Bench End Dumbbell Presses

Why Is This Exercise So Effective?

The flat bench dumbbell press doesn’t allow for full rib cage expansion, which is essential for most effectively working the pecs. In order to get full rib cage expansion on the dumbbell press, try doing them with only your upper back resting on the bench.

How To Do It

• The basic position of the exercise is as follows: your upper back (from just below the shoulder blades on up) will be resting on the end of the bench with your upper torso essentially flat. Your hips will be down below the level of the bench, and your lower back will be arched so that your lower abdomen is angled down. Your knees should be very bent.
  
  
• You will look as though you are trying to wrap your back around the end of the bench. Practice this position once without any weight to get a feel for it.
  
  
• To get into position with weights, sit on the very end of the bench with the dumbbells on your upper thighs.
  
  
• Quickly move your butt forward off the bench, dropping into a squat, and allow your upper back to rest against the lead edge of the bench.
  
  
• Thrust your hips up and throw your upper body back onto the bench, kicking the dumbbells into the bottom position of a dumbbell bench press. Press up to the top position.

• If you are not completely in position with your entire lower back off the bench (the bottom of your rib cage should be in line with the end of the bench), weasel yourself down somewhat. Note: “Weasel” is the technical term for shifting back and forth as you slide yourself down the bench a little.
  
  
• Do the press from there and really try to expand the chest in the stretch position.
  
  
• When the exercise gets hard, fight the urge to lift your hips up. Consciously force them down. This is good practice for keeping your butt down on the regular flat bench press.

How to incorporate this exercise into your workouts:

You can place this exercise anywhere in your chest workouts. It doesn’t require tremendous skill, balance or stability to execute properly.

Common Errors

1. Too much of your back is on the bench

The end of the bench should be hitting you just below the shoulder blades. If you have much more of your back on the bench, you will lose the opening up of the rib cage, which is the major benefit of this position.

2. Thrusting your hips up and down during the exercise

Allowing your hips to come up also negates the benefits of the opening up of the rib cage. You will flatten your torso as though you are doing a regular flat bench. Keep your hips down!

3. Raising your head off the bench

Be sure to keep your head on the bench during the exercise. Raising it up and off can lead to neck strain.

Tricks

1. Getting the weights into position

A good way to get heavy dumbbells up into position is to set them on your knees at the start of the exercise. After you drop into your initial squat, kick one knee up hard, throwing the dumbbell up into position, then kick the other dumbbell up and into position. Be sure to practice this movement with light weight before attempting with heavy dumbbells.

2. Taking the shoulders out of it

At the start of the rep when you are holding the dumbbells at arm’s-length above you, try to wriggle your shoulders together underneath you. This will reduce anterior deltoid involvement in the exercise by forcing your shoulders back. Imagine you are trying to touch your shoulder blades together behind your back.

3. Expand your rib cage

At the bottom of every rep, take in a huge breath and try to expand your rib cage as much as possible to maximize the stretch on the pecs. Your body position on the end of the bench will allow you to get a greater stretch than is possible in the regular position.