💪 Dumbbell Press Form Guide
Build a balanced chest with superior range of motion.
The dumbbell press offers greater range of motion than the barbell bench press and forces each side to work independently, eliminating strength imbalances. SportsReflector's AI analyzes your elbow angle, wrist alignment, range of motion, and shoulder blade retraction to give you a 0–100 form score.
Primary Muscles
Pectoralis major, anterior deltoid, triceps brachii
Equipment
Dumbbells, Bench
AI Score Categories
6 metrics tracked
What AI Analyzes in Your Dumbbell Press
SportsReflector tracks 6 key metrics to generate your 0–100 form score.
AI Form Score
Every Dumbbell Press session gets an overall form score plus category-level scoring for each metric above.
4 Dumbbell Press Mistakes AI Catches
These are the most common Dumbbell Press form errors — and the ones most likely to cause injury or limit your progress.
Flaring the elbows to 90 degrees places maximum stress on the shoulder joint and is a primary cause of shoulder impingement.
Fix: Tuck the elbows to 45–75 degrees from the torso. This position maximizes pec activation while protecting the shoulder. Think 'elbows slightly tucked, not flared.'
Allowing the wrists to hyperextend places stress on the wrist joints and reduces force transfer to the dumbbells.
Fix: Keep the wrists neutral and stacked directly over the elbows. Grip the dumbbells firmly. If wrists bend, reduce the weight.
Cutting the range of motion short reduces pec stretch and limits muscle development.
Fix: Lower the dumbbells until they're level with the chest (or slightly below for those with good shoulder mobility). Feel the stretch in the chest at the bottom.
Allowing the shoulder blades to protract (roll forward) reduces chest activation and increases shoulder injury risk.
Fix: Before pressing, squeeze the shoulder blades together and down ('back and down'). Maintain this retraction throughout the entire set.
Muscles Worked
Get Your Dumbbell Press Form Score
Record your Dumbbell Press on your iPhone and get an instant 0–100 AI form score with specific corrections for every mistake above.
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