Dumbbell Shoulder Press

Also called DB shoulder press and DB overhead press.

Works

Shoulders, plus triceps

Equipment

Dumbbells

Level

Intermediate

Type

Compound

How to do it

Setup. 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.

1. Now raise the dumbbells to shoulder height one at a time using your thighs to help propel them up into position.
2. Make sure to rotate your wrists so that the palms of your hands are facing forward. This is your starting position.
3. Now, exhale and push the dumbbells upward until they touch at the top.
4. Then, after a brief pause at the top contracted position, slowly lower the weights back down to the starting position while inhaling.
5. Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.

Cues

• Start at ear height, palms forward.
• Press up and slightly in.
• Ribs down, don't arch.

Common mistakes

• Arching the low back.
• Stopping short of lockout.

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.

Harder