Dumbbell flys on the ground

[Serpentarius]

Would lying down on the ground with dumbbells in each hand and doing flys be just as effective as doing them lying down on a bench? I have a shoulder problem, well its mostly healed but only bothers me when there is a range of motion behind my body.
Doing this would prevent the weight from doing just that...which is why i ask.
My bench is really not going up at all, i am kinda frustrated, everything else is moving up steadily (bulking) and i am doing everything i can in an abundance in hopes to get it up, a modified cable crossover, dips, and a lot of other tricep exercises like barbell lying tricep extensions, overhead cable press, cable push downs, and some others to build up triceps. I am dominant with back and leg exercises and chest is my weak point, bench has only gone up 10 lbs, from 135 to 145 in 6 weeks, i use the 4-6 rep range, but was doing 8-10 for a little with a lighter weight to change things up.
I have read countless articles on proper bench form, watched videos and even use a really light weight to mimic exactly that and am trying as hard as i can.
Does everyone have a slow building muscle group or weakness? Maybe im overthinking, not expecting huge gains or miracles though.

[Tyciol]

Basically yeah just that you can't get the same stretch, though not everyone stretches that far. There might be a difference in stability because you can't have your hips extended and knees flexed so the hips are below you and gripping the bench to avoid rotational stability, some might like that hip drive though it probably doesn't matter a big deal.

[ZoranM]

Would lying down on the ground with dumbbells in each hand and doing flys be just as effective as doing them lying down on a bench?

Absolutely not.

[genetics 83]

Absolutely not.

i agree with zoran

[noflyingcars]

I tried doing flyes on the floor when I couldn't go to the gym. They suck. You don't get enough stretch to reasonably hit the pecs.

[basejester]

I am dominant with back and leg exercises and chest is my weak point, bench has only gone up 10 lbs, from 135 to 145 in 6 weeks

I feel like a broken record, but that's not as bad as you think. If you add 1 pound a week for a year, you've added 52 pounds to your bench press. You can't compare the number of pounds added in squats or deadlifts to the number of pounds added in bench press, because those added pounds are a much smaller percentage of the total, especially considering that you're also lifting your own body weight in those exercises, not just the plates and the bar.

[mbinda]

Why not just do your flyes on a pec-dec machine or cables as they provide constant tension on the chest muscles which is not possible with dumbbells.

[Tyciol]

Absolutely not.

i agree with zoran

Why? A bench fly's benefit is the ability to transverse abduct more than 90 degrees by dropping the elbows lower than the back, if he's not stretching that far anyway (not everyone does) then what would the disadvantage be?

Why not just do your flyes on a pec-dec machine or cables as they provide constant tension on the chest muscles which is not possible with dumbbells.

We don't know if he has access to a pec deck, though he did mention cables.

Reasons that come to mind are: it's hard for some people to get into position with the cables, and a pec deck doesn't always go as wide as people would like and he may wish to stress the elbow joint so it doesn't fall behind in strength.

Of course, I assume most pec decks go to 90 degrees so it'd probably provide at least as much range as doing flies on the ground, maybe not as much as doing it on a bench, depending on the machine's adjustibility.

[ZoranM]

Why?

Here's how it will probably go:

I throw in a simple matter of ROM, and say that using a smaller ROM is not as effective.
Then you give an example of say, deadlifts and rack pulls, and say how a smaller ROM may be veeery effective.
Then i throw in a matter of resistance curve with flyes, and tell you how taking away the resistance in stretch position from the exercise that is so good BECAUSE of the resistance in the stretch position, is not the way to go.
Plus the obvious, if not going low was as good as going low, everyone would be doing it. Less trouble, same results. Wouldn't it be nice...
And then we can end the thread.

[TR0LLF4CE]

I find that DB flyes are no less effective when done on the floor than on a bench (i.e. mostly useless.)

Floor presses, on the other hand, are a great substitute for bench pressing if one has shoulder issues.

[Tyciol]

Zoran, the simply matter is though, that considering the height of most benches, it's probably excessive for flying needs anyway. It's not as if the bells are getting set on the floor each rep.

Couldn't you just grab a couple pillows and put them under your upper back and head, elevating them a bit, and then you can get the RoM? I guess that'd be unstable but I dunno, instability doesn't seem as bad when you're already on the ground.

[sojomojo]

If you're doing straight arm floor flyes, it's an exercise that I sometimes do if all the benches are being used and/or I simply want to do something different. It's always good to throw in a new or different exercise once in awhile to keep things interesting and to challenge your body to something new.

[Tyciol]

To limit RoM even further, do 'em with kettlebells =)