How to perform the Flat Bench Dumbbell Fly
- 1Lie back on a flat bench with a dumbbell in each hand, feet flat on the floor, and arms straight above your chest with palms facing each other and a soft bend in your elbows. Squeeze your shoulder blades gently into the bench and keep your wrists straight so the weights sit comfortably over your chest, not your face.
- 2Lower the dumbbells out to the sides in a wide arc, keeping the same slight bend in your elbows, until you feel a good stretch across your chest but no shoulder pain, inhaling as you go down for about 2–3 seconds. Exhale as you smoothly bring the dumbbells back together over your chest in the same arc in about 1–2 seconds, focusing on squeezing your chest rather than locking out your elbows or banging the weights together.
Coach tips
- Keep the movement controlled and stop the stretch before your shoulders feel strained; this is a chest exercise, not a flexibility test.
- Think about hugging a big tree: elbows slightly bent and fixed, so your arms move like a wide arc instead of turning it into a press.
- Keep your lower back lightly pressed into the bench and your core braced so you’re not arching and using momentum to swing the weights.
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