Dumbbell Flyes

Setup

Lie on a flat bench holding a dumbbell in each hand over your chest, palms facing each other, with a soft bend in the elbows that stays fixed for the whole set. Feet flat, shoulder blades pulled back and down into the bench.

How to do it

1. Lower the dumbbells out to the sides in a wide arc until you feel a stretch across the chest, roughly level with the bench.
2. Keep the same elbow bend on the way down and the way up; the movement happens at the shoulder, not the elbow.
3. Squeeze the chest to bring the dumbbells back over the chest without letting them touch.
4. Stop the arc when the upper arms are level with the torso; going deeper loads the shoulder more than the chest.

Watch out for

• ✗Bending the elbows more at the bottom, which turns the fly into a press.
• ✗Using a weight that forces a shallow arc; flyes are a stretch-and-squeeze movement, not a max-load one.
• ✗Letting the shoulder blades roll forward at the top, which shortens the chest's range.