What equipment do you need for the dumbbell incline bench press?

You need dumbbell and incline bench to do the dumbbell incline bench press.

What is a good dumbbell incline bench press?

For men, a good dumbbell incline bench press is about a 92.5 lb estimated one-rep max, the Gold (intermediate) standard in Kovo. Beginners start near 45 lb and elite lifters pass 150 lb. For women, the standards run from about 17.5 lb to 90 lb. The tier table above lists every rank from Bronze to Champion.

Chest · Dumbbell

Dumbbell Incline Bench Press

How to do the dumbbell 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: Horizontal Press
Mechanic: Compound

Find more:Chest exercises Dumbbell exercises

How to do it

Lie back on an incline bench holding a dumbbell in each hand above your shoulders, palms facing forward. Lower the dumbbells slowly to the sides of your chest, keeping your elbows at a 45-degree angle, then press them back up to the starting position.

1Lie on an incline bench and press the dumbbells up, feeling your upper chest and shoulders engage
2Keep your shoulder blades retracted and your elbows at a moderate angle
3Squeeze your chest at the top and lower slowly to feel the stretch

Common mistakes

Don't flare your elbows straight out to the sides or let them drop too low
Avoid arching your back excessively or lifting your feet off the floor
Don't bounce the dumbbells off your chest or lose control on the way down

Muscles worked

The dumbbell incline bench press mainly works the upper chest and mid chest, with the triceps, lower chest, and front delts assisting.

Upper ChestPrimary
Mid ChestPrimary
TricepsSupport
Lower ChestSupport
Front DeltsSupport
ForearmsMinor
Upper AbsMinor

Dumbbell Incline Bench Press strength standards

See how your dumbbell incline bench press ranks, from Bronze to Champion. These are the same standards the Kovo app uses to rank your lifts.

Bronzee1RM45 lb
Silvere1RM67.5 lb
Golde1RM92.5 lb
Platinume1RM120 lb
Diamonde1RM135 lb
Champione1RM150 lb

Find your rank

Enter your best set. We estimate your 1RM and match it to a tier.

Weight (lb)Reps

Kovo tracks this rank automatically as you train, across every lift, and levels you up as you get stronger.

Kovo programs the dumbbell 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.

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More chest exercises

See all chest exercises →

Last reviewed April 2026.