Single Arm Dumbbell Bench Press

Muscles worked by the Single Arm Dumbbell Bench Press

Primary

ChestPectoralis MajorTricepsTriceps Brachii

Secondary

Front DeltsAnterior DeltoidObliquesOblique AbdominalsSerratusSerratus Anterior

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

Equipment

Dumbbell

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

How to do the Single Arm Dumbbell Bench Press

1. Lie back on a flat bench with the feet planted on the floor and a dumbbell held at chest level in one hand.
2. Rest the free hand on your stomach or hold it out to the side for balance.
3. Press the dumbbell up over the chest until the arm is straight.
4. Pause briefly at the top without letting the body roll toward the pressing arm.
5. Lower the dumbbell slowly to the side of the chest.
6. Complete the repetitions on one side, then switch arms.

Form tips

• Squeeze the glutes and keep the shoulder blades pinned to the bench to resist rotation.
• Lower to the side of the chest, with the elbow about 45 degrees from the body.
• Use a weight you can hold level without twisting; add load only when both sides match.

At a glance

Single Arm Dumbbell 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 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": "single-arm-dumbbell-bench-press",
  "name_en": "Single Arm Dumbbell Bench Press",
  "name_de": "Einarmiges Kurzhantel-Bankdrücken",
  "name_es": "Press de Banca con Mancuerna a Un Brazo",
  "description_en": "A flat-bench press performed with one dumbbell at a time. The unilateral load trains the chest, shoulder and triceps while the trunk works to keep the body from rotating off the bench.",
  "description_de": "Ein Bankdrücken auf der flachen Bank mit jeweils einer Kurzhantel. Die einseitige Belastung trainiert Brust, Schulter und Trizeps, während der Rumpf verhindert, dass sich der Körper von der Bank wegdreht.",
  "description_es": "Un press en banco plano con una mancuerna cada vez. La carga unilateral trabaja el pecho, el hombro y el tríceps mientras el tronco se esfuerza por evitar que el cuerpo rote fuera del banco.",
  "category": "strength",
  "force_type": "push",
  "mechanic": "compound",
  "difficulty": "intermediate",
  "equipment": "dumbbell",
  "body_part": "chest",
  "primary_muscles": [
    "pectoralis_major",
    "triceps_brachii"
  ],
  "secondary_muscles": [
    "anterior_deltoid",
    "obliques",
    "serratus_anterior"
  ],
  "goals": [
    "hypertrophy",
    "strength"
  ],
  "tags": [
    "push_day",
    "knee_safe",
    "no_axial_load",
    "lower_back_safe",
    "requires_bench"
  ],
  "variation_group": "bench-press",
  "is_unilateral": true,
  "is_bodyweight": false,
  "instructions_en": [
    "Lie back on a flat bench with the feet planted on the floor and a dumbbell held at chest level in one hand.",
    "Rest the free hand on your stomach or hold it out to the side for balance.",
    "Press the dumbbell up over the chest until the arm is straight.",
    "Pause briefly at the top without letting the body roll toward the pressing arm.",
    "Lower the dumbbell slowly to the side of the chest.",
    "Complete the repetitions on one side, then switch arms."
  ],
  "instructions_de": [
    "Leg dich rücklings auf eine flache Bank, die Füße fest auf dem Boden, und halte in einer Hand eine Kurzhantel auf Brusthöhe.",
    "Leg die freie Hand auf den Bauch oder halte sie zum Gleichgewicht seitlich ausgestreckt.",
    "Drück die Kurzhantel über der Brust nach oben, bis der Arm gestreckt ist.",
    "Halte oben kurz inne, ohne dass sich der Körper zum drückenden Arm hin dreht.",
    "Senke die Kurzhantel langsam an die Seite der Brust.",
    "Führe alle Wiederholungen auf einer Seite aus und wechsle dann den Arm."
  ],
  "instructions_es": [
    "Túmbate en un banco plano con los pies apoyados en el suelo y una mancuerna sujeta con una mano a la altura del pecho.",
    "Apoya la mano libre sobre el estómago o ábrela hacia un lado para mantener el equilibrio.",
    "Empuja la mancuerna hacia arriba sobre el pecho hasta que el brazo quede recto.",
    "Haz una breve pausa arriba sin dejar que el cuerpo gire hacia el brazo que empuja.",
    "Baja la mancuerna despacio hacia el costado del pecho.",
    "Completa las repeticiones de un lado y luego cambia de brazo."
  ],
  "tips_en": [
    "Squeeze the glutes and keep the shoulder blades pinned to the bench to resist rotation.",
    "Lower to the side of the chest, with the elbow about 45 degrees from the body.",
    "Use a weight you can hold level without twisting; add load only when both sides match."
  ],
  "tips_de": [
    "Spann das Gesäß an und halte die Schulterblätter fest auf der Bank, um der Rotation entgegenzuwirken.",
    "Senke die Kurzhantel an die Seite der Brust, der Ellbogen in einem Winkel von etwa 45 Grad zum Körper.",
    "Wähle ein Gewicht, das du ohne Verdrehen waagerecht halten kannst; steigere die Last erst, wenn beide Seiten gleich stark sind."
  ],
  "tips_es": [
    "Aprieta los glúteos y mantén los omóplatos pegados al banco para resistir la rotación.",
    "Baja hacia el costado del pecho, con el codo a unos 45 grados del cuerpo.",
    "Usa un peso que puedas mantener nivelado sin torcerte; añade carga solo cuando ambos lados rindan igual."
  ],
  "met": 6.0,
  "images": {
    "flat": {
      "start": "images/flat/single-arm-dumbbell-bench-press-start.webp",
      "peak": "images/flat/single-arm-dumbbell-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 === "single-arm-dumbbell-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.