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Dumbbell Shoulder Press

Sit or stand holding dumbbells at shoulder height with palms facing forward. Press the weights straight overhead until arms are fully extended. Lower under control back to the starting position. Keep your core tight and avoid arching your back.

SHOULDERS · PUSH

Dumbbell Shoulder Press: how the movement is executed

How it is executed

  1. Sit or stand holding dumbbells at shoulder height with palms facing forward.
  2. Press the weights straight overhead until arms are fully extended.
  3. Lower under control back to the starting position.
  4. Keep your core tight and avoid arching your back.
Muscles worked
Shoulders
Primary muscle
Front delt
Equipment
Dumbbell
Movement pattern
Push
Difficulty
Intermediate
What it is for
StrengthHypertrophy
Also known as
Dumbbell overhead pressSeated dumbbell press

Watch the full tutorial

Variations and substitutions

Arnold PressDumbbellMachine Shoulder PressMachineLandmine PressBarbellSeated Band Shoulder PressResistance bandBarbell Shoulder PressBarbellSmith Machine Shoulder PressSmith machineSeated Behind-the-Neck Barbell PressBarbellSingle-Arm Dumbbell Shoulder PressDumbbell

Routines that program it

Three-day full body routine2 sets a weekThree-day push/pull/legs routine3 sets a week
Shoulders exercisesDumbbell exercisesEstimated 1RM calculatorBack to the library

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Glossary and calculators

HypertrophyHypertrophy is the increase in muscle fibre size in response to sustained resistance training.SupercompensationSupercompensation is the point where performance rises above its previous level, once the fatigue of a training block dissipates.Client lifetime valueWhat a client is worth in total

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