Dumbbell fly
A wide arc with almost straight arms. The only chest exercise here that works the chest without help from the triceps.
The movement
Weights together
01 Weights together
Lying flat, arms above the chest with a fixed, slight bend in the elbows.
02 Wide arc
Open in a wide arc until the upper arms are level with the bench, and no deeper.
How to do it
Setup
- Lie on a flat bench holding a dumbbell above your chest in each hand, palms facing each other.
- Bend your elbows slightly and keep exactly that bend for the whole set.
Execution
- Lower both arms out to the sides in a wide arc until you feel a stretch across your chest.
- Stop when your upper arms are roughly level with the bench.
- 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.
Form cues
- Set a slight elbow bend and hold that angle for the whole rep.
- Lead the arc with your upper arms, not your hands.
Common mistakes
- Bending and straightening the elbows, which turns the fly into a clumsy press.
- Going too deep chasing a stretch, which loads the front of the shoulder instead of the chest.
- Banging the dumbbells together at the top, where there is no tension anyway.
Worth knowing
- The bottom of a fly is the most exposed position your shoulder gets into under load. Keep the range modest and the weight light. This is the exercise where going heavy costs the most.
General guidance, not medical advice. See how Setkit works.
Notes
Every other chest exercise in this library is a press, and every press shares the work with the triceps and the front of the shoulder. The fly is the exception. With the elbow angle fixed, the shoulder is the only joint moving, so the chest has to finish the rep on its own. That is worth having in a program, and it is why the movement stays here despite its risks.
Those risks are worth naming. At the bottom of a fly your arms are long, the weight is far from your body, and your shoulder sits in its most vulnerable position. The leverage that makes the exercise work is the same leverage that makes it unforgiving. Do not take this one to failure with the heaviest dumbbells you own.
The fixed elbow is the entire technique. A fly with elbows that bend and straighten is a wide, badly aimed 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.
Stop where you feel the stretch across your chest rather than at the front of your shoulder. For most people that means the upper arms finishing about level with the bench. Going lower buys shoulder strain and no extra chest.