Dumbbell FlyesMuscles Worked
Dumbbell flyes isolate your chest, loading the pecs through a deep stretch as your arms open in a wide arc. Unlike a press, your elbows hold one fixed bend, so the triceps stay mostly out of it.
PrimaryChest
- Equipment
- Dumbbell
- Level
- Beginner
- Type
- Isolation
- Force
- Push
How to do it
- Lie on a flat bench and press two dumbbells up over your chest, palms facing each other.
- Soften your elbows into a slight bend and keep that same bend for the whole set.
- Open your arms out to the sides in a wide arc, lowering slowly until you feel a good stretch across your chest.
- Stop when your upper arms are about level with the bench, or a bit higher if your shoulders prefer.
- Squeeze your chest to bring the dumbbells back up along the same arc, as if hugging a large tree.
Form tips
- Treat your arms as fixed levers: if your elbows bend and straighten, the fly has turned into a press.
- Go lighter than you would for presses, because the long lever makes the stretched position demanding.
- Stop the dumbbells a little apart at the top to keep tension on your chest.
Why it made the list
No. 4 of 13
Best Chest Exercises
Best isolation exercise for chest stretch under load. Targets the sternal fibers with a long eccentric. Pairs well with presses for pre-exhaust or finisher.
More chest exercises
See it on your own body map
Log your Dumbbell Flyes sets in KasMaker and watch your chest fill in on the map, weighted by how much you did. Logging and the body map are free on iPhone.
