Dumbbell Incline Fly

Muscles worked

Chest

Primary muscle

Upper chest

Equipment

Dumbbell

Movement pattern

Push

Difficulty

Intermediate

What it is for

Hypertrophy

Watch the full tutorial

• Setting the bench to 45 degrees or more. The more upright the backrest, the more it resembles a front raise and the front deltoid takes work from the chest. Stay around 30 degrees, one or two notches above flat.
• Lowering past the line of the torso. With the elbows below the bench, the shoulder absorbs the stretch and the pec stops leading. Stop with the upper arms level with the torso and the shoulder blades against the pad.
• Bending the elbows on the way up, turning it into a press. If the elbow closes during the lift, the triceps helps, the load rises easier and the fly loses its point. Set a slight bend and keep it through the arc.
• Clashing the dumbbells at the top and relaxing. With the arms vertical over the shoulder, the load stops pulling on the pec, so every rep has a hidden rest. Stop a few centimeters before they touch and squeeze the chest briefly.

Which muscles does the incline dumbbell fly work?

The pectoralis major, with more involvement of its clavicular portion, the upper chest, because the bench angle points the arc of the arms upward. The front deltoid assists throughout the lift, and more so the steeper the bench. The biceps does not move the load, but holds the elbow angle isometrically through the whole range, and the serratus anterior joins in at the end, when the dumbbells meet over the chest.

Incline or flat dumbbell fly: which one should you pick?

The difference is the direction of the arc: on a flat bench the arms close at sternum level and the work falls on the sternal portion; on an incline they close higher and the clavicular portion contributes more. On the incline you move a little less weight. Pick the incline fly if the upper chest lags or the session already has flat pressing; the flat fly, when you want the most load or to finish the whole pec.

How many sets and reps of the incline fly should you do?

A common starting point is 3 sets of 10 to 15 reps, leaving 1 to 3 reps in reserve, with a two to three second lowering until you feel the stretch. The lever is long and the load lands on the elbow and shoulder, so the dumbbells are quite a bit lighter than the ones you press. They go after the presses, as the second or third chest exercise, and work well in a superset with an incline press.

What incline should you use and how low should you go in the incline fly?

Set the bench to about 30 degrees, one or two notches above flat; at 45 or more, the front deltoid takes over too much. Lower in an arc until the upper arms are level with the torso or just below, with the dumbbells at chest line and the shoulder blades pinned to the bench. Come up along the same arc until the dumbbells sit over the upper chest, without clashing them, with the elbow angle fixed.