If using an adjustable bench, have it set to a 90-degree angle, not leaned back. A lot of the force from that weight is being absorbed by the spine and into the sacrum and pelvis. "}. The biceps curl to overhead press can be performed using an alternating arm action, using just a single dumbbell at a time. If you prefer, try doing the exercise on a low cable machine. Shoulder presses can be performed with the elbows pointed out to the sides or more in front of the body and pointed forward. You might think that’s a good thing, but if you have lower back issues it’s not. For the standing barbell press, walk up to the bar and grab it slightly wider than shoulder-width apart with palms facing away from your body. Abs and Oblique Standing dumbbell shoulder press is the variation that exceptionally recruits muscles of your abs. The biceps can be tough to build because of the repetitions necessary to do so. I talk often about the benefits of using an open grip (thumb on the same side of the bar or dumbbell handle as the fingers, as opposed to wrapped around the bar) on bench press and lat pulldowns, and it’s also effective for shoulder presses. Standing Dumbbell Overhead Shoulder Press. Both variations will effectively target the front delt. With dumbbells, however, the imaginary line between your hands can literally go right through the middle of your head when lowering the weights, thus allowing you to keep the elbows pointed out to the sides while not externally rotating the shoulders too much. Pressing with dumbbells while in standing activates the abdominal, oblique, lower back, and spinal stabilizer muscles. Close Grip Bench Press . Dumbbell Shoulder Press . Thatâs the starting position. When talking about shoulders as a body part, the muscle group we’re referring to is the deltoids. This cannot be achieved in sitting ⦠Elbow position determines deltoid involvement. Standing Lateral Raises . Not that the incline press is a bad exercise, of course. Bend your elbows and bring the dumbbells at shoulder height with your palms facing the body. Movements like incline presses and even flat bench press hit the front delts to a large extent, with very little middle delt involvement. Alternating Vs. Our exercise illustrations represent original artwork registered with and protected by the U.S. AdChoices. Holding a dumbbell in each hand, stand with your feet shoulder width apart. There are biomechanical differences between the two, yet with proper technique, both versions are safe and effective. On this exercise, the open grip keeps the bar/handle lower in the palm, down by the meat of the hand versus up near the knuckles. The seat provides no give, so it absorbs none of the force. Dumbbell strength standards are based on the weight of each dumbbell, not the weight of two added together. Not only are standing presses good for taking pressure off the spine; the exercise is also good for strengthening the lower back muscles (spinal erectors). C. 3 sets. Dumbbell Biceps Curl to Shoulder Press Holding a pair of dumbbells, stand tall with your feet shoulder-width apart. To do this, pull your shoulder blades together by contracting your middle traps and rhomboids; that’s going to stabilize the shoulder joints. Itâs a classic upper body strengthening ⦠Pressing weight one hand at a time is much easier and requires less flexibility than pressing weights with both hands over your head at the same time. If you’re worried the weights my slip out of your hands with the open grip, I highly recommend wrist straps (I like the Versa Gripps brand, personally). That said, if you don’t have lower back issues and you prefer to do shoulder presses seated, at least make sure your torso is fully upright. In a seated position with your feet firmly planted on the floor, grasp two dumbbells with both hands. But if delt size is your main objective, go ahead and do seated presses, staying cognizant of both your lower back and shoulder health. When the elbows come out to the sides, it’s hitting more middle delt; when the upper arms are in front of the body, it’s emphasizing the front delts more. âIâve laid the groundwork for you by doing the research in the lab to find out what really works, designing the programs and systems, creating the content, and developing the technology. Unauthorized use violators will be prosecuted. When it sits lower like this, the weight is directly over the forearm bones, which makes for a stronger press. This is your starting position. That’s why I prefer dumbbell presses. You can switch gender of illustrations here. Now, drive the dumbbells overhead. AI Transformation Contest Posing Tutorial. If you’re able to keep your elbows out to the sides, though, with barbell presses, keeping doing it. Let your arms hang by