Dumbbell Flies

[Pain Eater]

Hey, guys. I usually use the cable machine to do flies for my chest, but I decided to try doing them with dumbbells. I noticed when I do them it feels like they are working my front delts a lot more than my pecs. Its probably a problem with my form, what I do is go down in an arcing motion until I feel a good stretch with my elbows slightly bent. Then I come up in the same arcing motion and squeeze my pecs at the top. I' not sure what Im doing wrong but I think I might be bending my elbows too much or too little.

Any Ideas?

[brk_nemesis]

Maybe dont come all the way up, stop arms at 45 degrees to the body. Or maybe your elbows are rotating outward/inward too much. Grab some low weight and start practicing with different ways. Im actually opposite with you,.. I get crazy delt activation from cables, not DB's.

[swollwilliams]

when doing flyes, imagine you are giving a big girl a hug..you don't want your arms straight, yet you don't want them bent too much.. a good stretch at the bottom, but not so deep that you are engaging your delts in the movement, a good squeeze at the top, keeping the tension on the pecs..sounds like you are doing the movement right by your description...i think the 8-12 rep range works best here,, with a good warm up of 15 or so to loosen up the shoulder joint, but to also get the blood in the pec area..choose a weight you can really concentrate on the entire movement.. may just take a little practice to get it down since you are used to going with the cable flyes..

[Pain Eater]

Thanks for the replies. I think brk_nemesis may be right that I am rotating my elbows too much, or maybe my wrists. I will go for low weight next time to get my form right.

[allstar504448]

arch your back and do what they said, dont do it straight up and down

[JW32Hoops]

imagine you are giving a big girl a hug..

best ever...reps sir, reps

Pain Eater, Decline DB flyes seem to really isolate the pecs, imo

[ticktwo]

Also watch for arm position in relation to your body. Are you crucified...arms and trunk make a T or are your arms positioned more towards your legs. I see a lot of guys in the gym where the elbows drop a bit toward their legs..this puts more weight on your delts.