The dumbbell chest fly is an upper body exercise that can help to strengthen the chest and shoulders. The traditional way to perform a dumbbell chest fly is to do the move while lying on your back on a flat or incline bench.
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Are dumbbell flys worth it?
Dumbbell flyes give the shoulders, chest, and triceps a great workout. There are a handful of exercises you can use to target the shoulders and the pectoral muscles, but flyes have the unique advantage of targeting your chest muscles’ ability to move toward the center of the body, a motion called abduction.
Are standing dumbbell flys good for chest?
Standing dumbbell chest fly is a good exercise to target your Mid and upper chest. With only a pair of dumbbells, you can make your chest area broader and more developed. This is a great exercise to activate the chest towards the beginning of a workout.
How do you do dumbbell chest flies?

Are flies better than bench press?
The bench press beat flys in terms of average muscle activation for all target muscle groups, including the pecs: see the data below. Flys did stimulate the biceps more. Interestingly, biceps activity was actually likely high enough to stimulate muscle growth with the flys.
Should you arch your back when doing dumbbell flys?
Hold the dumbbells directly above your chest, palms facing each other, then lower the weights in an arc out to the sides as far as is comfortable. Use your pectoral muscles to reverse the movement back to the start. Keep a slight bend in your elbows throughout and don’t arch your back.
How many sets of dumbbell flyes should I do?
Dumbbell Flye Sets and Reps For Hypertrophy: 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps with a moderate weight to near-failure. For Muscular Endurance: 4 sets of 15+ reps with a light weight and limited rest. As a Pre-Exhaustion Movement: 2 sets of 20 reps with a light weight, focusing on the contraction of your chest.
How many dumbbell flyes should I do?
Ultimately the amount of weight you use for flies is up to you. The stronger and more experienced you are, the heavier the dumbbells you should use. Beginners should stick to a weight that is slightly challenging, but allows you to complete two to three sets of eight to 12 perfect repetitions.
Why do chest flys hurt my shoulders?
The truth: This apparatus, also called the chest fly machine, can overstretch the front of your shoulder and cause the muscles around the rear of your shoulder to stiffen. The result: Doing this movement frequently can lead to shoulder impingement syndrome.
What muscle group do dumbbell Flyes work?
Dumbbell flyes will work both of your chest muscles, the larger pectoralis major and the smaller pectoralis minor which, when fully developed, can give you the ‘chest separation’ look that most people strive for.
Do chest flys work biceps?
Chest flyes are designed to target the pectoral muscles of the chest, but do involve the biceps as stabilizers and may be included as part of a split routine in which you focus on the chest and biceps on the same day.
Are flys good for chest?
Chest flies are an upper body exercise that help strengthen the chest, shoulders, and core by lowering weights out and down toward the sides before “flying” them back up to the starting position (more on that, below).
Are chest flys push or pull?
Push Day โ Chest Presses (Horizontal), Chest Flys, Shoulder Presses (Vertical) and Triceps Extension/Press Movements. Pull Day โ Low/Medial Rows (Horizontal), High-Rows (Vertical), Shoulder Accessories (Lateral/Front Raises & Transverse Abduction for Rear Deltoids), as well as Bicep Curls.
What is the single best chest exercise?
Why: The barbell bench press is one of the single best exercises for building almost every major muscle in your upper body, including your pecs, triceps, and deltoids. This is why almost all well-designed chest workouts are built around heavy benching.
What exercise works the chest the most?
- Flat Barbell Bench Press. Main Muscles Targeted: Pectoralis Major and Minor.
- Incline Dumbbell Bench Press. Primary Muscles Targeted: Pectoralis Major and Clavicular Head.
- Bodyweight Dip.
- Incline Bench Cable Chest Fly.
- Bodyweight Push-Up.
What exercise activates the chest the most?
#1 Mid-height Cable Cross Overs. The highest mean activation score for the upper chest muscles belongs to mid-height Cable Cross-overs. Whilst it may seem counterintuitive, this isolated exercise is the most effective in activating your upper pecs.
Is incline dumbbell fly better than flat?
The Verdict. Both of these exercises are excellent chest builders and each allows you to work different muscles. If you had to choose only one movement, go with the incline dumbbell fly because it has one key advantage over the flat bench press, which is safety.
Where should you feel chest flys?

What is better than a dumbbell fly?
The floor fly is a good alternative because it is the same movement pattern as the dumbbell fly but performed for the floor, rather than on a bench. For this reason, we can be sure that this alternative will target similar musculature, and emphasize the chest muscles more than the other contributing muscle groups.
Which is better cable fly or dumbbell fly?
The biggest advantage of doing flyes with cables is it that it puts consistent tension on the chest muscles. Thus, you are stimulating the pecs throughout the range of motion. As a result, you get superior chest development and even greater pumps.
How much can the average person dumbbell fly?
What is the average Dumbbell Fly? The average Dumbbell Fly weight for a female lifter is 27 lb (1RM). This makes you Intermediate on Strength Level and is a very impressive lift. What is a good Dumbbell Fly? Female beginners should aim to lift 7 lb (1RM) which is still impressive compared to the general population.
Should you go heavy on dumbbell flys?
The contraction of the chest muscle happens when you are at the top of the movement, so there is no need to force your arms below the nipple line. By lowering your arms below your chest line, you could tear your pec muscles and ligaments in your shoulders. Pay attention to the dumbbells and do not lift heavy weights.
Should I do chest flys first?
Considering The Placement Of Your Flyes One technique is to actually perform the flyes first before doing any other chest movements (bench press, incline press, etc).
What is an impressive dumbbell press?
The average Dumbbell Bench Press weight for a male lifter is 90 lb (1RM). This makes you Intermediate on Strength Level and is a very impressive lift. What is a good Dumbbell Bench Press? Male beginners should aim to lift 35 lb (1RM) which is still impressive compared to the general population.
How do you do dumbbell Flyes without shoulder pain?
