Shoulders
Alternating Dumbbell Press
The Alternating Dumbbell Press is a strength exercise with dumbbells for your shoulders. Share of the load in the Zulta muscle model: mid chest 31%, front delts 13% and lower chest 11%.
Also known as: alternating db press
How to do it
- Lie on a flat bench with a dumbbell in each hand held at the sides of your chest.
- Set your feet flat, squeeze your shoulder blades together and keep your lower back in a natural arch.
- Press one dumbbell up until the arm is straight while the other stays at chest level.
- Lower it back to the chest under control.
- Press the other dumbbell up, keeping the waiting dumbbell steady at the bottom.
Tips
- Keep the waiting dumbbell loaded at the chest so both sides stay under tension.
- Press in a line over the lower chest, not toward the face.
Common mistakes
- Resting the waiting dumbbell on the chest and letting the arm go slack.
- Rolling the torso toward the pressing side.
- Bouncing the dumbbell out of the bottom.
Muscles worked by the Alternating Dumbbell Press
Share per muscle in the Zulta muscle model. The model spreads the load of one rep over 40 muscles, based on EMG and biomechanics research.
Free implements need more shoulder stabilisation (Saeterbakken 2011). An offset load has to be resisted by the trunk. Pressing away from the chest is shoulder horizontal adduction plus elbow extension: the sternal pec drives it, front delt and triceps assist, and the clavicular pec joins as a strong secondary on a flat bench.
Alternating Dumbbell Press alternatives
Same equipment
Different equipment
No equipment
Make it harder
Similar exercises
Frequently asked questions
What muscles does the Alternating Dumbbell Press work?
Mainly the mid chest and lower chest. The front delts, upper chest, triceps (lateral head) and triceps (medial head) assist.
Is the Alternating Dumbbell Press good for beginners?
Yes. The Alternating Dumbbell Press is rated beginner in the Zulta library: the technique is easy to learn with a light weight.
What is a good alternative to the Alternating Dumbbell Press?
For example the Alternating Dumbbell Bench Press, Single Arm Dumbbell Press and Single Arm Cable Chest Press. They train mostly the same muscles, some with different equipment.
How do you make the Alternating Dumbbell Press harder?
Add weight or reps, or move on to the Single Arm Dumbbell Press and Single Arm Cable Chest Press.
Sources
- Rodriguez-Ridao et al. 2020, IJERPH 17(19):7339 (five bench inclinations)
- Lehman 2005, JSCR 19(3):587-591 (grip width and forearm position)
- Saeterbakken et al. 2011, J Sports Sci 29(5):533-538 (barbell, dumbbell, Smith)
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