Dumbbell Fly

Dumbbell Fly Basics

Primary muscles worked: Pecs

Synergist Muscles: Anterior Deltoid

Mechanics: Isolation

Equipment: Flat Bench and Dumbbells

How To Perform The Dumbbell Fly

• Grab a pair of dumbbells and lay with your back flat on the bench.
• Fully extend your arms, keeping them parallel to each other, and make sure your palms face each other as well.
• Next, lower the weight in an arc, keeping a slight bend in the arms until they are about parallel to the floor, and in line with your body.
• Now, bring the weight back up in this same arc. This movement will require recruitment of the pectoral muscles. A full rep is completed when the arms are once again parallel to each other.

Dumbbell Fly Tips

• Keeping a slight bend in your arms will ensure that you are not generating excessive torque on the rotator cuff.
• Also make sure that you do not allow your arms to fall below bench level as this also increases the stress placed on the rotator cuff.

Dumbbell Fly and Sports Application

This movement can be seen most easily swim move defensive ends and linebackers use in football. When making an outside swim move, the inside arm to the offensive player is responsible for swatting away hand contact from the defenders body. Once the hands are clear, the defensive player can use the outside arm to push on the back or hips of the offensive player to get an additional boost and seal off the offensive player. This seal move is very similar to the dumbbell fly. The dumbbell fly is overall is useful for improving chest strength and power.