracted and stable.

Ask the client or patient to assume optimal form/posture:

Feet perpendicular to the floor and 2nd toe aligned with ASIS

Pelvis neutral (absence of anterior or posterior pelvic tilt)

Torso, scapula, and head in neutral alignment

Cue the client or patient to push their feet into the ground, squeeze (contract) their glutes, and perform the drawing-in maneuver to ensure optimal core stability.

Have the client or patient bend their elbows, control the rate of descent, and control the path of the dumbbells.

The client or patient will need to pay careful attention to maintaining the weight, wrists, and elbows in alignment, and perpendicular to the floor.

Once the client or patient has achieved the largest range of motion that can be performed without pain or compensation: Cue the client or patient to push their feet into the ground, squeeze (contract) the glutes, perform the drawing-in maneuver, and push through the dumbbells to full elbow extension and scapula protraction.

Have the client or patient check their positioning, and stability.

Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

 Alternating, unilateral, incline press, on a stability ball, multi-planar press, asymmetrical press

We recommend that the path of the dumbbells is “below shoulder height”; that is, elbows slightly caudal the transverse plane.

Do not grasp dumbbells with excessive wrist extension. The dumbbells should be grasped as if making a fist to “punch”.

Do not attempt a range of motion that is larger than can be performed without pain or compensation.

The scapula should not be cued into a fixed position. The concentric phase of a push-up should include protraction, and the eccentric phase should include retraction.

Dumbbell Chest Press and Progressions

Multi-planer Chest Press

Asymmetrical Chest Press

Stability Ball Push Up (Progressions and Regressions)

Push Ups with Monster Band

Suspension Weight Transfer Push Up

Suspension Push Up and Progressions

Suspension Rotation Complex (Pallof Press)

Chaos Push

Core Anti-rotation - Opposing Chest Press and Row

Suspension Push-Up

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