Incline Dumbbell Flyes

What it is

This exercise effectively targets your chest muscles from an incline position. It involves a wide, arcing motion, primarily engaging your pectorals. You will also feel secondary activation in your shoulders. Focus on a controlled stretch and contraction for optimal muscle engagement.

Technique tips

• Set your incline bench to no more than 30 degrees.
• Maintain a slight bend in your elbows throughout the movement.
• At the top, pinky fingers should touch; rotate palms up as you lower.
• Ensure movement only happens at the shoulder and wrist joints.
• Inhale as you lower the dumbbells, exhale as you return them.
• Lower slowly to maximize the stretch, then powerfully contract your chest.

How to track your progress

Log the weight and reps of each set. Straddly turns every set into an estimated one-rep max, so a heavier single and a strong set of eight both count as progress, and it flags a personal record the moment you beat your best.