Squeeze and contract your chest at the bottom of the repetition for 1 second.
Maintaining the same slight bend in your arms proceed to fly the dumbbells back up to the starting position. The best analogy I have heard (which helped me finally get the right form!) for dumbbell flies is to imagine you're hugging a tree - practising this movement standing up without weights and familiarise yourself, then take it to the bench with your dumbbells.
Flat Dumbbell Flies Variations
Incline Dumbbell Flies
Utilizing the same form described above, the only difference here is you'll be performing your dumbbell flies on an incline bench. Incline places more emphasis on the upper chest.
Decline Dumbbell Flies
Utilizing the same form described above, the only difference here is you'll be performing your dumbbell flies on a decline bench. decline places more emphasis on the lower portion of the chest.
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Common Flat Dumbbell Flies Mistakes
Utilizing A Partial Range Of Motion
As you maintain a slight bend in your arms you must allow the dumbbells to pull your arms back until you feel the stretch in your chest.
Not Maintaining A Bend In Your Arms
With dead straight arms you'll find that you're not only failing to get the same stretch and contraction in the chest, but you're also placing yourself at greater risk of elbow/shoulder injuries.
Failing To Contract The Chest On Each Repetition
At the top of the movement you must squeeze your chest muscles together in order to get a full contraction, if you're merely going through the motions but not taking the time to squeeze on each repetition you're going to fail to see the results you're after.
Similar & Substitute Exercises
- Wide Grip Barbell Presses (Flat/Incline/Decline)
- Pec Dec
- Wide Grip Push-Ups
- Cable Crossovers