Dumbbell fly

Dumbbells, flat bench

Also called chest fly, dumbbell flye

Dumbbell fly, start position — Images: Free Exercise DB (public domain)

Dumbbell fly, end position — Images: Free Exercise DB (public domain)

Lie on a flat bench holding dumbbells over the chest with a soft, fixed elbow bend. Open the arms in a wide arc, then bring the weights back together above the chest.

Keep the elbow bend fixed
Open until the chest is stretched
Hands meet above the chest

Movement

Pattern: Chest fly
Type: Isolation, one joint moves
Sides: Both sides together
Equipment: Bench, Dumbbells
Variations: Dumbbell fly stretch hold

Muscles worked

Main movers get full credit for a set, helpers half.

Upper body

ChestMain
Front deltsHelper

Ratings

Scores 1-5 averaged over sources. Tap a rating for the claims behind it. Claims are our summaries of the linked sources, fact-checked by AI.

Muscle growth higher is better3.0
Solid; a reasonable default. 3 sources.
- 4/5 Useful as lengthened partials since the top has no tension; not as smooth as cable flies. Jeff Nippard, The Best And Worst Chest Exercises (Ranked By Science) @ 11:10videoExpert opinion2024checked by AI
- 3/5 Good if you only have dumbbells, but redundant after presses, which already load the stretch. Jeremy Ethier, STOP Doing Chest Flys Like This (5 Mistakes Slowing Your Chest Gains) @ 5:36videoExpert opinion2022checked by AI
- 2/5 Chest only works near the bottom and tension disappears at the top of the rep. Jeremy Ethier, The 3 WORST (And Best) Chest Exercises For Growth @ 2:01videoExpert opinion2021checked by AI
Loaded stretch higher is better5.0
Peak tension at a deep stretch. 1 source.
- 5/5 Hardest at the bottom, with tension vanishing as hands come together above the shoulders. Jeremy Ethier, STOP Doing Chest Flys Like This (5 Mistakes Slowing Your Chest Gains) @ 5:36videoExpert opinion2022checked by AI