Dépense estimée selon votre poids
Mouvement d'isolation · 3 s par répétition
| Répétitions | Dépense estimée |
|---|---|
| 1 | 0,23 kcal |
| 10 | 2,3 kcal |
| 20 | 4,6 kcal |
| 50 | 11,5 kcal |
| 100 | 23,0 kcal |
Estimation à partir des équivalents métaboliques (MET) du Compendium of Physical Activities. La charge, le tempo et la durée des repos font varier le résultat du simple au double : à lire comme un ordre de grandeur, pas comme une mesure.
What the term incline bench press dumbbell covers
The incline bench press dumbbell is simply the incline press done with dumbbells. You lie on a bench set between 15 and 45 degrees, one dumbbell in each hand, and press upward until the elbows are almost fully extended.
You will also see it written incline dumbbell bench presses or incline bench dumbbell press. Same movement, same starting position. The only thing separating it from a flat bench press is the angle of the backrest.
That detail changes how the work is shared out. The higher the bench, the more the load shifts toward the upper chest and the shoulder. Which is why this exercise shows up in almost every upper-body program, right next to the incline barbell press.
Muscles worked
The main driver is still the pec major, specifically its clavicular fibers, the ones at the top of the chest (upper chest). The front delt and the triceps take over toward the end of the press.
- Upper pec major: prime mover
- Front delt: heavily involved past 30 degrees
- Triceps brachii: elbow extension
- Rotator cuff and trunk: stabilization
Dumbbells (the use of dumbbells) add a demand the bar does not: each arm has to stabilize its own load. The deep shoulder muscles work harder, and a left-right imbalance becomes impossible to hide.
Setup and execution, step by step
Setting the bench
Go with 30 degrees if you only get one setting. Below 15 degrees you are basically back to a flat press. Past 45 degrees the shoulder takes most of the work and the chest drops out.
The starting position
Sit down with the dumbbells resting on your thighs. Rock back, using your knees to drive them up with you. Once you are lying down, five things matter: feet on the floor, glutes on the bench, a slight arch in the lower back, shoulder blades pulled back and down, head resting on the bench.
The press
Lower in 2 to 3 seconds, elbows about 45 degrees from your torso. The dumbbells finish level with the upper chest, slightly below the shoulders. Then press up, letting the hands drift a little closer together without banging them into each other.
Most lifters who stall on this exercise are cutting the bottom short: the dumbbells stop at shoulder height, the useful range disappears, and the set stops producing much of anything.
The mistakes that waste sets
- Elbows flared to 90 degrees: pointless stress on the shoulder
- Bouncing at the bottom
- Glutes coming off the bench to help the press
- Load picked for the ego rather than for the range of motion
Dumbbells, barbell or Smith machine
The question comes up every session. Here are the real differences, at equal training volume.
| Criterion | Dumbbells | Barbell |
|---|---|---|
| Range of motion | Greater | Limited |
| Maximum load | Lower | Higher |
| Imbalances | Corrected | Hidden |
| Safety when alone | Good | Average |
| Getting into position | Tricky | Simple |
The Smith machine locks you into a fixed path. It is reassuring when you train without a spotter, but it removes the stabilization work that makes the dumbbell bench press worth doing. Save it for heavy sets at the end of the session.
Load benchmarks and progression
Standards depend on bodyweight. For a 75 kg man with a year of training behind him, a set of 8 reps with two 20 to 24 kg dumbbells is a reasonable marker. For a 60 kg woman in the same situation, figure 8 to 12 kg per hand.
Those are ballpark figures, not targets. What matters is the progression: add a rep per week before you add weight. On this exercise, moving up one dumbbell often means a 10 % jump, which is a lot.
Planning that progression by hand gets tedious fast. MUSCU works out your loads session by session from your actual performance, across the 1,800 filmed exercises in the catalog.
Alternatives and complementary exercises
If you do not have an adjustable bench, the incline dumbbell press can be swapped for elevated push-ups, hands on a low support and feet on the floor. The working angle is close.
- Incline flyes: same area, less triceps
- Low-pulley press: constant tension
- Decline push-ups: no equipment needed
To round out the session, pair this movement with some arm work on an incline bench such as the incline curl, plus a leg exercise like the leg press. Two to three sets of 8 to 12 reps, once or twice a week, is enough to keep progressing.