Strength Training · Bodybuilding
Dumbbell Chest Fly
The dumbbell chest fly is a flat-bench exercise that trains your chest by moving the weights through a wide arc while keeping a slight bend in your elbows.
- Beginner
- Isolation
- Moderate injury risk
- Rest 1 min
How to do it
- Sit on the bench with a dumbbell resting upright on each thigh.
- Lie back with the dumbbells close to your chest.
- Plant your feet firmly on the floor.
- Extend your arms above your chest with your palms facing each other.
- Soften your elbows into a slight bend.
- Lower the dumbbells out to your sides in a wide arc until your upper arms are roughly level with your torso.
- Bring the dumbbells back above your chest along the same arc.
Form cues
- Keep your shoulder blades against the bench.
- Keep your wrists straight.
- Exhale as you close your arms.
Common mistakes
- Turning the fly into a pressKeep the same elbow angle throughout rather than bending your elbows further as you lower.
- Bouncing out of the bottomLower slowly enough to reverse direction smoothly without using momentum.
Safety
The long arm position places substantial leverage on your shoulders, even with light dumbbells. Excessive depth or losing control under fatigue can strain the chest or front of the shoulder.
- Start with substantially less weight than you use for a dumbbell chest press.
- Use a shorter range if you feel shoulder discomfort rather than a comfortable chest stretch.
- End the set when you can no longer control the lowering phase.
- To finish, bend your elbows to bring the weights close to your chest before carefully returning them to your thighs as you sit up.
If you have a history of shoulder dislocation or persistent shoulder pain, get advice from a physiotherapist before trying loaded fly movements.
Muscles worked
Primary muscles
Secondary muscles
Equipment
- Dumbbell
- Flat Bench
Sets and reps
- Sets
- 2–3
- Target
- 10–15 reps
- Rest
- 1 min
Choose a weight that leaves you able to complete about two more controlled reps at the end of each set.