Hex Press (Dumbbell)

A flat bench dumbbell press where two hex (hexagonal) dumbbells are held end-to-end and pressed together throughout the movement, maximising inner chest activation through a continuous squeezing force.

Instructions

1. Lie flat on a bench with your feet firmly on the floor and your back pressed against the pad.
2. Hold one hex dumbbell in each hand and press the flat ends together across your lower chest, palms facing each other.
3. Brace your core and squeeze the dumbbells against each other throughout the entire set.
4. Press the dumbbells straight up, keeping them in contact and maintaining the inward squeeze.
5. Extend your arms fully at the top without locking the elbows out hard.
6. Lower the dumbbells under control back to your chest, maintaining the squeeze the whole way down.
7. Repeat for the prescribed number of repetitions.

Tips

• Use the flat ends of hex dumbbells — they mate cleanly edge-to-edge, unlike round dumbbells which can slip.
• The inward squeezing force is the key stimulus; if the squeeze disappears, you lose most of the benefit.
• Keep the dumbbells pressed together at the start of each rep before you press — don’t let them drift apart at the bottom.
• Use a lighter weight than your standard dumbbell bench press; the adduction demand fatigues the chest quickly.
• Control the eccentric (lowering) phase for 2–3 seconds to maximise time under tension.
• This movement is often used interchangeably with the Dumbbell Squeeze Press — the functional difference is that hex dumbbells provide a stable flat-to-flat contact surface, making the squeeze easier to maintain than with round heads.