Benefits of a Single-Arm Dumbbell Press

One of the reasons weight training provides a thorough, challenging workout is that you can always switch to another version of an exercise to keep your routine fresh and maintain fitness gains. For example, swapping out a barbell press for a dumbbell press will provide a number of benefits. Using an alternating or single-arm version of the dumbbell press will help you develop even, uniform strength in both of your arms.

  1. Dumbbell Press Basics

    • The dumbbell press on a flat bench works the middle and outside portions of the pectoralis major, along with the deltoids, trapezius, triceps, forearms and latissimus dorsi. You can perform dumbbell presses on an incline or decline bench as well, giving you an alternative to incline or decline barbell bench presses. The exercise has two phases: eccentric and concentric. The eccentric phase is when you lower the dumbbell to your chest. The concentric phase is when you lift the dumbbell from your chest back to starting position. For heavy dumbbell presses, have a friend spot you and hand you the dumbbell as you begin, which will help to prevent injury.

    Strengthen Weaker Arm

    • The common barbell version of the press presents one problem that is often overlooked. The barbell evenly distributes the force of the weight lifted, which lets your dominant stronger side compensate for your weaker side. It’s hard to know just how much of a difference exists between the two until you switch to dumbbell presses. The single-arm dumbbell press lets you focus exclusively on the weaker arm, so that you can develop a balanced, uniform level of strength in your upper body. This not only improves the strength of the weaker arm, but it lets you also focus directly on the stronger arm during alternating sets, which will improve your overall level of strength and increase the performance of your barbell presses.

    Work Stabilizer Muscles

    • Compared to the barbell, dumbbells engage a broader network of stabilizers throughout the upper body. These stabilizers help you balance the dumbbell during the concentric and eccentric phases of the press. Balancing a single dumbbell while performing presses engages core muscles in the abs and obliques to keep the weight steady. The stabilizer muscles are crucial during the eccentric phase. They help to keep the dumbbell in line as you lower it toward your chest, but they also play a role in balancing the weight during the concentric phase.

    Maintain Form

    • The single-arm dumbbell press lets you focus all of your attention and effort on a single weight through a simple, two-phase lift. Unlike the twin-dumbbell press, which can quickly become unwieldy, the single-arm press lets you go slowly and smoothly, controlling every moment of the lift with 100 percent of your energy and concentration. Discipline with form is crucial to achieving gains for any exercise, and the single-arm press lets you precisely push the dumbbell directly over your chest.