What's going on Nation? Today, I'm going to show you how to properly perform a bench press using dumbbells now
I know the majority of you guys can probably lift more weight with the barbell version of this movement
But if the dumbbell bench press is not a staple in your push workouts
Then you're really missing out on a lot of potential benefits
This is because dumbbells are usually advantageous over barbells because they allow for a full range of motion and help strengthen other
Muscles surrounding the area you're training because you need more control to perform the movements which in this case would be your shoulders and triceps
So if you want to add the dumbbell bench press to your current chest workout there are three
Important things that you need to focus on but before we get started
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number one range of motion when you're using a barbell it should be obvious that you're limited by the
Barbell itself at the bottom of the movement what I mean by that is is that as I'm lowering the barbell towards my chest
The barbell will stop as soon as my chest gets in the way
And I cannot lower it any further this limited range of motion might be good for
Overloading your chest with more weight because the distance the Bible has to travel is much smaller and while that's great
It's definitely not optimal when it comes to getting a full stretch at the bottom
Or a full contraction at the top of the movement. Also guys dumbbells
Don't just allow you to get a deeper stretch
But they also create the circumstances very hot a contraction at the top of the movement
Why well to answer that we have to remember what the chest muscles actually do
Sure, if their primary function is to press weights away from your body
But their secondary function is to also add duck the humerus, try it right now guys bring your hands together
Just like this as if you're going to clap and then press your hands into each other as hot as you can
Notice how much your chest is already firing and also notice that you're getting a great pump just from doing this without any weight
Now getting back to the dumbbells you have to take advantage of their potential by getting a maximum stretch at the bottom of the movement
By not stopping at 90 degrees
But by going as deep as possible in full range of motion
also means ensuring a maximum flex or
Contraction at the top by bringing your arms together as you push the dumbbells over your chest
Now that we've got the range of motion down
Let's take a look at the second thing you need to remember when performing a dumbbell bench press and that shoulder blade
Positioning also known as shoulder packing proper shoulder packing comes down to two movements bringing your shoulders back and down
So you have to retract and depress the shoulder blades as you're setting up for your set
alright guys
So what I'm about to show you right now is gonna
Completely change your life when it comes to doing the bench press whether you're doing dumbbells or barbells
And this is gonna ensure this technique
this is going to make sure that you wouldn't hundred percent are packing your shoulders before the start of every single set and what you're
Going to do is you're gonna sit on the edge of the bench just like this now obviously when I roll back
I'm gonna have a lot of room left over it
But we want that room there for a reason because what you're going to do is once you roll back to get into place
You're gonna put your feet on the ground like this bring your toes back
Just like that and then what you're going to do is you're gonna extend your hips into the air like this and then utilize
How far down you are in the bench to slide back a bit to get your shoulders fully
Contracted and full I mean fully packed
Before you put your butt back down on the bench and then get ready to do your repetitions
So if you're doing that there's no possible way that you'll be able to flare elbows out far enough to
Actually injure your shoulders because they're so tightly packed from doing the slide
So when you stick your hands in the air after doing the slide?
They should be above your chest just like this and you'll notice that your range of motion is
Exactly where it needs to be so why do this first of all you'll find that it's an
automatically advantageous position for your shoulders to be in which means you'll be able to push much heavier weights
Secondly by packing your shoulder blades
You're essentially protecting your shoulders from serious injuries such as chest hams rotator cuff tears and even shoulder
Dislocations and finally guys by strategically placing your chest on top
So under your shoulders are underneath and your chest is on top you're making sure that the chest will be the primary
mover when you're pressing
Not the front delts the exact opposite stands true when you're performing shoulder raises to target your front delts
Here you want to keep your shoulders basically
protracted so that the
Chest doesn't come into play as you lift your arm up and down if you were to do a front raise with your shoulders make
Sense right the last thing to keep in mind is proper elbow positioning you have three options here
And you usually see people go for either one of these options number one
They flare their arms out so they're in line with their shoulders
number two they keep their arms at about 45 degrees out away from their torso and
Number three they keep their elbows tucked in and almost rubbing with their torso as they press so which is the best placement in order?
To tie at the chest as effectively and as safely as possible
Well, it's the second form with your arms flat at about 45 degrees while the third option is best when it comes to protecting your
Shoulder joints it definitely turns the movement more into a dumbbell tricep press similar to the close grip bench press
however
If you're currently experiencing shoulder pain go with this version to keep your shoulder safe and prevent further injury also
Don't be surprised when you see most people at the gym using the first form with their abs
Completely flat out to the side. This is without a doubt the worst way to go about pressing in general
Not only are you at serious risk of destroying your shoulder joints?
But you're also not properly set up to lift the maximum amount of weight, you can handle to overload your chest for muscle growth
So now that you understand the mechanics of the movement, let's go over proper form from start to finish
So you're gonna get set up
Just like this remember sit at the edge of the bench to give your time give yourself time to slide back
I already like to our start off
Compressing my shoulders just a little bit before I lean back
And then what I'm gonna do from here is I'm gonna push off my toes
And then extend my arms at the same time to kick these dumbbells up just like this
I don't like starting from the bottom because if you do you're gonna have a have it you're gonna
Have a really hard time doing the slide once in place right here bring your feet back a bit
Slide back make sure those shoulders are packed
Put that butt back on the bench
Now from this point you're gonna flex your glutes as hot as you can you're gonna push your knees out
That's going to create stability for your figure lower portion of your body and then from here. You're gonna come all the way down
only a slight flare in those elbows come back up to the top squeeze your chest as hot as you can and
Repeat four reps and this is gonna maximize the engagement in your chest and take all of the tension and all the pressure
Out of your shoulders to ensure that when you do a dumbbell chest press
You're working the muscles the exercise was intended to work
Which is the chest now if you want to apply a cheat and recover to this exercise you can
But you're gonna need a spotter remember cheat and recover is all about
Overloading the chest if you were doing a barbell version of this movement you could use bands
And you could apply bands to the barbell to kind of self spot
but when it comes to dumbbells what you would do is you would have your pot and I stand behind you and
You would get as heavy weights as you can possibly handle
and you would control the negative and then as soon as you go out to the bottom your spotter would step in and just
Push them right to the top
And then immediately remove himself from the equation so that you can utilize every single cheat rap
the negative of the eccentric on every single rep before
Finishing your eight reps and then going into the recover reps
which is
You just doing perfect range of motion your spotter isn't helping you and you're doing
Perfect form on the way up and all the way down
For all eight of the recover reps as well if you guys want to add this exercise to current chest workout
I recommend starting your routine with it and
Performing three or four sets of eight to ten reps with as much weight as you can handle
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