I like to perform the flat bench press with dumbbells because of the control I have over the movement. I still do bench press with a straight bar as well, but prefer the dumbbell press. You want to stick to a nice slow movement down to keep control. Use a light weight you are comfortable with till you have the confidence to move up. You don’t want so much weight that you have to throw the dumbbells down when you complete the movement. Take a look at the sample dumbbell bench press video below.