Preparation
Position one dumbbell at the end of incline bench. Pick up the dumbbell of the floor using a neutral grip (palm facing inward), place the dumbbell at the end of your thigh and sit down at the bench. Then push the dumbbell with your thigh and lie back on the bench, with the dumbbell straight up above your chest, at shoulder width. Rotate the dumbbell forward so that the palm of your hand are facing your feet. This will be your starting position.
Execution
As you inhale start lower the dumbbell in controlled motion until the dumbbell stand right to the sides of your upper chest, with your upper arm and forearm creating a 90-degree angle. From this position bring the dumbbell back up to the starting position as you exhale. Contract the chest at the top, hold for a second and repeat the movement for desire reps. When you finish switch the arms and repeat the set.
Recommendations
- For best results and maximum upper chest development use a bench with angle between 20 and 30 degrees. If you perform the exercise with higher inclination you will use your shoulder muscles too much and the chest will execute a smaller amount of work.
- Use the hand you are not lifting with to help bring up the dumbbell in the starting position.
- Move the dumbbell in a slight arch trajectory, this would help you to get good stretch at the bottom and better contraction at the top of the movement.
- Keep the elbow pointed outward and don’t lock it at the top of the movement to keep the tension in the chest muscles.
- Concentrate on keeping the dumbbell fully balanced and under control during the movement, perform the negative phase twice longer than the positive.
- If you use heavy weights don’t bring down the dumbbell lower than the point in which the angle between your upper arm and your forearm is 90-degrees. This will overload your rotator cuff and can lead to overstretch or rupture in chest muscles.
- When you finish your set do not drop the dumbbell this can be dangerous to your rotator cuff and the others trainable around you. To safely place the dumbbell of the floor twist your hand back to neutral grip, bring your knee up, put the dumbbell on the top of your thigh and bring your self back up with slight kick forward with your legs.