Dumbbell Fly

Muscles worked by the Dumbbell Fly

Primary

ChestPectoralis Major

Secondary

Front DeltsAnterior Deltoid

Also called: pec, pecs, pectoralis major, pectoralis, chest muscles.

Equipment

Dumbbell

Also called: db, dumbell, hex dumbbell, rubber dumbbell, hand weight.

How to do the Dumbbell Fly

1. Lie flat on a bench with dumbbells held above your chest, palms facing each other.
2. With a slight bend in the elbows, lower the dumbbells out to the sides.
3. Return to the start by squeezing your chest.
4. Repeat.

Form tips

• Keep a consistent bend in the elbows throughout.
• Do not let the dumbbells go too low.

At a glance

Dumbbell Fly in German & Spanish

Descriptions, instructions and tips ship in all three languages in the JSON.

Related exercises

• Cable Fly
• Decline Dumbbell Fly
• Incline Dumbbell Fly
• Machine Chest Fly
• Archer Push Ups
• Banded Chest Stretch
• Barbell Bench Press
• Bench Chest Stretch

Exercise data (JSON)

The record below is exactly what exercises.json ships for this exercise — names, descriptions, instructions and tips in English, German and Spanish.

{
  "id": "db-fly",
  "name_en": "Dumbbell Fly",
  "name_de": "Kurzhantel-Flys",
  "name_es": "Aperturas con Mancuernas",
  "description_en": "An isolation exercise that stretches and contracts the pectorals through a wide arc of motion.",
  "description_de": "Eine Isolationsübung, die den Brustmuskel durch einen weiten Bewegungsbogen dehnt und kontrahiert.",
  "description_es": "Un ejercicio de aislamiento que estira y contrae el pectoral a través de un amplio arco de movimiento.",
  "category": "strength",
  "force_type": "push",
  "mechanic": "isolation",
  "difficulty": "beginner",
  "equipment": "dumbbell",
  "body_part": "chest",
  "primary_muscles": [
    "pectoralis_major"
  ],
  "secondary_muscles": [
    "anterior_deltoid"
  ],
  "goals": [
    "hypertrophy"
  ],
  "tags": [
    "push_day",
    "knee_safe",
    "no_axial_load",
    "lower_back_safe",
    "shoulder_safe",
    "requires_bench"
  ],
  "variation_group": "chest-fly",
  "is_unilateral": false,
  "is_bodyweight": false,
  "instructions_en": [
    "Lie flat on a bench with dumbbells held above your chest, palms facing each other.",
    "With a slight bend in the elbows, lower the dumbbells out to the sides.",
    "Return to the start by squeezing your chest.",
    "Repeat."
  ],
  "instructions_de": [
    "Leg dich auf eine Bank, Kurzhanteln über der Brust, Handflächen zueinander.",
    "Senke die Kurzhanteln mit leicht gebeugten Ellbogen seitlich nach unten.",
    "Kehre zum Start zurück, indem du die Brust anspannst.",
    "Wiederholen."
  ],
  "instructions_es": [
    "Túmbate en un banco con las mancuernas sobre el pecho y las palmas mirándose entre sí.",
    "Con una ligera flexión de codos, baja las mancuernas hacia los lados.",
    "Regresa a la posición inicial apretando el pecho.",
    "Repite."
  ],
  "tips_en": [
    "Keep a consistent bend in the elbows throughout.",
    "Do not let the dumbbells go too low."
  ],
  "tips_de": [
    "Behalte die Ellbogenbeugung während der gesamten Bewegung bei.",
    "Lass die Kurzhanteln nicht zu weit nach unten sinken."
  ],
  "tips_es": [
    "Mantén una flexión constante en los codos durante todo el ejercicio.",
    "No bajes demasiado las mancuernas."
  ],
  "met": 5.0,
  "images": {
    "flat": {
      "start": "images/flat/db-fly-start.webp",
      "peak": "images/flat/db-fly-peak.webp"
    }
  }
}

Fetch just this exercise

const { exercises } = await fetch(
  "https://exercise-dataset.com/exercises.json"
).then(r => r.json());
const ex = exercises.find(e => e.id === "db-fly");

Free for personal and commercial in-app use with attribution (“Exercise data by RepDB”) — see the license and ready-made attribution snippets. Redistributing the data as a dataset or API is not permitted.