Exercise

Incline Dumbbell Flyes: How to Do It, Muscles Worked

Last updated 26 July 2026

What muscles does the Incline Dumbbell Flyes work?

The Incline Dumbbell Flyes primarily targets the chest, and also recruits the shoulders as secondary muscles. It's classified as a beginner-level strength movement using dumbbell.

What are the most common Incline Dumbbell Flyes mistakes?

• Using a weight heavy enough that the shoulder joint — not the chest — ends up limiting the set.
• Cutting the stretch short at the bottom instead of feeling a full stretch across the chest.
• Letting the shoulders roll forward instead of keeping the chest up through the movement.
• Bending the elbows into a press instead of keeping a fixed, slight elbow bend through the arc.

How should I program the Incline Dumbbell Flyes — sets, reps and frequency?

As a single-joint isolation exercise, it responds well to a higher 10-15 reps for 2-4 sets, usually taken close to muscular failure. It tolerates higher frequency than a heavy compound lift — twice a week for the same muscle group is common. Add small amounts of weight or an extra rep once every working set can be completed with good form — the same progressive overload principle behind every strength exercise in the library.

What are good Incline Dumbbell Flyes variations and alternatives?

• Dumbbell Flyes — dumbbell, beginner level, chest
• One-Arm Flat Bench Dumbbell Flye — dumbbell, beginner level, chest
• Butterfly — machine, beginner level, chest
• Decline Dumbbell Bench Press — dumbbell, beginner level, chest

Incline Dumbbell Flyes at a glance

Attribute	Value
Level	Beginner
Equipment	Dumbbell
Category	Strength
Primary muscles	Chest
Secondary muscles	Shoulders

How to do the Incline Dumbbell Flyes, step by step:

1. Step 1. Hold a dumbbell on each hand and lie on an incline bench that is set to an incline angle of no more than 30 degrees.
2. Step 2. Extend your arms above you with a slight bend at the elbows.
3. Step 3. Now rotate the wrists so that the palms of your hands are facing you. Tip: The pinky fingers should be next to each other. This will be your starting position.
4. Step 4. As you breathe in, start to slowly lower the arms to the side while keeping the arms extended and while rotating the wrists until the palms of the hand are facing each other. Tip: At the end of the movement the arms will be by your side with the palms facing the ceiling.
5. Step 5. As you exhale start to bring the dumbbells back up to the starting position by reversing the motion and rotating the hands so that the pinky fingers are next to each other again. Tip: Keep in mind that the movement will only happen at the shoulder joint and at the wrist. There is no motion that happens at the elbow joint.
6. Step 6. Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.