your side with your palms facing in to the side of your body. The hammer shoulder press is similar to traditional shoulder press except for a slight change in grip. What it comes down to is elbow position. Aside from elbow position, you need to lock your shoulders into place to keep the movement safe and effective. "}, {"@context": "http://schema.org/","@id": "https://www.jimstoppani.com/home/videos/shoulder-press-2/file/flash","name":"Shoulder Press Master Class Part 2","@type": "VideoObject","thumbnailUrl": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/jstoppani/main_files_1193_thumb0.jpg","embedUrl": "https://www.jimstoppani.com/home/videos/shoulder-press-2/file/flash","uploadDate": "2018-12-12 18:17:33 UTC","description":"Maximize deltoid size and strength with the best mass-building move there is for shoulders. Hold a dumbbell in each hand just above shoulder height with your palms facing forward and arms bent. The problem here is that you get external rotation of the shoulders, which can compromise the rotator cuff and potentially cause problems down the road. Continue curling the dumbbell upward until your biceps are fully contracted and the dumbbell is at shoulder level. Standing Dumbbell Arnold Press Grab one dumbbell in each hand and stand upright with your feet hip-width apart. In this position, the front delts are more involved. Standing Shoulder Press With Dumbbells | ⦠Standing with your feet hip-width apart, hold a kettlebell in one hand at your side. Being directly over the forearms makes for a more direct line of force, where you’re pressing into those handles and straight up. One of the best dumbbell shoulder exercises is the shoulder press. A chest press is also known as a bench press. The Standing Dumbbell Press is an excellent exercise to start learning how to press over your head while standing. Standing Dumbbell Curls. Barbell Front Raise. Do not swing your hips to get the weight moving. You should have straps for pulling exercises anyway, so use them on shoulder presses as well just in case the handles or bar slips out of your hand. Our dumbbell shoulder press standards are based on 486,000 lifts by Strength Level users. In the Shoulder Press video #1 above, I show you how to use the Versa Gripps on shoulder presses at the 19:00 mark. Then follow these steps: Unrack the ⦠Barbell Front Raise Standing And Seated. Adonis Row Palms Down and Palms Up. Hammer Shoulder Press. The problem with barbell shoulder presses is that, when you bring the bar down, your head is in the way. The only thing locking out the elbows does from a muscular standpoint is increase the contraction in the triceps. 10 reps. If you do decide to do behind-the-neck shoulder presses, make sure you don't lower the bar below your ears. Now, you may have heard people say to only go down to ear level. One benefit of the standing version is you engage more core muscles to maintain your balance and control the weight. I’m not jumping on the “functional training” bandwagon by any means, but with standing shoulder presses you are, in fact, using more muscles in the body and burning more calories; research proves that. Everybody wants big shoulders, and the shoulder press is without a doubt the ultimate mass-builder for the deltoids. Keeping your elbows slightly in front of the body but still pointed out to the sides, press the dumbbells straight up overhead by contracting your shoulder muscles and extending your elbows. Step 1 Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and holding a dumbbell in each hand with an overhand grip, with your palms facing your sides. Dumbbell shoulder presses will also activate the middle and rear delt. Not only are standing presses good for taking pressure off the spine; the exercise is also good for strengthening ⦠When standing, however, the legs, hips, knees, and ankles all act as shock absorbers and take some of the load. The motion here is pretty straightforward: Press the weight straight up overhead. Slowly, lower the dumbbells to your shoulders. With arms tight at your sides, lower the dumbbells to the starting position. Keep your elbows close to your sides. That said, your exact range of motion on shoulder presses will vary somewhat depending on what version of the movement you’re doing. Keep your upper arms tight at your sides. Once the dumbbells reach your shoulders, twist the dumbbells to have your palms face out. (As opposed to seated, where your lower body is totally eliminated from helping absorb any force.) Standing Dumbbell Shoulder Press. Unlike other muscle groups that you can strengthen with a variety of exercises, the biceps must be engaged through basically the same motion: the curl⦠My knowledge is your power â now itâs up to you to run with it and get the results.