Decline Dumbbell Bench Press

A beginner compound strength exercise that works the chest, using dumbbells.

Decline Dumbbell Bench Press — Starting position Starting position
Decline Dumbbell Bench Press — End position End position
Difficulty Beginner
Type Strength
Equipment Dumbbells
Primary Muscle Chest
AI Rep Counting Log manually

How to Do Decline Dumbbell Bench Press

  1. Secure your legs at the end of the decline bench and lie down with a dumbbell on each hand on top of your thighs. The palms of your hand will be facing each other.
  2. Once you are laying down, move the dumbbells in front of you at shoulder width.
  3. Once at shoulder width, rotate your wrists forward so that the palms of your hands are facing away from you. This will be your starting position.
  4. Bring down the weights slowly to your side as you breathe out. Keep full control of the dumbbells at all times. Tip: Throughout the motion, the forearms should always be perpendicular to the floor.
  5. As you breathe out, push the dumbbells up using your pectoral muscles. Lock your arms in the contracted position, squeeze your chest, hold for a second and then start coming down slowly. Tip: It should take at least twice as long to go down than to come up..
  6. Repeat the movement for the prescribed amount of repetitions of your training program.

Muscles Worked

Front
Back

Primary

Where Decline Dumbbell Bench Press does most of its work.

Secondary

Assisting and stabilising muscles.

Alternatives to Decline Dumbbell Bench Press

10 movements that train the same primary muscle, closest substitutes first — same kind of training, then variations of the movement itself, then a similar difficulty.

  1. 1 Barbell Incline Bench Press - Medium Grip

    Barbell Incline Bench Press - Medium Grip

    A beginner compound strength exercise that works the chest, using a barbell.

    beginner Barbell
  2. 2 Bench Press - With Bands

    Bench Press - With Bands

    A beginner compound strength exercise that works the chest, using a resistance band.

    beginner Resistance Bands
  3. 3 Decline Barbell Bench Press

    Decline Barbell Bench Press

    A beginner compound strength exercise that works the chest, using a barbell.

    beginner Barbell
  4. 4 Decline Smith Press

    Decline Smith Press

    A beginner compound strength exercise that works the chest, using a machine.

    beginner Machines
  5. 5 Leverage Decline Chest Press

    Leverage Decline Chest Press

    A beginner compound strength exercise that works the chest, using a machine.

    beginner Machines
  6. 6 Machine Bench Press

    Machine Bench Press

    A beginner compound strength exercise that works the chest, using a machine.

    beginner Machines
  7. 7 Smith Machine Bench Press

    Smith Machine Bench Press

    A beginner compound strength exercise that works the chest, using a machine.

    beginner Machines
  8. 8 Smith Machine Decline Press

    Smith Machine Decline Press

    A beginner compound strength exercise that works the chest, using a machine.

    beginner Machines
  9. 9 Smith Machine Incline Bench Press

    Smith Machine Incline Bench Press

    A beginner compound strength exercise that works the chest, using a machine.

    beginner Machines
  10. 10 Dumbbell Bench Press

    Dumbbell Bench Press

    A beginner compound strength exercise that works the chest, using dumbbells.

    beginner Dumbbells

Frequently Asked Questions

What muscles do decline dumbbell bench press work?

Decline Dumbbell Bench Press primarily works the chest. The shoulders and triceps assist as secondary muscles.

What equipment do I need for decline dumbbell bench press?

Decline Dumbbell Bench Press uses dumbbells.

Decline Dumbbell Bench Press: is it suitable for beginners?

Yes. Decline Dumbbell Bench Press is rated beginner. Movements you can learn in a session, with a low skill floor and a forgiving failure mode.

What can I do instead of decline dumbbell bench press?

Barbell Incline Bench Press - Medium Grip, Bench Press - With Bands, Decline Barbell Bench Press train the same primary muscles and are listed with 7 more alternatives above.

Can Fitnit count my decline dumbbell bench press reps automatically?

Not automatically yet. Fitnit's AI rep counting covers push-ups, squats, dumbbell curls, crunches and pull-ups today; decline dumbbell bench press can be logged manually in the app, and tracked movements are added over time.

Photographs and step-by-step instructions from free-exercise-db, a public-domain exercise dataset. Muscle mapping and alternatives by Fitnit.

Track Your Decline Dumbbell Bench Press with AI

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