{"id":918661,"date":"2026-10-06T22:06:12","date_gmt":"2026-10-06T22:06:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/918661\/"},"modified":"2026-10-06T22:06:12","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T22:06:12","slug":"the-dumbbell-floor-fly-is-the-shoulder-friendly-way-to-build-chest-muscle-after-40-heres-why-it-works","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/918661\/","title":{"rendered":"The Dumbbell Floor Fly Is the Shoulder-Friendly Way to Build Chest Muscle After 40 \u2013 Here&#8217;s Why it Works"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"4\" class=\"css-1tfgmyw emevuu60\">Looking to build your chest after 40, but finding regular chest flys leave your shoulders aching? The dumbbell floor fly could be the solution.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"9\" class=\"css-1tfgmyw emevuu60\">That&#8217;s according to fat-loss and strength coach Tom Ragusa, who says the exercise delivers the chest-building benefits of traditional flyes without putting your shoulders through the same amount of stress.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"13\" class=\"css-1tfgmyw emevuu60\">In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DeIVb8hKZPU\/?hl=en\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DeIVb8hKZPU\/?hl=en\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"a recent Instagram post\" data-node-id=\"13.1\" class=\"body-link css-10fnnmt emevuu60\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">a recent Instagram post<\/a>, he explained why the movement has become a staple of his chest routine.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"18\" class=\"css-1tfgmyw emevuu60\">&#8216;I&#8217;m 48. I&#8217;ve been lifting for 30 years, and my shoulders have the mileage to prove it,&#8217; he wrote.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"23\" class=\"css-1tfgmyw emevuu60\">&#8216;Regular flyes started feeling like a bad idea a long time ago. So surprisingly, I took the bench away and things got better.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>5 Benefits of Dumbbell Floor Flyes for Men Over 40<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"28\" class=\"css-1tfgmyw emevuu60\">Ragusa says the floor version provides the &#8216;same chest work&#8217;, but &#8216;without the part that beats up your shoulders&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p>1\/ Reduced Shoulder Strain<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"34\" class=\"css-1tfgmyw emevuu60\">&#8216;The floor stops your elbows before your shoulders get stretched into the danger zone,&#8217; he explains. &#8216;All the chest work, none of the front-of-shoulder pain.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>2\/ Lift More Weight<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"39\" class=\"css-1tfgmyw emevuu60\">&#8216;You can go heavier than a regular fly,&#8217; Ragusa says. &#8216;Shorter range, built-in safety stop, real overload on the chest.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>3\/ Keep the Focus on Your Chest<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"44\" class=\"css-1tfgmyw emevuu60\">&#8216;It&#8217;s pure chest,&#8217; he explains. &#8216;Your triceps can&#8217;t take over like they do on presses.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>4\/ Minimal Equipment<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"49\" class=\"css-1tfgmyw emevuu60\">&#8216;No bench needed,&#8217; he points out. &#8216;Home gym, hotel gym, garage. No excuses.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>5\/ Easier on Your Lower Back<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"54\" class=\"css-1tfgmyw emevuu60\">&#8216;[It&#8217;s] easy on the lower back,&#8217; Ragusa says. &#8216;Knees bent, feet flat, nothing to arch.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>How to Do a Dumbbell Floor FlyLie on the floor holding a dumbbell in each hand. Bend your knees and place your feet flat on the floor, roughly shoulder-width apart.Press the dumbbells directly above your chest with a slight bend in your elbows and your palms facing each other.Lower the weights slowly out to your sides until your elbows lightly touch the floor. &#8216;Don&#8217;t bounce your elbows off the floor,&#8217; Ragusa says. &#8216;Touch, pause, squeeze.&#8217;Squeeze your chest to bring the dumbbells back to the starting position.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"62\" class=\"css-1tfgmyw emevuu60\">If there\u2019s one thing Kori Sampson knows, it\u2019s how to optimise your body composition for performance. To tap into his knowledge as an elite athlete and coach, we asked him to create a 4-week plan to help you move faster, recover quicker and keep pushing when the fatigue sets in \u2013 all while improving your muscle-to-fat ratio.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"66\" class=\"css-1tfgmyw emevuu60\">Ready to build muscle, burn fat and come out the other side looking, feeling and performing better? <a href=\"https:\/\/link.menshealth.co.uk\/join\/signup-mens-health-summer-2026-titlesite\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/link.menshealth.co.uk\/join\/signup-mens-health-summer-2026-titlesite\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"Click here\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-node-id=\"66.0.1\" data-href=\"https:\/\/link.menshealth.co.uk\/join\/signup-mens-health-summer-2026-titlesite\" class=\"body-btn-link css-1pnd5gs emevuu60\" data->Click here<\/a> to get 14 days of free access to the plan via the Men\u2019s Health app.<\/p>\n<p><img draggable=\"true\" alt=\"kori training plan\" title=\"kori training plan\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"3000\" height=\"3995\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" style=\"color:transparent;width:100%;height:auto;\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1791324372_805_a0458edc-7621-4ee9-b810-f61ea8e958c2.jpg\" class=\"css-0 e1ddfba50\"\/><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Looking to build your chest after 40, but finding regular chest flys leave your shoulders aching? The dumbbell&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":918662,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[64,63,234870,428,486733,430,538,137,308081,429,486732,366213,234470],"class_list":["post-918661","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fitness","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-collection-chest-exercises","tag-content-type-news","tag-contentid-54b18559-a36e-4417-919d-22764a116c4f","tag-displaytype-standard-article","tag-fitness","tag-health","tag-issyndicated-false","tag-locale-gb","tag-shorttitle-why-you-need-dumbbell-floor-flyes-after-40","tag-sponsored-false","tag-subsection-train-smarter"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/918661","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=918661"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/918661\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/918662"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=918661"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=918661"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=918661"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}