Neutral Grip Dumbbell Bench Press
Also known as: dumbbell hammer press, dumbbell neutral grip bench press, neutral grip bench press, neutral grip dumbbell press, hammer grip dumbbell bench press
In SetGrip: Dumbbell Neutral Grip Bench Press
Rotating your palms to face each other tucks the elbows along your ribs and shifts a flat dumbbell press toward the triceps and inner chest, with the wrists sitting in a more natural line than a straight bar allows. Everything else works like the standard press, so it swaps in cleanly whenever regular flat pressing bothers your wrists.
How to do the Neutral Grip Dumbbell Bench Press
- Lie flat on a bench with a dumbbell in each hand, palms facing each other and arms extended straight up.
- Lower the dumbbells to the sides of your chest, keeping your elbows at a 90-degree angle.
- Press the dumbbells back up to the starting position, fully extending your arms.
- 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
Pectorals · Chest
The chest presses the arms together and forward, and decline and wide grip variations put more emphasis on the lower and outer pecs.
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
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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Sources
- ACSM position stand on exercise quantity and quality (Garber et al., 2011)
- ACSM preparticipation health screening (Riebe et al., 2015)
- ACOG Committee Opinion No. 804 on exercise in pregnancy (2020)
- 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.