Chest
Decline Dumbbell Floor Press
The Decline Dumbbell Floor Press is a strength exercise with dumbbells for your chest. Share of the load in the Zulta muscle model: mid chest 33%, lower chest 25% and triceps (lateral head) 9%.
How to do it
- Lie on the floor with knees bent, feet flat and a dumbbell in each hand.
- Drive your hips up into a glute bridge so your body slopes down from knees to shoulders.
- Press the dumbbells up over your chest with straight arms.
- Lower the dumbbells until your upper arms touch the floor, keeping the hips up.
- Press back up to straight arms.
Tips
- Squeeze the glutes to hold the bridge steady for the whole set.
- Touch the floor with the upper arms softly before each press.
Common mistakes
- Letting the hips sag during the set.
- Dropping the elbows hard onto the floor.
- Flaring the elbows straight out to the sides.
Muscles worked by the Decline Dumbbell Floor 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.
A decline lines the press up with the costal fibres and unloads the front delt. Free implements need more shoulder stabilisation (Saeterbakken 2011). 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.
Decline Dumbbell Floor Press alternatives
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Frequently asked questions
What muscles does the Decline Dumbbell Floor Press work?
Mainly the mid chest and lower chest. The triceps (lateral head), front delts and triceps (medial head) assist.
Is the Decline Dumbbell Floor Press good for beginners?
The Decline Dumbbell Floor Press is rated intermediate. If you are new, learn the Decline Dumbbell Press first and build up from there.
What is a good alternative to the Decline Dumbbell Floor Press?
For example the Decline Dumbbell Press, Iso-Lateral Decline Press and Decline Bench Press. They train mostly the same muscles, some with different equipment.
How do you make the Decline Dumbbell Floor Press harder?
Add weight or reps, or move on to the Cambered Bar Bench Press and Spoto 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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