Dumbbell Shoulder Press

Shoulders
Triceps

Equipment: Dumbbell

New to this

Your first dumbbell shoulder press

What weight should I start with on the dumbbell shoulder press?

Most untrained men should start with 12 to 15 lb dumbbells, most untrained women with 5 to 8 lb. Shoulders are usually the weakest pressing muscle, so this number will be well under your bench press.

You have got it right if you can press 10 reps without your lower back arching off the seat.

What usually goes wrong on the dumbbell shoulder press?

Sit on a bench with the back pad set upright, dumbbells at shoulder height, palms forward. Brace your abs so your ribs stay down.

Press straight up and slightly together, stopping just short of lockout, then lower until your elbows are level with your shoulders.

Most common mistake: arching the lower back to get the weight up, which turns it into an incline press. If your back leaves the pad, drop 5 lb per hand.

If the shoulder press bench is taken

Standing removes the back support, so the military press makes your core work harder and you will use less weight. The machine press has a fixed path and is easy to load, which makes it the right pick on a heavy day with no spotter. The Arnold press adds rotation on the way up; save it for when the basic press feels routine.

How to do it

While holding a dumbbell in each hand, sit on a military press bench or utility bench that has back support. Place the dumbbells upright on top of your thighs.
Now raise the dumbbells to shoulder height one at a time using your thighs to help propel them up into position.
Make sure to rotate your wrists so that the palms of your hands are facing forward. This is your starting position.
Now, exhale and push the dumbbells upward until they touch at the top.
Then, after a brief pause at the top contracted position, slowly lower the weights back down to the starting position while inhaling.
Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.