The Dumbbell Press Shvung is a multi-joint basic exercise aimed at developing the explosive strength of the muscles of the shoulder girdle and legs. This movement is universal, therefore it is used in many sports: from athletics to powerlifting. The dumbbell press is considered a more difficult exercise than the barbell press, since it takes more effort to hold and stabilize the dumbbells in the hands.
This dumbbell exercise will allow your muscles to prepare for a more technically challenging and complex exercise - dumbbell jumps (thrusters).
The benefits of exercise
The essence of the exercise is directed development of the upper body. The legs in this movement play the role of auxiliary muscles, and the main load falls on the muscles of the arms. Thanks to the work of the legs, you can lift more weight of the apparatus than in the classic standing dumbbell press, thereby adapting the arms to heavier weights.
The dumbbell bench press is aimed at developing the strength, agility and coordination abilities of an athlete.
Exercise allows you to target different muscle groups in a single movement.
The advantage of this press is that, unlike the barbell press, the weight of the dumbbells can be varied depending on the fitness level of the athlete. If you wish, you can take dumbbells with a small weight (2-5 kg) or work with only one hand. In addition, not every athlete has arm flexibility that allows the barbell to be placed on the shoulders and chest, and this problem does not arise with dumbbells.
What muscles work?
During the exercise in the upper body, the following muscle groups are involved:
- pectoral muscles (upper bundle of pectoral muscles);
- anterior and middle bundles of deltoid muscles;
- triceps.
In the lower body work:
- quadriceps;
- middle gluteal muscles;
- small gluteal muscles.
The abdominal muscles (rectus abdominis and oblique abdominal muscles), the muscles of the lumbar spine, the trapezius muscles, the calf muscles, and the tibial anterior muscles act as stabilizing muscles.
Exercise technique
The dumbbell bench press is a multi-joint complex exercise, therefore, the formulation of his technique should be taken responsibly.
To begin with, you should learn how to perform the classic standing dumbbell press in order to confidently hold the weight in the initial phase of the movement when the dumbbells are at shoulder level. And only after that you should proceed to performing a press shvung. The shoulder joint is the most mobile joint in the human body and at the same time it is easily traumatized, therefore, adequately select the weight of the dumbbells and constantly monitor the correctness of the exercise. It can be tempting to lift more weight than the physical ability of the athlete allows, which will inevitably lead, at best, to distortion of technique, and at worst, to injury.
The step-by-step technique for performing a bench press with dumbbells is as follows:
- Take the starting position: take the dumbbells in your hands and raise them to shoulder level, placing them parallel to each other. Place your legs slightly wider than your shoulders. Direct your gaze straight ahead.
- Taking a deep breath, sit down (but not too deeply - by 5-10 cm), and, unbending your legs, push the dumbbells up with a sharp springy movement, exhaling. The dumbbells should be lifted by inertial motion. And the hands should pick up this movement and continue it until the elbow is fully straightened.
- After taking a deep breath, lower the dumbbells and return to the starting position.
An important point: in order to reduce the negative impact on the joints of the arms, legs and spine, you should slightly bend your knees to cushion when lowering the dumbbells to your shoulders.
Typical mistakes
Many novice athletes, not fully understanding the technique and nuances of this exercise, make a number of mistakes that will not entail a negative impact on health, but the essence of the exercise will be distorted, as a result of which the training effect will not be achieved. Such mistakes are made when an athlete forgets to use his legs and begins to do the usual standing dumbbell press. As a result, the arms are overloaded, and the legs remain not involved in movement.
Another similar mistake is squatting under a projectile at the moment of full extension of arms with dumbbells. This movement partially relieves the load from the hands and transfers it to the legs, which is a completely different exercise - the push jerk.
- Incorrect placement (position) of the dumbbells in the initial phase of the movement. This error leads to the fact that the deltoid muscles are in constant tension, and the shoulder joint can be injured, since at the moment of the push, the impulse from the legs will fall on it.
- A typical mistake for beginners is incomplete extension of the arms with dumbbells in the final phase of the movement. There is practically no risk of injury, however, such a movement will not be counted in the competition mode.
- Excessively deep squat while performing shvung. This mistake leads to congestion of the leg muscles, as a result of which the essence of the exercise is distorted.
- Deliberate deflection in the lumbar region to facilitate movement. In the event that the weight of the dumbbells is too heavy, and the arms cannot cope with the load, the athlete can begin to bend back to include the strongest muscle groups (pectoralis major muscle), which is a very traumatic movement for the spine.
Before doing the dumbbell bench press, as before any other exercise, remember to warm up to avoid injury. During the exercise, follow not only the technique of movement, but also the correct breathing.
