Some exercises are more efficient than others. And if you want impressive chest muscle growth, there’s no exercise better than the incline dumbbell bench press. It’s proven to give results without being stressful on your joints, but have you tried any variations?
Ilija Jahura discusses four highly effective variations on the incline dumbbell bench press that you’ll want to add to your exercise routine today!
Low Incline One-Arm Press
If you’re looking for a way to feel the burn in your lower pecs, you’ll want to try this exercise. Doing the press with one arm allows you to use each arm’s strengths to your advantage. Since most people have one arm that is stronger than the other, you can give each arm and pec the individual workout it needs.
If you’re trying the low incline one-arm press, put it at the beginning of your workout. You should also use heavier weights with lower rep counts. Ilija Jahura recommends a classic scheme of three sets of eight or four sets of six. You should be feeling it at a lower incline of about fifteen degrees.
Alternating Press
An alternating dumbbell press gives you all of the advantages of having a stable shoulder while building strength through the chest and arms. To perform this press, keep your arms locked over your head. Press with the right arm, then with the left, and you’ve done one complete rep.
Your eyes should be set on the dumbbell over your chest to help the weight stable. And push through the floor with your feet to stabilize your core for safety and good form.
The alternating press is another exercise where you should go with a heavier weight and lower rep counts, similar to those in the low incline one-arm press.
Twisting Press
The twisting press is the perfect training press that will still yield some great-looking pecs. This variation is for you if you want to build your chest but aren’t ready to tackle heavy weights. Start by rotating your palms. At the same time, press the weight upwards, focusing your energy on the contraction of your chest.
This press is also a good option for anyone looking for a cooldown workout and should even be started with a quick warm-up set of around eight reps. Then you’re good to do two to three sets of eight to ten reps with a lighter weight and a minute of rest between.
Five-Second Pause Press
The five-second pause press is the perfect press to help improve your lifting technique — and technique is considerably more important than most people give it credit for. Not only will it help maximize your workout, but it can also help prevent future injuries.
This press is straightforward: perform a press as you normally would, but add a five-second pause. You can add the pause anywhere you have some instability to help increase your strength in those spots.
Who Is Ilija Jahura?
Ilija Jahura is a Kelowna-based physical fitness expert focusing on a whole-body approach to health and well-being. Through a careful combination of cardio, strength training, hypertrophy, and diet, Ilija can help his clients unlock their true potential, reach their fitness goals, and live better lives.
Odyssey has been the lead content writer and content marketer. He has vast experience in the field of writing. His SEO strategies help businesses to gain maximum traffic and success.