Standing Shoulder Press With Dumbbells

You might think the only way to perform dumbbell shoulder presses is in a sitting position, but you can also perform them in a standing position. One benefit of the strength training standing version is you engage more core muscles to maintain your balance and control the weight. Using dumbbells increases your range of motion and forces each arm to work independently. With a few subtle changes in technique, you can make this bodybuilding exercise more challenging. This is how you do a dumbbell overhead press, also known as an arnold press or push press, for the shoulders

How to do standing dumbbell shoulder press?

The standing dumbbell shoulder press exercise is a press variation that can be done unilaterally, meaning one arm at a time, or bilaterally, meaning both arms together. Get into starting position by holding a pair of dumbbells at shoulder height with your palms facing forward and spreading your feet shoulder-width apart. Push press one arm or both dumbbells overhead while keeping your back straight, bringing the weights together until they almost touch overhead. If you do the one-arm version, you can alternate arms or do all the repetitions, or reps, for one arm and then switch sides. One common mistake is arching the back which can cause injury with heavy weights

What is the function of standing dumbbell shoulder press?

Overhead shoulder press exercises target the delts or the shoulder muscles, specifically the anterior deltoid or front deltoid and the lateral or side deltoid. Unlike other common shoulder exercises, such as side raises and front raises, the shoulder press exercise is a compound movement that builds muscle in more than one muscle group. Your triceps, traps and upper chest are also involved in the standing shoulder press exercise. Unlike other upper body exercises like the bench press because you are standing, you won’t be improving just your upper body strength Your core and lower back muscles also engage to stabilize your glutes and legs as you press the weight overhead.

What are the benefits of standing dumbbell shoulder press?

Dumbbells extend the range of motion of the shoulder press. A barbell locks you into one grip so your hands cannot come together at the top of the movement. Dumbbells also force each arm to work independently. Most lifters have a dominant side, which often overcompensates for the weaker side when you work both arms together. This can leave the weaker side constantly trailing in strength since it fails to do its share of the work. Using dumbbells forces the weaker arm to press the entire weight.

What are some variations of standing dumbbell shoulder press?

Dumbbells allow you to change your grip and adjust how you lateral raise the weight during the shoulder press exercise. You can do the standing shoulder dumbbell press with either a reverse grip, where your palms face you, or a neutral grip, where your palms face each other. You can also add twists to the movement. Start with your palms facing forward and then twist the dumbbells as you press up so your palms face each other at the top of the movement. Although these are small changes, they add challenge and variety to your routine and give the exercise a new feel. You can also use kettlebells with similar results and benefits