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Incline Dumbbell Hammer Press
An incline dumbbell press with a neutral palms-in grip that builds the upper chest while reducing shoulder strain compared to a pronated grip.
ChestDumbbellIncline press
GoLightWeight mediadumbbell-incline-hammer-press
Demonstration coming soon
Primary
Pectoralis major
Secondary
Anterior deltoidsTriceps
Equipment
Dumbbell
Pattern
Incline press
Setup
- 01Set an incline bench to 30 to 45 degrees.
- 02Bring the dumbbells to the shoulders and lie back in one motion.
- 03Turn the palms to face each other in a hammer grip.
- 04Plant the feet and pin the shoulder blades back and down.
Execution
- 01Press the dumbbells up over the upper chest to full lockout.
- 02Lower under control with the elbows tracking close to the torso.
- 03Touch the dumbbells lightly near the front of the shoulders.
- 04Drive back up without letting the wrists rotate out of neutral.
Checkpoints
- -Palms face each other for the entire set.
- -Elbows stay 30 to 45 degrees from the torso, not flared.
- -Dumbbells finish over the shoulders, not over the face.
- -Low back keeps only a natural arch on the incline.
Common mistakes
- -Letting the elbows drift wide, which defeats the neutral grip.
- -Bouncing out of the bottom position.
- -Arching hard to turn the incline into a flat press.
- -Losing wrist neutrality as fatigue builds.
Programming notes
- -Use 3 to 4 sets of 6 to 12 reps as a primary or secondary upper-chest press.
- -A strong substitute when standard incline pressing irritates the shoulders.
- -Expect similar or slightly higher loads than a pronated incline dumbbell press.
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