Emily Fayette, CPT

Why? It's incredibly effective at isolating these muscles groups because you're lying on your back. Being in a supine position offers more stability and the opportunity to really put the work into the places you're targeting, hence why the chest fly is so, well, fly.

While your lower body gets a break, you will need to keep your core engaged by drawing your navel toward your spine and bracing your abs in an isometric hold. Maintaining a contraction in your core while you work your arms will help strengthen your midsection at the same time that you're building muscle in your arms. It also ensures that you don't put stress on your lower back while doing this exercise.

What's more, this move doesn't require a ton of equipment to perform. Two dumbbells are all you need. But it can also be done with two full water bottles or canned goods if you don't have any free weights at home.

As an ACE certified trainer, I'll break down how to do a lying dumbbell chest fly with step-by-step instructions below, plus go into its benefits, offer some variations, and a few pro tips to fine tune your technique. Let's get started.

<h1> How To Do A Dumbbell Chest Fly </h1>

<ol><li> Start by lying on your back with your feet placed flat on the floor. Grasp the dumbbells with your palms facing inward. </li><li> Push the dumbbells directly above your chest with lightly bent elbows, keeping your wrists straight. </li><li> Inhale and slowly lower the dumbbells toward the floor at shoulder height, maintaining a soft roundness with your arms (think: hugging a tree). Stop when the backs of your upper arms touch the mat. </li><li> Exhale and slowly raise the dumbbells back to the starting position while maintaining the arc in your arms. </li></ol>

Form Tips: People tend to go through the movement too fast. So make sure to take your time, keep your core engaged, bra line pushed into the floor, and don't overarch your lower back.

Reps/sets for best results: I suggest using medium sized dumbbells and doing 1015 reps three times through.

<h1> What Are The Benefits Of A Dumbbell Chest Fly? </h1>

Of course, the dumbbell chest fly will target your chest and shoulders, but it can also help improve you posture as it opens up the upper body and helps with scapular retraction (translation: the pulling of one's shoulder blades towards the spine).

I am currently seven months pregnant and complete this move in all of my <a href="https://www.womenshealthmag.com/upper-body-workouts/" id="9a5bd9b4-f36b-3394-a190-a4f21c30fd9f"> upper body strength workouts </a> to keep my posture upright while I gain more weight in my baby bump.

Runners also tend to love this move for its posture-improving benefits too. Better overall posture means better form and more efficient runs.

<h1> Variations Of The Dumbbell Chest Fly </h1>

<ul><li> Do them standing up: <a href="https://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/a20703383/dumbbells-for-total-body-toning/">Grab two dumbbells</a> , holding one in each hand with palms facing towards each other, arms by your sides. Stand with your feet hip-width apart, hinging at your hips with soft knees and a neutral spine at a 45 degree angle. While keeping a slight bend in your elbows you will lift dumbbells up and out to your sides until they reach shoulder height. Hold at the top, squeezing shoulder blades together, then slowly lower back to starting position. This will help you improve your posture even more by challenging and strengthening those posterior muscles on the backside of your body. </li><li> Try it using a stability ball: Lie on a <a href="https://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/a29417665/what-size-exercise-ball/">stability ball</a> with your shoulder blades on top of the ball and the rest of your body in a table top position (knees over ankles, legs bent at 90 degrees, and feet flat on the floor). Lift your arms over your chest as you would in a regular lying chest fly. This is <a href="https://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/a20702505/core-workout-routine/">great for core strength</a> and balance and will force you to focus on form while trying to remain stable on the ball. </li><li> Alternate your arms: Everything will be exactly the same as a complete lying chest fly, but this time you're going to alternate between lowering one arm at a time. This will present an extra core challenge because you'll have to work harder to engage your core in order to not let your torso rotate from side to side with the weights. </li></ul>

<h1> How To Add The Dumbbell Chest Fly To Your Routine </h1>

You will want to give your muscles time to recover, so performing chest flyes two or three times a week is enough. Here's how to add it to your routine.

<ul><li> Add them to your upper body strength day : If you're focusing mainly on arms and shoulders, throw in the chest fly. It will challenge your upper body stability, improve posture, and tone those upper chest muscles too. </li><li> Work it into a chest or shoulder focused routine: This is a pretty self-explanatory recommendation, but the chest fly is the perfect move to add to your chest or shoulder routine. Say you just got finished doing a <a href="https://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/a29785503/seated-overhead-military-press/">shoulder press</a> , throw in a chest fly afterwards for another upper-body challenge. </li></ul>

How To Do A Chest Fly Correctly Using Dumbbells

There are so many different <a href="https://www.womenshealthmag.com/uk/fitness/strength-training/a28755946/best-dumbbell-exercises/" id="0b18e6b5-ee10-3f25-a891-b7c6172d0e3b"> dumbbell exercises </a> you can use to strengthen and sculpt your upper body. One in particular that I encourage my clients to do if they want to <a href="https://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/a20703368/the-best-shoulder-workout/" id="b9e2d41f-1e11-3715-a34d-a10fdde1f69a"> tone their shoulders </a> , chest, and arm...

