Chest · Dumbbell
Dumbbell Incline Breeding
How to do the dumbbell incline breeding, 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
Sit back on an incline bench holding a dumbbell in each hand at the sides of your upper chest with palms facing forward. Press the dumbbells up and slightly together until your arms are extended, then lower them under control to your upper chest. The incline angle biases the work toward the upper pecs and front delts.
- 1Upper chest and front delts driving the dumbbells up
- 2Shoulder blades pinned back against the bench
- 3Controlled stretch across the upper chest at the bottom
Common mistakes
- Setting the bench too steep so it becomes a shoulder press
- Flaring your elbows hard or clanging the weights at the top
- Letting your wrists bend back under the load
Muscles worked
The dumbbell incline breeding mainly works the upper chest, with the triceps, mid chest, and front delts assisting.
- Upper ChestPrimary
- TricepsSupport
- Mid ChestSupport
- Front DeltsSupport
- ForearmsMinor
- Upper AbsMinor
Kovo programs the dumbbell incline breeding 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.