Dumbbell Incline Fly

So-called fly exercises are popular exercises for isolating the chest muscles as much as possible. The primary function during this exercise is pulling the upper arms forward באמצעות the pectoralis major. Because the arms maintain the same curvature throughout the movement, the triceps are required much less than during the bench press. The biceps must, however, be kept under continuous tension to maintain the arms in a slightly bent position.

Flyes can be performed with dumbbells, but also with machines or cables.

In this incline variation, relatively more emphasis is placed on the upper fibers of the pectoralis major and relatively less on the lower and middle fibers. The shoulders are also loaded more than in the flat or decline position.

Dumbbell Incline Fly execution

1
Move your arms out to the sides as if you want to embrace someone. Depending on shoulder mobility, your hands finish slightly in front of or beside your torso. Because of the bend in the arms, the elbows are slightly farther toward the floor.
2
Bring your hands back together as if embracing a (large) person.

Dumbbell Incline Fly

Active muscles:

Pectoralis major (chest muscle)
Anterior deltoid (front fibers of the shoulder muscle)
Serratus anterior
Coracobrachialis

Stabilizing muscles:

Rotator cuff (stabilizing shoulder muscles, supraspinatus, subscapularis, teres major, teres minor)
Biceps brachii
Serratus
Trapezius
Triceps brachii
Latissimus dorsi
Core muscles

Dumbbell Incline Fly preparation

Choose the appropriate dumbbell weight for the desired number of repetitions.
Check the angle of the bench. Set it at an angle of approximately 45 degrees or less.
Sit at the end of the incline bench with the dumbbells upright on your knees.
Lean back and, in the same movement, bring the dumbbells one at a time toward your chest with your knees. Place your feet back on the floor.
Keep your hands in a pronated position (thumbs facing your face). Keep your elbows at your sides.
Press both arms straight upward, but maintain a slight bend in the arms. This is your starting position.

Dumbbell Incline Fly technique

One of the most common mistakes in this exercise is bending and straightening the arms. Do not straighten the arms when bringing the hands backward; keep them under tension. This prevents you from having to bend them extra again on the way forward and thereby prevents excessive involvement of the biceps and its (distal) attachment.

Another common mistake is wanting to perform a dumbbell fly, but turning it into a dumbbell chest press. The hands then begin with the palms facing the feet instead of each other. The movement itself is subsequently more of a forward push, as in the bench press, rather than an embracing movement.

Keep the elbows below shoulder level in the starting and ending positions. This is to prevent excessive involvement and a potentially injury-prone shoulder position.

Do not bring the elbows too far backward at the beginning and end of the movement. They should not come far past the torso. A safe starting point is up to the torso. Depending on shoulder mobility, you can move slightly farther back for a greater range of motion.