Shoulders · Dumbbell
Dumbbell Face Down Lying Shoulder Press
How to do the dumbbell face down lying shoulder 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
- VerticalPull
- Mechanic
- Isolation
How to do it
Set an incline bench and lie chest-down on it with a dumbbell in each hand hanging toward the floor, palms facing back. Press the dumbbells out and up until your arms are roughly in line with your body, leading with your elbows, then lower under control. The face-down position targets the rear delts and upper back.
- 1Your rear delts and upper back driving the dumbbells up and back
- 2Your shoulder blades squeezing together at the top
- 3Your chest staying supported flat against the bench
Common mistakes
- Shrugging your traps up toward your ears as you press
- Swinging the dumbbells with momentum instead of controlling them
- Lifting your chest off the bench to cheat the weight up
Muscles worked
The dumbbell face down lying shoulder press mainly works the rear delts and mid traps, with the upper traps, lower traps, side delts, and external rotators assisting.
- Rear DeltsPrimary
- Mid TrapsPrimary
- Upper TrapsSupport
- Lower TrapsSupport
- Side DeltsSupport
- External RotatorsSupport
- BicepsMinor
- TricepsMinor
- ForearmsMinor
- LatsMinor
- Front DeltsMinor
Kovo programs the dumbbell face down lying shoulder 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 shoulders exercises
- How to do the battle rope alternating waves
- How to do the arm circles
- How to do the arnold press
- How to do the resistance band front raise
- How to do the resistance band lateral raise
- How to do the resistance band overhead press
Last reviewed June 2026.