Chest · Dumbbell
Dumbbell Palms-in Incline Bench Press
How to do the dumbbell palms-in incline bench 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 back on an incline bench set to about 30 to 45 degrees with a dumbbell in each hand, palms facing each other. Press both dumbbells straight up over your upper chest, then lower them under control to chest level keeping the neutral grip throughout.
- 1Feel your upper chest and triceps press the dumbbells up with palms
- 2facing in
- 3Keep your shoulder blades pulled together and down on the bench
- 4Drive both dumbbells straight up and squeeze at the top
Common mistakes
- Avoid flaring your elbows too wide; the neutral grip keeps them tucked
- Don't arch your back excessively; keep contact with the bench
- Don't let the dumbbells crash down; control the descent
Muscles worked
The dumbbell palms-in incline bench press mainly works the upper chest and mid chest, with the triceps, front delts, and lower chest assisting.
- Upper ChestPrimary
- Mid ChestPrimary
- TricepsSupport
- Front DeltsSupport
- Lower ChestSupport
- ForearmsMinor
- Upper AbsMinor
Kovo programs the dumbbell palms-in incline bench 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.