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

You need dumbbell and flat bench to do the dumbbell underhand bench press.

What is a good dumbbell underhand bench press?

For men, a good dumbbell underhand bench press is about a 97.5 lb estimated one-rep max, the Gold (intermediate) standard in Kovo. Beginners start near 40 lb and elite lifters pass 170 lb. For women, the standards run from about 15 lb to 100 lb. The tier table above lists every rank from Bronze to Champion.

Chest · Dumbbell

Dumbbell Underhand Bench Press

How to do the dumbbell underhand 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 on a flat bench with a dumbbell in each hand using a supinated grip. Lower the dumbbells with elbows tucked and press up while maintaining wrist alignment.

1Upper chest and triceps leading the press with additional forearm and biceps engagement from the underhand grip.

Common mistakes

Dropping elbows too far below the bench, rotating wrists out of position, or rushing the eccentric phase.

Muscles worked

The dumbbell underhand 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
BicepsMinor
ForearmsMinor
Upper AbsMinor

Dumbbell Underhand Bench Press strength standards

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

Bronzee1RM40 lb
Silvere1RM65 lb
Golde1RM97.5 lb
Platinume1RM132.5 lb
Diamonde1RM155 lb
Champione1RM170 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 underhand 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.