How to do the Incline Dumbbell Press
Step by step
- Set an adjustable bench to about a 30-45 degree incline and sit back against it.
- Hold a dumbbell in each hand at your upper chest, shoulder blades pinned back.
- Press the dumbbells up over your upper chest until your arms are straight.
- Lower them with control to the sides of your upper chest.
- Press back up along the same path over your upper chest.
The thing people get wrong
The incline shifts the work to your upper chest and front shoulders. Keep the bench angle moderate - too steep turns it into a shoulder press.
Coaching cue
Keep your elbows slightly in front of your shoulders rather than flared straight out to the sides.
Stay safe
Kick the dumbbells into place with your knees as you sit back; do not curl them up from your sides.
Make it easier or harder
- Easier: Set the bench closer to flat and use lighter weights.
- Harder: Pause one second at the bottom of each rep.
Muscles worked
- Primary: Chest, Front delts
- Secondary: Triceps
What to do instead
Same job, different movement — useful if you don't have the equipment or it doesn't feel right today.
Daily Coach builds this into a real weekly plan. It picks the exercises for your equipment and experience, swaps around injuries you tell it about, and tracks what you actually lifted.