Chest · Dumbbell
Dumbbell Single Arm Floor Press
How to do the dumbbell single arm floor 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 flat on the floor holding a dumbbell in one hand at chest level, elbow resting on the ground at about 45 degrees from your body. Press the dumbbell up until your arm is fully extended over your chest, then lower until your upper arm touches the floor. The floor limits your range to ease shoulder strain. Finish all reps, then switch arms.
- 1Your chest and triceps driving the dumbbell straight up
- 2Your upper arm lightly touching the floor at the bottom
- 3Your core bracing to resist rotation toward the loaded side
Common mistakes
- Don't slam your elbow into the floor on the descent
- Avoid letting your torso twist toward the weight
- Don't flare your elbow straight out to the side
Muscles worked
The dumbbell single arm floor press mainly works the mid chest and triceps, with the upper chest, lower chest, upper abs, obliques, and front delts assisting.
- Mid ChestPrimary
- TricepsPrimary
- Upper ChestSupport
- Lower ChestSupport
- Upper AbsSupport
- ObliquesSupport
- Front DeltsSupport
- ForearmsMinor
- Lower AbsMinor
Kovo programs the dumbbell single arm floor 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.