I’ve had plenty of shoulder injuries over the years and they all make life miserable in the weight room. You don’t get to train the way you want and you have to change everything you do during the day just to get stuff done.

When it comes to training, very few exercises can cause an injury like the bench press. While benching with dumbbells might be safer than the barbell, you can still wreck your shoulders if you get out of position, and you spend a lot of time grinding through reps.

Over the years I’ve developed my top ways to spot the dumbbells up for the bench. The great thing is you’ll start each set in a good position, and you won’t be trying to get set with the weights crushing your shoulders before the first rep even starts. To maximize your pressing results, and minimize damage to your shoulders, use the following dumbbell benching tips, and check out the video (below) to better incorporate the dumbbell spotting techniques in your workouts. 

Dumbbell Benching Tips

1.  Always incorporate a good warm up.

2.  Start each repetition in the proper position.

3.  Keep your chest up and your shoulders back.

4.  Drive your feet down.

5.  Track your elbows approximately 45 degrees out from your torso.

6.  You can train to failure, but NO grind reps.