Dumbbell floor fly
A wide arc on the floor. The ground acts as a hard stop to protect the shoulder from stretching too deep.
The movement
2 stages
Weights together
01 Weights together
Lying flat on the floor, arms above the chest with a fixed, slight bend in the elbows.
02 Elbows to the floor
Open in a wide arc until the back of your upper arms rest on the floor.
How to do it
Setup
- Lie flat on the floor holding a dumbbell above your chest in each hand, palms facing each other.
- Bend your knees and plant your feet flat on the floor.
- Set a slight elbow bend and hold that angle for the whole set.
Execution
- Lower both arms out to the sides in a wide arc until the back of your upper arms touch the floor.
- Stop the arms completely against the floor for a beat.
- Bring the weights back together along the same arc, squeezing your chest at the top.
BreathingInhale as your arms open, exhale as they come together.
Getting it right
Form cues
- Keep the slight elbow bend locked the entire time.
- Lead the arc with your upper arms, not your hands.
Common mistakes
- Bending and straightening the elbows, which turns it into a floor press.
- Bouncing your arms off the floor instead of coming to a dead stop.
Worth knowing
- The floor protects your shoulders from going dangerously deep. This makes it safer than a bench fly, but you must still control the descent so you do not bruise your elbows.
General guidance, not medical advice. See how Setkit works.
Notes
The fly works the chest without help from the triceps, and performing it on the floor solves the exercise’s biggest risk. At the bottom of a bench fly, your shoulders are in a deeply vulnerable position. The floor stops your arms exactly where they should stop anyway, turning a slightly dangerous isolation movement into a very safe one.
The fixed elbow is the entire technique. A fly with elbows that bend and straighten is just a clumsy floor press, and that is what nearly everyone drifts into once the set gets hard. Set the angle before the first rep and treat it as locked.
Because you are resting the arms on the floor at the bottom of every rep, you lose tension for a split second. Squeeze your chest aggressively to start the upward arc rather than throwing the weights up with momentum.