The fly is one of the most popular lifts for gym members who are trying to develop their chest muscles. And, while the standard fly is an effective move, there is a variation that can give you better, and safer, results.

It’s called the T-bench fly, and it helps develop the inner part of your chest while protecting your shoulder joints. To learn how to perform the T-bench fly at our Thornton gym, read this blog and we’ll give you all the details.

How to Do the T-Bench Fly at the Gym

The T-bench fly is similar to doing the fly on the floor, except because you’re placing your shoulders on a bench, you’re providing better support for your shoulder joints. And, because you’re extending your legs into a glute bridge position, you’re activating your glutes and abs to hold your lower body up.

Here are the steps to complete the exercise.

1. Sit on the bench with both feet on one side (not straddling the bench) and hold a dumbbell in each hand on your thighs.
2. Lift the weights up a bit and roll back, moving your butt forward off the bench. Keep sliding forward until your shoulder blades are on the bench and the rest of your body is suspended in a glute bridge position.
3. With your shoulders on the bench, your body should be in a straight line from your shoulders to your knees. Your knees should be bent at a 90-degree angle and your feet should be firmly planted on the floor.
4. Drive the dumbbells up until they are straight over your shoulders. Your elbows and wrists should be in a straight line above your shoulders.
5. Drive your shoulder blades into the bench to make sure they’re set up properly for protection.
6. Squeeze your glutes and abs to ensure your body is in a straight line from your knees to your shoulders without arching your back. Keep your pelvis neutral.
7. From this position, you’re ready to start your fly movement. Open up your elbows and lower the weights until your elbows touch the bench on each side. Go slowly, taking about 3-5 seconds to lower the weights to the side.
8. Now it’s time to lift the weights back to directly above your shoulders. Don’t worry about touching the weights together. That’s one rep.
9. Complete your desired number of reps.

Using the Gym’s Heavier Weights for the T-Bench Fly

One advantage of this exercise is, because the bench keeps the shoulder joints safe, you can go heavier with the dumbbells you’re using to get maximum gains.

Assuming you’re using the gym’s larger dumbbell weights, here is a modification you can try.

1. Repeat steps 1-4 above to get into position.
2. Once you’re in the position described in step 4 above, holding the weights directly above your shoulders, lower the weights down slowly (take about 3-5 seconds) with the fly.
3. From there, bend your elbows to bring the weights inward and then press the weights straight above you. Your wrists and elbows should be in a straight line right above your shoulders.
4. With your arms remaining straight, lower the weights back down to the fly position. That’s one rep.
5. Repeat for the desired number of reps.

Since we’re able to press a much heavier weight than we can fly, this variation allows you to use heavier weights for the downward fly motion and then press the weights up for the remainder of the motion.

How Many Reps Should I Do of the T-Bench Fly?

Keep the number of reps relatively high for the T-bench fly. Think about doing 3 sets of 10-12 reps each. Rest about 60 seconds in between each set. One main advantage of this fly is that you can really push the amount of weight you’re lifting. If you’re going very heavy with the T-bench fly, think about doing 4-6 reps per set. Since you’re going slowly with the movements, it puts a lot of work on your chest’s muscle fibers.

Achieve Your Bodybuilding Goals at AFAC Gym

Thanks to our wide array of top-of-the-line equipment and knowledgeable personal trainers, members of AFAC gym have everything they need to perform T-bench flys and every other power move to achieve their bodybuilding goals. In addition to being outfitted to support our members’ strength training workouts, AFAC gym also offers virtually any cardio workout you can imagine so that you can obtain maximum full-body results.

If you want to learn more about how to become a member of Adventure Fitness Athletic Club, the best gym in the Thornton, Colorado, area, please stop by the gym or give our staff a call. You can also contact our gym owner, Susan, at 720-849-0245 or susan@adventurefitness.club for assistance.

To read more articles from Adventure Fitness Athletic Club, check out our Adventure Corner blogs by clicking here.