When it comes to working your chest muscles, it’s important to use a variety of different exercises to really engage all of the muscle fibers.
Pressing exercises are all well and good, but it would be a good idea to add some stretching exercise to the routine. For that reason, it’s vital to switch things up and add a little variety and for that reason, dumbbell flyes are absolutely ideal.
Dumbbell flyes help to focus on and isolate the chest, and are perfect for adding muscle mass to the chest itself. They don’t require heavy weight, yet they’re highly, highly effective and are relatively easy to do, providing that you know exactly how to do them.
Here’s a step by step guide on how to correctly and safely perform dumbbell flyes:
– Begin by grabbing hold of a set of dumbbells that feel comfortable to you. If you struggle to even lift them off the rack, put them back and choose a set of lighter weight.
– Take a seat on a flat bench and carefully place the bottom of the dumbbells on each of your thighs. Grab each dumbbell so that your palms are facing each other.
– Next, slowly lean backwards on the bench, making sure to keep the dumbbells in your hands and relatively close to your chest. Your back should now be flat against the bench, and your feet planted firmly on the ground.
– Now, extend both of your arms up into the air, making sure each of your palms is still facing the other. Stop just a tad before your elbows are fully locked out. Your arms should now be forming a 90 degree angle with your torso, and the dumbbells should be directly above your chest.
– Next, slowly lower both of the dumbbells at the same time, outwards, as if you were attempting to draw an invisible arc in the air. Your elbows should be ever so slightly bent, and you should continue until your elbows have dipped to roughly the same height of the top of the bench.
– Hold and squeeze the pecs for a second, before slowly bringing the dumbbells back up in the air again, in exactly the same motion as you lowered them.
– Once they reach the top, again, really focus on squeezing the pecs, and then slowly repeat for as many reps as necessary.
Things to remember
- Make sure to choose a relatively light weight, as this movement is all about squeezing and contracting the weights in a safe and controlled manner.
- Ensure the elbows remain ever so slightly bent at all times.
- Before you begin the exercise, take a deep breath, as you lower the dumbbells, breathe out, and breath in as you bring them back up above your chest with each rep.
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