Home / Exercises / Dumbbell Lying Hammer Press (Version 2)
Dumbbell Lying Hammer Press (Version 2) animation

How to do the Dumbbell Lying Hammer Press (Version 2)

ChestDumbbellIntermediate

The Dumbbell Lying Hammer Press challenges your chest through a neutral grip that shifts tension across the sternal fibers while reducing shoulder strain compared to a standard press. Master this variation and you will build thickness and pressing strength that carries over to every horizontal push you train.

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Muscles worked

Primary
Pectorals (chest)
Secondary
Front deltsTriceps

Step-by-step

  1. Set up flat on a bench holding dumbbells with a neutral grip, palms facing each other, elbows tucked at roughly 45 degrees from your torso.
  2. Lower the dumbbells in a controlled arc until your upper arms are just below parallel with the floor, feeling a full stretch across the chest.
  3. Drive the dumbbells back up by squeezing the chest, keeping the neutral grip intact and the wrists stacked directly over the elbows throughout.
  4. Lock out at the top with a deliberate chest contraction, then reset your breath and repeat without losing tightness in your upper back.

Common mistakes

  • Letting the elbows flare wide like a standard press, which defeats the purpose of the neutral grip and loads the anterior shoulder instead of the chest, so keep elbows angled inward toward your hips.
  • Allowing the wrists to rotate outward mid-rep, turning it into a hybrid movement that reduces chest activation, so consciously maintain parallel palms from start to finish on every rep.
  • Bouncing out of the bottom position to handle heavier weight, which eliminates the loaded stretch where chest growth stimulus is highest, so pause briefly at the bottom and press from a dead stop.

Pro tip — At the top of each rep, actively try to push the dumbbells toward each other as if pressing them together without letting them touch, this isometric adduction cue dramatically increases pec fiber recruitment even though the movement range stays the same.

Sets & reps by goal

Build muscle3–4 sets × 6–10 reps
Get stronger4–5 sets × 3–6 reps
Lose fat / tone3 sets × 10–12 reps

Rest: 2–3 min between sets (60–90s on lighter days).

More Chest exercises

Barbell Bench PressBarbell Bench PressBarbell Decline Bench PressBarbell Decline Bench PressBarbell Decline Wide Grip PressBarbell Decline Wide Grip PressBarbell Front Raise And PulloverBarbell Front Raise And PulloverBarbell Incline Bench PressBarbell Incline Bench PressCable Bench PressCable Bench Press
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