It's not every day you get the chance to feel like a superhero, especially not while working out. So...here's your chance.

Doing a basic superman requires zero exercise equipment whatsoever. All you you need is your bodyweightand a cape. Okay, just kidding about the cape.

But seriously, the superman is a floor exercise that involves simultaneously lifting your arms and legs off the ground while keeping your core engaged. This move will not only give you abs of steel, but also strengthen your back.

There are also plenty of variations you can do to increase or decrease the intensity of this move and keep things exciting. As a <a href="https://www.flywheelsports.com/" id="ad22ad6b-ce1b-3aaf-a94c-3b038e910cda"> Flywheel Sports </a> instructor and certified personal trainer, I'm going to teach you everything you need to know about the the supermanthe benefits, how-to, variations, and more. Trust me, you won't regret it.

If you're a runner, you'll love the superman. As an endurance runner, I am always focused on finding moves that can strengthen the trunk of my bodyespecially my lower back. And this exercise is great for doing just that! But it's also more than just a lower-back exercise. It's also going to help you with overall stability for everyday movement. Here's how your body will be tested in each of these key areas:

<ul><li> Lower-Back Benefits: Your lower-back muscles will get some well-deserved attention while doing the superman. Targeting them in this move will not only make them stronger, but also create <a href="https://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/a27395974/how-to-become-more-flexible/">more flexibility</a> . </li><li> Leg Benefits: You'll be seriously thanking the superman next time you see the noticeable gains in your glutes and hamstrings. </li><li> Core Benefits: This move may look like it's just focusing on your arms and legs, but your core is a key component of this move. As you lift your arms and legs up into the air, the muscles in your trunk will be isolated. So you'll need to make sure they're engaged. </li><li> Bonus Benefit: You'll feel like a superhero! </li></ul>

Doing this exercise the right way should be pretty simple. But here's a step-by-step process just in case:

<ol><li> Lie on your stomach with your arms (overhead) and legs fully extended while keeping your head relaxed and spine neutral by looking at the floor in front of you instead of up. </li><li> Contract your core muscles to stabilize your spine, while simultaneously raising both your legs and arms a few inches off the ground, keeping your head and neck neutral. </li><li> Hold at top for 35 seconds. </li><li> Gently lower yourself back to the starting position and repeat. </li></ol>

Set/reps for results: Three sets of 1012 reps should be enough.

Form tips: It's very important to keep your head and neck neutral throughout the exercise and avoid jerky movements. Instead, work on synchronizing the lift and lower of all four limbs with control.

There are a few easy ways to make sure this exercise remains exciting and as beneficial as possible.

<ul><li> Alternating Superman: Sometimes it's difficult to lift both arms and legs at once. If so, you can do what's called an alternating superman. This means you'll lift opposite leg and opposite arm together, then switch and repeat on the other side for the same three sets of 10-12 reps. </li><li> Reverse Superman: Here's a cool one! Instead of lying on your stomach. Flip over and lie on your back, this time lifting both arms and legs in a straight line simultaneously toward the ceiling. This move is more commonly known as a hollow holdbut reverse superman sounds more fun, no? </li><li> Superman Ball Lift: This is your advanced, superman 2.0. For it, when you lift your arms and legs, you'll also be lifting a stability ball (or Swiss ball) between your feet, challenging those hard-to-reach lower abs and butt muscles just above your hamstrings. </li></ul>

<h1> How To Make The Superman Part Of Your Routine </h1>

Do them as a warmup: I love to complete a few sets of the superman in my warm up. It will really rev up your muscles for your upcoming routine.

Do them after a workout: This will help relieve energy placed in your lower back during the workout.

Do them as a superset: Say it's leg day and you're all about the squats. If you really want to challenge yourself, after each set of squat jumps, move right in to the superman. Doing 1012 reps should be great!

The Superman Will Give You Killer Abs ASAP

How To Do The Superman Exercise The Right Way, According To A Trainer

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Emily Fayette, CPT

Articles written by the author

How To Do A Chest Fly Correctly Using Dumbbells

How To Do The Superman Exercise The Right Way, According To A Trainer