Decline Bench Press

Muscles worked by the Decline Bench Press

Primary

ChestPectoralis Major

Secondary

Front DeltsAnterior DeltoidTricepsTriceps Brachii

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 Decline Bench Press

1. Set the bench to a decline angle. Lie down and secure your feet.
2. Hold a dumbbell in each hand above your chest, then lower them to the sides of your lower chest.
3. Press the dumbbells back up to the start.
4. Repeat.

Form tips

• Keep your back flat on the bench.
• Use a spotter when working with heavier loads.

At a glance

Decline Bench Press in German & Spanish

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

Related exercises

• Barbell Bench Press
• Cable Chest Press
• Close-Grip Bench Press
• Close-Grip Dumbbell Bench Press
• Close-Grip EZ-Bar Bench Press
• Close-Grip Incline Bench Press
• Decline Barbell Bench Press
• Decline EZ-Bar Bench Press

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": "decline-bench-press",
  "name_en": "Decline Bench Press",
  "name_de": "Negativbankdrücken",
  "name_es": "Press de Banca Declinado",
  "description_en": "A compound chest press on a decline bench with a dumbbell in each hand, targeting the lower pectorals.",
  "description_de": "Eine Druckübung auf der Negativbank mit einer Kurzhantel in jeder Hand für die untere Brust.",
  "description_es": "Un press de pecho compuesto en banco declinado con una mancuerna en cada mano que trabaja el pectoral inferior.",
  "category": "strength",
  "force_type": "push",
  "mechanic": "compound",
  "difficulty": "intermediate",
  "equipment": "dumbbell",
  "body_part": "chest",
  "primary_muscles": [
    "pectoralis_major"
  ],
  "secondary_muscles": [
    "anterior_deltoid",
    "triceps_brachii"
  ],
  "goals": [
    "hypertrophy",
    "strength"
  ],
  "tags": [
    "push_day",
    "knee_safe",
    "no_axial_load",
    "lower_back_safe",
    "shoulder_safe",
    "requires_bench"
  ],
  "variation_group": "bench-press",
  "is_unilateral": false,
  "is_bodyweight": false,
  "instructions_en": [
    "Set the bench to a decline angle. Lie down and secure your feet.",
    "Hold a dumbbell in each hand above your chest, then lower them to the sides of your lower chest.",
    "Press the dumbbells back up to the start.",
    "Repeat."
  ],
  "instructions_de": [
    "Stelle die Bank auf Negativ. Leg dich hin und sichere die Füße.",
    "Halte in jeder Hand eine Kurzhantel über der Brust und senke sie seitlich zur Unterseite der Brust ab.",
    "Drücke die Kurzhanteln zurück in die Ausgangsposition.",
    "Wiederholen."
  ],
  "instructions_es": [
    "Ajusta el banco en declinación. Túmbate y asegura los pies.",
    "Sujeta una mancuerna en cada mano por encima del pecho y bájalas a los lados del pecho inferior.",
    "Vuelve a empujar las mancuernas hasta la posición inicial.",
    "Repite."
  ],
  "tips_en": [
    "Keep your back flat on the bench.",
    "Use a spotter when working with heavier loads."
  ],
  "tips_de": [
    "Halte den Rücken flach auf der Bank.",
    "Nutze einen Sicherungspartner bei schweren Gewichten."
  ],
  "tips_es": [
    "Mantén la espalda plana sobre el banco.",
    "Usa un ayudante cuando trabajes con cargas más pesadas."
  ],
  "met": 6.0,
  "images": {
    "flat": {
      "start": "images/flat/decline-bench-press-start.webp",
      "peak": "images/flat/decline-bench-press-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 === "decline-bench-press");

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.