Discussion- Dumbbell Flyes

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for_ever_young66
for_ever_young66 Posts: 2,881 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Incline DB Flyes are one of my favorite chest exercises. It's also a good secondary workout for my shoulders. However, lately, I've been hearing lots of doom and gloom about doing this workout. Usually, if you only hear negative feedback once or maybe twice, you can dismiss it pretty easily and not take it too seriously. But the rumblings are becoming more and more frequent. I wanted to have an honest discussion on this workout. I've been doing for a year now and so far, no major problems but perhaps I should quit doing it before it's too late.

What do you guys think. Also, feel free to add me. I specifically like adding members closer to my age (45-55) but I'm flexible.

Thanks

Jason
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Replies

  • daves05
    daves05 Posts: 23 Member
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    I've been doing incline db flys for over two and a half years with no problems.
  • Michael190lbs
    Michael190lbs Posts: 1,510 Member
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    three decades no problems here and I use 65 lbs ones super set with presses 10 reps of each
  • not_a_runner
    not_a_runner Posts: 1,343 Member
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    People say squats are bad for your knees, but I still squat 2x a week.
  • for_ever_young66
    for_ever_young66 Posts: 2,881 Member
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    Well, one of the gripes against it is that it doesn't really grow your pecs as advertised and you risk injuring your shoulder, namely the rotator cuff. I suppose it depends on the amount of weight you use and your form.
  • cgvet37
    cgvet37 Posts: 1,189 Member
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    I will not do them. If you loose control of the weight, your shoulders are in a very compromised position. I'll do cable fly's or use the peck deck.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    I do them sometimes and like how I can feel my muscles while doing them.
  • SonyaCele
    SonyaCele Posts: 2,841 Member
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    i can't do them any heavier than 20-25 lbs , i will tweak my shoulder and be in pain and out of commission for a few weeks. When i have to do them, i do them on the floor just to be safe. But there are so many other exercise i can do instead there isn't any reason for me to do something that hurts. I guess some of us are just built differently and can't do all the things.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    cgvet37 wrote: »
    I will not do them. If you loose control of the weight, your shoulders are in a very compromised position. I'll do cable fly's or use the peck deck.

    This is me too...even then, I have to be careful not to overload though as I have some shoulder issues to start with.
  • jessef593
    jessef593 Posts: 2,272 Member
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    TresaAswegan wrote: »
    People say squats are bad for your knees, but I still squat 2x a week.

    They say the same for deadlifts and your back. I do that 2x weekly as well.

    Depending on your body structure and precious injuries the effect it'll have on your shoulders can vary greatly. Along with form, depth, and weight. Any exercise can hurt you, the biggest thing usually is controlling your ego.
  • DaleLatham1
    DaleLatham1 Posts: 8 Member
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    cgvet37 wrote: »
    I will not do them. If you loose control of the weight, your shoulders are in a very compromised position. I'll do cable fly's or use the peck deck.

    agreed, far better exercises/resistance machines to isolate the upper chest but do whatever works for you bro!
  • for_ever_young66
    for_ever_young66 Posts: 2,881 Member
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    jessef593 wrote: »
    TresaAswegan wrote: »
    People say squats are bad for your knees, but I still squat 2x a week.

    They say the same for deadlifts and your back. I do that 2x weekly as well.

    Depending on your body structure and precious injuries the effect it'll have on your shoulders can vary greatly. Along with form, depth, and weight. Any exercise can hurt you, the biggest thing usually is controlling your ego.

    Amen to that. I'll admit. My ego is about the size of Texas. Good advice. Thanks.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
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    OP, who is saying what about DF? I'd love some solid info!
  • for_ever_young66
    for_ever_young66 Posts: 2,881 Member
    edited January 2017
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    lorrpb wrote: »
    OP, who is saying what about DF? I'd love some solid info!

    I've heard it from quite a few sources but this one had me thinking. This dude talks like he knows what he's talking about. Kind of spooked me to be honest. Fast forward video to about a 1 minute and 20 secs.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6Y3WDY1tUo
  • Cherimoose
    Cherimoose Posts: 5,210 Member
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    for_ever_young66 wrote: »
    Well, one of the gripes against it is that it doesn't really grow your pecs as advertised and you risk injuring your shoulder, namely the rotator cuff.

    The DB fly has a steep resistance curve, meaning the DBs feel very heavy at the bottom of the movement, and progressively feel much lighter toward the top. That's not really ideal for growth, because only a small portion of the range of motion has a lot of resistance. A seated machine fly or cable pec fly has a smoother tension curve, so that would be my choice. Those don't work the stabilizer muscles as much, so the pecs can do more actual work. :+1:
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,391 MFP Moderator
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    It's just a move that has a higher risk than others when it comes to injury, especially if your form isn't good. I would rather spend time on other moves since many other moves engage more muscles at one time (e.g., bench, incline press, etc..).
  • rdl81
    rdl81 Posts: 220 Member
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    Cherimoose wrote: »
    for_ever_young66 wrote: »
    Well, one of the gripes against it is that it doesn't really grow your pecs as advertised and you risk injuring your shoulder, namely the rotator cuff.

    The DB fly has a steep resistance curve, meaning the DBs feel very heavy at the bottom of the movement, and progressively feel much lighter toward the top. That's not really ideal for growth, because only a small portion of the range of motion has a lot of resistance. A seated machine fly or cable pec fly has a smoother tension curve, so that would be my choice. Those don't work the stabilizer muscles as much, so the pecs can do more actual work. :+1:

    Recently been doing my flys bottom half of movement only so not taking elbow above shoulder this reduces the stress on rotator cuff and u still get most effective part of the movement

  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,902 Member
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    for_ever_young66 wrote: »
    Well, one of the gripes against it is that it doesn't really grow your pecs as advertised and you risk injuring your shoulder, namely the rotator cuff. I suppose it depends on the amount of weight you use and your form.

    I may have injured my rotator cuff by over-training my front and under-training my back. I added Back Day built around the exercise in the following article and no more problems.

    http://seannal.com/articles/training/rear-deltoid-exercises.php
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,526 Member
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    I've been doing them for 3 decades, however they are a "finishing" exercise for me. Just to get more blood in the pec area after having blasted them with multiple presses.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
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    There are other exercises I'd rather do. My joints aren't in the best shape, and I'd rather just stick with something like bench press variations since they're safer for my shoulders.
  • bbell1985
    bbell1985 Posts: 4,572 Member
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    I like them. I try to stay very focused when I'm doing them. I can literally see a scenario in my head in which I get hurt...but the pump. Haven't don't them in awhile though.

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