A favorite among many bodybuilders, the dumbbell incline chest fly has been used to isolate the “upper” chest since the golden days in Venice Beach, California.
Utilizing an adjustable bench set to an incline provides a slight shift in activation when performing dumbbell flys. Enough so that Arnie and the classic era bodybuilders used it often to help them build that top shelf-looking chest popular among old school bodybuilders.
Today, sports science has unveiled a lot of information in terms of “optimal” training. Many focus on compound lifts, heavy loads, and optimal training frequency for gains.
However, there’s still a time and a place for classic isolation lifts like the dumbbell incline chest fly.
Especially if you’re simply looking to have fun in the gym and build a nice physique through consistently showing up and putting in effort.
So, whatever your goals for the exercise, in this article I am going to provide you with instructions on how to perform the exercise, how to add it to your workout routines, and provide some variations you can go and explore if you want to spice up your workouts in the future.
Keep in mind this is all for information purposes. Please consult with your health care provider before beginning any exercise program.
Let’s get started.
How to Perform the Dumbbell Incline Chest Fly
To perform the incline dumbbell chest fly exercise, you will need a set of (adjustable) dumbbells and an adjustable bench.
- Select the weight you would like to use to perform the exercise.
- Adjust the bench to the desired incline for the exercise. ~45-60* incline is a general recommendation.
- Lie on the bench with your back firmly on it. Set your shoulders by squeezing your shoulder blades down and back.
- Place and keep your feet planted on the floor.
- Maintain all contact points with the bench throughout the entirety of the exercise.
- Press the dumbbells up and rotate them into a neutral grip (palms facing in) while maintaining a slight bend in your elbows.
- Brace your core.
- Breathing in, slowly lower the dumbbells with your arms in an extended position until they reach the same height as your chest.
- Exhaling, flex your chest and slowly bring the dumbbells back to the starting position.
- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
What Muscles Are Worked During the Dumbbell Incline Chest Fly?
The dumbbell incline chest fly will primarily target the muscles of your chest. Otherwise known as your pectoral muscles.
You will also experience a slight activation of the muscles of the shoulder, triceps, and core during the exercise.
How to Add Dumbbell Incline Chest Flys to Your Workout Routine
Dumbbell incline chest flys are often seen as a mid-late workout exercise.
Set ranges will generally be anywhere between 2-4 sets and rep ranges have a wide variety depending on the goals of the lifter. Most will perform between 8-12 repetitions. Some may choose to go as high as 15 repetitions during the exercise.
If you primarily use full body workouts, you may not include this exercise into your programs at all. If you do, it may be used on more of an isolation full body workout day to focus on lagging muscle groups.
If you perform upper/lower workouts, the exercise may be used during your upper body workout days and will likely be one of the lifts used after your main compound lifts of the session.
If you perform push/pull/leg splits, the exercise will be utilized during your push workouts and will likely be performed after your main compound lifts of the session.
Similarly, if you perform bro split style workouts, the exercise will be included during your chest workouts and will be performed after your main compound lifts. Possibly as the finisher exercise of the training session.
Dumbbell Incline Chest Fly Variations
- Dumbbell Chest Fly
- Cable Cross Over
- Incline Cable Chest Fly
- Machine Chest Fly
- Decline Dumbbell Chest Fly
- Floor Dumbbell Chest Fly
- Resistance Band Chest Fly
Conclusion
The dumbbell incline chest fly is great for anyone looking to build the muscles of the chest without taxing other muscle groups to the extent that a compound exercise might.
It is a popular exercise among those who have access to an adjustable bench and a set of dumbbells. Especially those who perform higher frequency training styles such as bro split workouts, PPL splits, and Upper/Lower workouts.
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