Dumbbell Lying Elbow Press

Secondary muscles
Pectorals, Delts
Body part
Upper Arms
Position
Lying
Laterality
Bilateral (both sides together)
Category
Strength

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Lying on a bench with palms facing each other, you bend only at the elbows while the upper arms stay fixed, which makes this closer to a triceps extension than a true chest press. It isolates the elbow-extension half of pressing, so light dumbbells for 10 to 15 controlled reps deliver more than heavy weight ever will here.

How to do the Dumbbell Lying Elbow Press

  1. Lie flat on a bench with a dumbbell in each hand, palms facing each other and arms extended straight up over your chest.
  2. Lower the dumbbells towards your shoulders by bending your elbows, keeping your upper arms stationary.
  3. Pause for a moment at the bottom, then press the dumbbells back up to the starting position by extending your elbows.
  4. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Tip: Squeeze the bar hard and keep the wrists straight over the elbows through the whole rep.

Muscles worked

Primary

Triceps · Arms

The triceps lock out the elbow on every press and dominate close grip and skull press variations.

Secondary

  • Pectorals — The chest presses the arms together and forward, and decline and wide grip variations put more emphasis on the lower and outer pecs.
  • Delts — The front delts assist every press and take over on Bradford and behind the neck variations.

Common mistakes

  • Elbows flaring wide — on horizontal presses keep the elbows at roughly 45 degrees from the torso; pressing overhead, keep them under the weight instead.
  • Losing the shoulder blade position — on bench-style presses set the shoulder blades back and down and keep them there; overhead, let the shoulder blades rotate up naturally with the arms.
  • Bouncing or rushing the bottom — control the bar down and pause for a beat before driving up, especially on decline and close grip variations.
  • Not committing to a variation — Bradford presses, skull presses and the like are hybrids; pick a fixed range and stick with it for the whole set.

Where it fits in a workout

Presses are the main movement in a push session and should go first or second. Superset them with a row or pulldown for a push and pull pair.

How many sets, how heavy and how hard: see what the ACSM position stands support.

Variations and alternatives

Similar exercises

Without dumbbell

Easier and harder

When to talk to someone

  • Chest discomfort, feeling faint or lightheaded, or trouble breathing during or after exercise can be signs of a heart attack. In the US, call 911 right away; elsewhere, call your local emergency number.
  • Heart, metabolic or kidney disease, or symptoms like these when you are active: talk to your doctor before you start or step up training.
  • Pregnant: ask your obstetric care provider which exercise suits you.

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More exercises

Sources

  1. ACSM position stand on exercise quantity and quality (Garber et al., 2011)
  2. ACSM preparticipation health screening (Riebe et al., 2015)
  3. ACOG Committee Opinion No. 804 on exercise in pregnancy (2020)
  4. CDC: About Heart Attack Symptoms, Risk, and Recovery (2024)

Sources checked on October 17, 2026. Full citations are in the exercise library.

Animation and exercise data: ExerciseDB, licensed to SetGrip. General information, not medical or coaching advice.