Chest · Dumbbell
Dumbbell Decline Hammer Press
How to do the dumbbell decline hammer press, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Dumbbell
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Logged as
- Weighted reps
- Movement
- HorizontalPush
- Mechanic
- Compound
How to do it
Lie on a decline bench with your feet secured, holding a dumbbell in each hand at the sides of your lower chest with a neutral grip, palms facing each other. Press the dumbbells straight up while keeping the palms facing in, then lower them under control to your lower chest. The neutral grip keeps your elbows tucked and loads the chest and triceps.
- 1Lower chest and triceps driving the dumbbells up
- 2Elbows tracking close to your body with the neutral grip
- 3Feet anchored and shoulder blades pinned to the bench
Common mistakes
- Letting your elbows flare out away from your sides
- Bouncing the weights off your chest or arching your back hard
- Letting your wrists bend back under the load
Muscles worked
The dumbbell decline hammer press mainly works the lower chest, triceps, and mid chest, with the upper chest and front delts assisting.
- Lower ChestPrimary
- TricepsPrimary
- Mid ChestPrimary
- Upper ChestSupport
- Front DeltsSupport
- ForearmsMinor
- Upper AbsMinor
Kovo programs the dumbbell decline hammer press for you and tracks it every session.
We build your whole program, drop the right lifts into each workout, and adjust your weights as you get stronger. Free on iOS and Android.
More chest exercises
- How to do the archer push-up
- How to do the assisted dip
- How to do the resistance band chest flyes
- How to do the resistance band push-up
- How to do the barbell bench press
- How to do the paused bench press
Last reviewed June 2026.