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Exercise library · Chest

Dumbbell fly

Fly for the chest with dumbbells.

How to do it

1 of 3

Dumbbells above your chest

  1. Starting position

    Lie flat with your feet on the floor and hold the dumbbells above your chest with your palms facing each other.

  2. The movement

    Open your arms in a wide arc with slightly bent elbows, then bring the dumbbells together above your chest.

Most common mistake

Don't turn the movement into a press, keep the same slight bend in your elbows throughout.

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Muscle group
Chest
Equipment
Dumbbells
Where
Home or gym
Logged as
Weight × reps

Muscles worked

The dumbbell fly trains your chest, which brings your arms towards the middle of your body, helped by the front of your shoulders. Your triceps barely work, as your elbows do not straighten, but your biceps work a little to hold the slight bend in your arms. The load is uneven: greatest when your arms are spread and your chest is stretched, and almost gone when the dumbbells are together above you. On an incline bench, the upper chest and the front of your shoulders usually get more of the work.

Common mistakes

  • Lowering your arms too far. Well below bench level, the lever gets long and your shoulders are pushed into an end position under full load. Stop at a clear stretch in your chest, for most people roughly when your elbows reach bench height.
  • Resting at the top. With the dumbbells straight above your chest, your arms hold the weight with almost no help from your chest. Bring them together and head straight back down.
  • Dropping the dumbbells out to the sides after the set. Letting heavy dumbbells fall from the stretched position puts needless strain on your shoulders. After the last rep, bring them together and lower them to your chest and thighs before sitting up. Start the set the same way, from your thighs.

Variations and alternatives

Sets and reps

Dumbbell flyes do not suit heavy, low-rep sets. With the long lever, the last reps of a heavy set easily turn into presses. To build muscle, most people do 2 to 4 sets of 8 to 15 reps, ideally after a press. For endurance, 15 to 20 reps works. Leave one or two reps in reserve on most sets so your form holds. See the guide to sets and reps.

Dumbbells often go up in steps of 2 to 2.5 kg, which feels bigger in a fly than in a press. Add reps first, and go heavier once you reach the top of your range on every set with the same elbow bend. That is progressive overload in an isolation exercise.

Also called

  • flyes

Swap for

Taken, or missing the equipment? The same movement with something else.

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