Three variations of dumbbell bench press!
The dumbbell bench press is the most popular training exercise in the gym. It stimulates the chest muscles better than the barbell!
Compared with barbells, dumbbells have a freer range of motion and a greater range of motion!
At the same time, dumbbells can also be used for one-handed movements! It can help you correct the imbalance of left and right muscle strength,
Another benefit of dumbbells is that they can improve your core stability! Dumbbells are more free, which requires you to activate more motor units to stabilize your body!
I believe everyone is very familiar with the traditional dumbbell bench press! Today Iām going to bring you some 3 uncommon bench press variations! Each has its own advantages! The purpose is to continuously make you stronger!
1. One-handed dumbbell bench press
Advantages: Unilateral stimulation, anti-rotation core strength training!
When the one-handed bench press weight is close to half of your body weight, your body will feel like it will be pressed to the other side. At this time, you must strongly contract your core and lower limbs to resist rotation to maintain body balance.
How to do it?
Lie on a bench (it is recommended that 1/3 to 1/2 of the body hang outside the bench to force the core to tighten and activate the hips), relax the shoulder blades, hold a dumbbell in one hand, and keep the distance between the elbow and the body at about 45 degrees. A free hand can help maintain balance.
Slowly push up the dumbbell. Although your hands are straight, be careful not to completely lock your elbows, and don't rush up or down. Slowly return to the starting position.
ć2. Alternating dumbbell bench press
Advantages: Unilateral stimulation, increases the time the muscles are under tension, and improves shoulder stability!
Action process:
The starting position is the same as the traditional dumbbell bench press. Hold the dumbbells in both hands and push up steadily. Then fix the support with one hand, and start to lower the dumbbell with eccentric contraction with the other hand. Feel the stretch of the chest muscles. When the dumbbell drops to the lowest end, HOLD it (maintain the tension and do not relax)
Slowly push up the dumbbell, straighten your arm and hold it in place, then start the other hand to perform the same bench press movement, once with each hand
3. Opposite-grip dumbbell bench press
Advantages: Inner pectoral muscles
Use a narrow stance and opposite grip to increase the range of shoulder adduction! Can better recruit the inner pectoral muscles
1. Sit on the side of a flat bench and hold a pair of dumbbells.
2. Lie on your back and place the pair of dumbbells close to your chest. Your arms should be as straight as possible in the initial state, and at the same time, the inner sides of the dumbbells are touching each other
3. Keep the dumbbells in contact as you gradually lower the dumbbells until they are close to your chest. Try to keep the dumbbells firmly together during this process.
4. When the pair of dumbbells touch your chest, push the dumbbells back up and squeeze your chest muscles when you reach the top. Likewise, keep the dumbbells close together. You need to keep the entire process slow during training.