functional exercise: dumbbell bench press

yogabook / functional exercises / dumbbell bench press

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last update: 30.10.2023
Level: A

Classification

Functional exercise

Contraindication

Diagnostic

Instructions

  1. Lie on your back on a weight bench with a dumbbell in each hand. The head is supported on the mat. The legs can be pulled up to prevent a hollow back.
  2. Stretch your arms vertically upwards with the dumbbells.
  3. Move the upper arms from the vertical towards the floor with increasing flexion of the elbow joints. Depending on how heavy the weight is in relation to the available strength, also extend the arms as far as possible in the lowest position (with sufficient strength) or bend them to over 90° at the elbow joint.

Details

  1. This version has the advantage over the more familiar barbell version that the wrists can be held in a completely neutral position, i.e. without dorsiflexion, palmar flexion and, above all, without radial abduction or (if the hands are very close together) ulnar abduction. In the event of wrist dysfunctions caused by the necessary radial abduction at normal distances in the barbell bench press, this can be a great advantage or make the movement possible in the first place. Although a narrow grip in barbell bench presses avoids wide radial abductions and in some cases even goes into ulnar abduction, the horizontal lever arm for the pectoralis major is significantly shortened, which limits the strengthening effect of the posture for this muscle. At the same time, the demand on the triceps is significantly higher. If the distance is very close, the limit of ulnar abduction can also be reached.
  2. Compared to the barbell bench press, the muscles of both shoulder joints have to perform significantly more stabilising work in different directions, as no small, unintentional movements of both arms can neutralise each other.
  3. The speed of concentric and eccentric contraction is a variable variable. For effective training, a greater TUT (time under tension) makes sense, as not only are different numbers of muscle fibre fibres acquired depending on the level of load and these alternate during the work, but slow, heavy repetitions(HSR, Heavy Slow Repetitions) are recommended, particularly in the area of rehabilitative training, which means at least three seconds per movement ( concentric and eccentric).
  4. The pectoralis major is one of the muscles that is strengthened the most with this exercise. The pars clavicularis of the deltoideus is also involved, as are the upper arm muscles. The activity of the triceps increases steadily from the lower end position towards the upper end position, while the demand on the pectoralis decreases towards the end of the movement. The biceps, with its short head, is active as the lateral adductor of the shoulder joint and also helps to maintain the angle in the elbow joint when the forearms diverge upwards if the distance between the hands is not so small.
  5. According to Kontruktion, this exercise is very suitable for stretching the pectoralis major when held in the lower end position. It is well known that intensive stretching is a powerful isometric or extremely slow eccentric contraction with a very long sarcomere length. This is exactly what the lower end position of the bench press can achieve excellently, especially with greater distances between the dumbbells, i.e. a larger lever arm and maximum sinking upper arms.
  6. As a rule, the working range should be approximately maximum. In particular, long sarcomere lengths near the lower end position should be used, not only because the short sarcomere lengths no longer place sufficient demands on the pectoralis major except when the dumbbells are far apart from each other, but also because the working range and even the time spent in the sarcomere lengths have a significant influence on the tone and flexibility of a muscle. A left shift of the curve, which plots the contraction speed against the sarcomere length, is therefore highly recommended, especially as more recent findings from exercise physiology show that longer sarcomere lengths enable better strengthening.
  7. Insertional tendopathies of the pectoralis major are very rare as far as the area of origin is concerned, certainly also due to the very large base of this muscle on the rib cartilage, sternum and clavicle. Distal insertional tendopathy is more likely to occur. However, this is also very rare, as the overuse required as a cause tends to overload other structures such as the clavicular pars of the deltoid or the origins of the biceps (short head) or coracobrachialis. In order to prevent these disorders, in addition to the obligatory warm-up, a moderate start to the respective exercise session with moderate weights and, especially at the beginning, moderate contraction speeds is recommended. Regular training of the other muscles mentioned reduces the risk for these accordingly. A swinging lower inversion is also a risk factor, even if it is often used to store a little kinetic energy in the tendon elasticity and utilise it for the concentric contraction. If the forearms diverge significantly in the lower end position, this places corresponding demands on the biceps and also makes a lower swing reversal a risk for a SLAP lesion.
  8. It is not uncommon to see that the dumbbells are briefly brought into contact once in the upper end position. Performers who lack flexibility in the pectoralis major should avoid such short distances between the dumbbells and thus the angle of the transverse abduction, or at least work with a very clear leftward shift of the contraction speed-time curve, both eccentrically and concentrically.
  9. The shoulder blades should be laterally equal in extensive retraction and depression. Depending on the mobility in the glenohumeral joint, bringing the dumbbells very close to the limit of transverse adduction in this joint in the upper end position can lead to a tendency towards undesirable protraction of the shoulder blades.
  10. Other variations can certainly be found in the areas of weight training, Olympic bench press (part of powerlifting) or bobybuilding, but the focus here is on good applicability for the general public and minimising the risk of side effects. One important variation is a clearly asymmetrical distribution of time between the eccentric and concentric contractions, with the former being performed significantly longer and the latter as quickly as possible. However, this variation should only be performed when sufficiently warmed up and not by beginners. In addition, a lower swing reversal must also be avoided here.

Variants

held

Instructions

  1. Take the pose as described above, but remain in the lower end position and use it as a stretching posture.

Details