Standing Palm-In One-Arm Dumbbell Press

Also called one-arm neutral grip press and single-arm palms-in press.

Works

Shoulders, plus triceps

Equipment

Dumbbells

Level

Beginner

Type

Compound, one side at a time

How to do it

Setup. Start by having a dumbbell in one hand with your arm fully extended to the side using a neutral grip. Use your other arm to hold on to an incline bench to keep your balance.

1. Your feet should be shoulder width apart from each other. Now slowly lift the dumbbell up until you create a 90 degree angle with your arm. Note: Your forearm should be perpendicular to the floor. Continue to maintain a neutral grip throughout the entire exercise.
2. Slowly lift the dumbbell up until your arm is fully extended. This the starting position.
3. While inhaling lower the weight down until your arm is at a 90 degree angle again.
4. Feel the contraction for a second and then lift the weight back up towards the starting position while exhaling. Remember to hold on to the incline bench and keep your feet positioned to keep balance during the exercise.
5. Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.
6. Switch arms and repeat the exercise.

Cues

• Palm faces in the whole rep.
• Free hand on the hip.
• Press straight up.
• Lower slowly to shoulder.

Common mistakes

• Leaning away from the weight.
• Arching the low back.

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.

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