Execution
How to do it
- 01
Lie on your back, knees bent, feet flat, a dumbbell in each hand above your chest, arms straight.
- 02
Lower the dumbbells by bending your elbows, away from your body, until your upper arms gently touch the floor.
- 03
Keep your feet and pelvis firmly on the floor.
- 04
Press the dumbbells back up until your arms are straight.
Bouncing your elbows off the floor: set them down, then press.
On the floor with two dumbbells rather than on a bench with a barbell; the floor limits the bottom range. Sources: ACE — Chest Press. These cues do not replace a professional if you have pain or are in rehabilitation.
The decision
When this movement makes sense
The pair allows an explicit load per dumbbell and comparable progress. Pressing from the floor avoids inventing a bench.
With a single dumbbell, the two-arm version is not allowed: the single-arm press is another configuration, with time counted per side.
Real requirements
Configurations kept genuinely separate
Two matching fixed dumbbells
6–12 repetitions- Equipment
- Two matching fixed dumbbells
- Supports and space
- enough usable floor space
- Setup
- 60 s
- Planned work
- 45 s
- Planned rest
- 90 s
- Planned sets
- 1–3
- Complete budget
- 135–405 s
Two adjustable dumbbells
6–12 repetitions- Equipment
- Two adjustable dumbbells
- Supports and space
- enough usable floor space
- Setup
- 75 s
- Planned work
- 45 s
- Planned rest
- 90 s
- Planned sets
- 1–3
- Complete budget
- 155–425 s