Hammer Grip Incline DB Bench Press
Also works: Shoulders · Triceps
An incline press with the dumbbells held palms-facing-each-other for the entire set. The neutral grip keeps the upper arms closer to the ribs than a pronated press allows, which takes the shoulder out of the end-range external rotation that makes incline pressing hurt for many lifters.
Own the movement
Set up first, then execute. Every cue below is something you can check on your next set.
Before the first rep
- Set the bench to 30-45 degrees. Above 45 the front delts take over and it stops being a chest press.
- Sit with a dumbbell resting on each thigh, palms facing each other, then kick them up one knee at a time as you lie back.
- Plant your feet, set your shoulder blades down and back into the pad, and keep a small natural arch — not a bench-press bridge.
- Start with the dumbbells at the outside of your upper chest, elbows bent and tucked at roughly 45 degrees from your ribs.
- Check both dumbbells are level with each other before the first rep; a lopsided start rarely fixes itself under load.
Every rep
Breathing & tempo — Breathe in on the way down, hold the brace through the bottom, exhale as you drive up past the halfway point. Three seconds down, one second at the chest, fast but controlled up.
Sets, reps & load
Where to start, and what to change when it stops being hard.
Start about 20% lighter than your flat dumbbell press — the incline plus the neutral grip cuts what you can move. A pair of 10-12 kg dumbbells is a realistic first working weight for most beginners. Move up 2 kg per hand only when you hit the top of your rep range on all sets with a controlled three-second descent.
What goes wrong
The errors that show up most often, and the cue that fixes each one.
Drop the pad to 30-45 degrees. Measure it once against the notches so you use the same angle every week and can compare loads honestly.
Cue the elbows towards the hip pockets, about 45 degrees from the torso. The grip only permits the tuck; you still have to do it.
Stop a fist-width apart and keep tension on the chest. Clashing the bells robs the top of the rep and dents the knurling.
Bring them to your chest, tuck your chin, and sit up with them on your thighs. Wrenching them off from overhead is how shoulders and floors get damaged.
Why bother
Grip decides elbow path. With palms turned in, the elbows naturally travel at roughly 30-45 degrees from your torso rather than flaring to 75 or more, so the head of the humerus is not driven forward against the front of the joint at the bottom of each rep. That is why people who cannot incline press with a barbell can usually do this.
The trade-off is smaller than the internet claims. Turning the palms in shortens the pec's moment arm a little and hands a bit more of the rep to the front delts and triceps, but the forearm sits under the bell more securely, so most lifters end up pressing about the same weight they would with a pronated grip. What you actually buy is a joint position you can keep training in every week.
Where it fits
First or second press on an upper-body day, at a 30-45 degree bench angle, for 3-4 sets of 8-12. It works well as the main press for anyone whose shoulders complain about a barbell, and as the second press for everyone else, after flat benching.
If this one isn't it
No kit, too hard, or too easy — here's where to go instead.
Same job, different kit
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Asked and answered
What is the point of the neutral grip?
It changes the elbow path. Palms facing in keeps the upper arms tucked at roughly 30-45 degrees instead of flared, which reduces the end-range external rotation at the shoulder that many people find painful at the bottom of an incline press. It is the single most useful modification for a cranky front shoulder that still wants to press.
Will I press less than with a normal grip?
Usually not. The tucked elbow costs the pec a little leverage, but the neutral grip stacks the forearm better and most people land within a couple of kilos of their pronated incline press. Treat it as its own lift with its own logbook rather than expecting the two numbers to match either way.
My gym has no heavy dumbbells. What gets me the same thing?
A Swiss or football bar on an incline bench is the closest substitute — same neutral grip, and you can load it well past where dumbbells run out. A neutral-grip machine press is the next best. What will not substitute is a straight barbell: the pronated grip forces the exact end-range external rotation this variation exists to avoid, which is usually the reason you were looking for an alternative in the first place.
Is this the same as the incline dumbbell bench with palms facing in?
It is. The two names describe an identical movement and appear separately in the source exercise database. Log whichever name your gym app uses and do not try to programme both as different lifts.