To vary the exercise, hold the dumbbell in your right hand and stretch your left arm toward the ceiling. As you lift the dumbbell up, slightly lift your right shoulder so your body rotates on the ball and bend your left elbow so your elbow ends up slightly below shoulder level. Continue to alternate arms until you complete a full set, then hold the dumbbell in your left hand and repeat the exercise. This variation works on your abdominal muscles and allows you to focus on one arm at a time.
You can perform the Pec Fly to work the upper and outer edge of the chest more. Holding a dumbbell in each hand, lie on the ball as shown in the steps. With your palms facing each other, raise the dumbbells directly above your chest until your arms are almost straight and the dumbbells almost touch. Then slowly lower the dumbbells out to the sides in a semicircular motion, until your elbows are level with your shoulders. Pause for a moment and then slowly raise the dumbbells back to the starting position.
The chest press works your chest, as well as your triceps and the front of your shoulders. Performing this exercise on a ball also forces your abdominal and back muscles to work to help keep your body balanced on the ball.
This is a good exercise for helping you build upper body strength. If you have shoulder, wrist or elbow problems, you should be careful when performing this exercise. Performing the chest press with dumbbells is useful when one of your arms is stronger than the other and you want to balance the strength in your arms.
Since each arm must lift its own weight, the stronger arm cannot compensate for the weaker arm. People who tend to use one arm more than the other, such as tennis players, will benifit from this exercise.
Lying on an unstable ball, instead of a bench, makes the chest press more challenging because you also need to stablize yourself on the ball while lifting the dumbbells. You should try to have the ball move as little as possible during the exercise.
Do not allow the dumbbells to sway toward your head.
Do not allow your hips to drop. Keep your thighs and back in a straight line.
Do not lock your elbow when you straighten your arms.
