Dumbbell Larsen Press

How to Perform the Dumbbell Larsen Press

Lie flat on a bench holding a dumbbell in each hand at chest level with your palms facing forward.
Extend your legs straight out in front of you, keeping them hovering just above the bench or in the air with no foot contact on the floor.
Retract your shoulder blades and maintain a slight arch in your upper back for a stable pressing position.
Press the dumbbells upward until your arms are fully extended, keeping the movement controlled.
Lower the dumbbells slowly to the sides of your chest, maintaining balance without any leg drive.
Press back up and repeat for the prescribed reps, keeping your core braced throughout.

Placing the feet on the floor out of habit

Keep your legs extended and feet completely off the ground to eliminate leg drive.

Losing balance and wobbling on the bench

Use lighter weight than your standard bench press and focus on bracing your core tightly.

Losing shoulder blade retraction

Squeeze your shoulder blades together before lifting and maintain this position throughout all reps.

✓Eliminates leg drive to isolate the chest, shoulders, and triceps as prime movers.
✓Builds core stability under load due to the removal of lower body support.
✓Improves strict pressing strength that transfers to standard bench press performance.

●Start with significantly lighter weight than your regular dumbbell bench press as the lack of leg drive reduces your capacity.
●This exercise is excellent for identifying and correcting weaknesses in your pressing mechanics.
●Focus on slow, controlled eccentrics to build pressing strength.

Strength

4-5 sets of 3-5 reps at 80-90% 1RM

Hypertrophy

3-4 sets of 8-12 reps at 65-75% 1RM

Endurance

2-3 sets of 15-20 reps at 50-60% 1RM

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