Cuban Press

Also called cuban press, cuban rotation press and rotator cuff press.

Works

Shoulders, plus traps

Equipment

Dumbbells

Level

Intermediate

Type

Compound

How to do it

Setup. Take a dumbbell in each hand with a pronated grip in a standing position. Raise your upper arms so that they are parallel to the floor, allowing your lower arms to hang in the "scarecrow" position. This will be your starting position.

1. To initiate the movement, externally rotate the shoulders to move the upper arm 180 degrees. Keep the upper arms in place, rotating the upper arms until the wrists are directly above the elbows, the forearms perpendicular to the floor.
2. Now press the dumbbells by extending at the elbows, straightening your arms overhead.
3. Return to the starting position as you breathe in by reversing the steps.
4. Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.

Cues

• Light dumbbells, upright row to elbows level.
• Rotate the forearms up.
• Press overhead.
• Reverse it all slowly.

Common mistakes

• Going heavy.
• Elbows dropping before rotating.

Where to start

A starting point, not a law. Pick a weight you could lift two or three more times than the top of the range. Tempo is seconds down, pause, up. When every set hits the top of the range, add a little weight.

Go easy, or pick an alternative, if you have a sore shoulder. Pain that's sharp or gets worse set to set means stop.

Easier

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