â, By logging in, you agree to Bowleg Media's Privacy Policy Locking out the elbows at the top is not only unsafe for your joints, but it’s also unnecessary for maximizing middle delt involvement. Win-win! Pull Ups . Make sure your core is tight and your chest is ⦠Standing Dumbbell Press . I know a lot of people hate talking about the core – because everyone talks about core training, even people who have no idea what they’re talking about! For many people, the only way to keep the elbows out to the sides on barbell shoulder presses is to go behind the head. Well, yes and no. For example, if you bicep curl 20 lb dumbbells in each arm that would count as 20 lb not the total 40 lb. And you don’t want to avoid strengthening them by always doing seated presses – in that case, the bench or seat becomes your crutch for weak spinal erectors. Begin by curling the weight up towards your shoulders. Cable Cross Over . EZ Bar Curl . BarBell Deadlift (conventional) Barbell Deadlift Sumo Stance. Hold the dumbbells at shoulder level. Standing Dumbbell Shoulder Press. A lot of people assume that sitting would take pressure off my lower back, but this isn’t the case. Curl the weight up to the shoulder area. Don’t forget, those lower back muscles are part of the core, and we know that standing shoulder presses are great for strengthening that area. First of all, standing presses are more functional in everyday life than seated. – but it’s an important factor for overall fitness, health, and even strength. So, in this Master Class, I'm going to cover how to best do shoulder presses for maximum effectiveness and safety. Barbell Curl. When people say standing presses hurt their lower back, it’s often because those lower back muscles are weak. As I mentioned above, your elbows should start out slightly in front of the body and stay that way throughout the movement. Curl the dumbbell forward and up in a smooth arc, contracting your biceps and exhaling. Close-grip Barbell Bench Press. Step ⦠Ab Wheel Roll Outs. Step 2 Keeping your hands in a neutral position, curl the dumbbells up to your shoulders. Hold for a count of one while squeezing your biceps. Step 3 Press the dumbbells straight overhead retaining the neutral hand position. Strength | Advanced. With dumbbells, you’re able to flare the elbows out without having to worry about hitting yourself in the head or face or lowering the weight behind your head (more on behind-the-neck barbell presses in a moment). But if it’s shoulder day and the goal is to hit the middle delts, keep your torso vertical. Basically, when the elbows are back and in line with your torso, you need to be more careful about not bringing the weight down too far. The shoulder press (aka, overhead press) is the most effective exercise you can do for building overall mass in the shoulders, particularly the middle delts; however, it’s also an exercise that can put your shoulders and spine in compromised positions if not performed correctly. This is simply a standing dumbbell shoulder press, which is done identically to the seated version (with the exception of standing). Seated Lateral Raises . Performing the exercise from the standing position will actively engage the core throughout the range of motion. Spider Curl . You can do this by performing a clean before your first rep. Or, if you’re doing barbell shoulder presses and you don’t want to clean the weight, you can set the bar up at shoulder height in a power rack and grab it from there. Getting in the proper position on shoulder presses is critical for keeping the movement safe. ⦠Posted in Exercise Database, Shoulders, Shoulders, Video, At Home, Gym | Tagged Shoulders, Exercise Demo, Exercise Database, Medicine Ball Shoulder Press | Leave a comment Seated Dumbbell Press Homepage Exercise Profile Primary Muscle Group(s): Shoulders (Front and Side) Secondary Muscle Group(s): Triceps and Trapezius Exercise Instructions 1. Stop just shy of full elbow lockout at the top, then slowly lower the weight back down to the start position. When looking at the dumbbell shoulder press, some questions came up regarding which variation (sitting or standing) was best, and why. And not just on shoulder presses; where the lower back is concerned, standing is better than seated on dumbbell lateral raises and dumbbell curls as well. To absorb the weight in your lower body (not your spine and lower back), keep a slight bend in your knees throughout the movement. If you want to build wider shoulders, get that good roundness, and achieve those “cannonball delts,” you really need to develop the middle deltoids. Terms of Use. If you’re doing standing shoulder presses, you’ll first need to get the weight up to your shoulders. Hack Squat . And again, go with an open grip. I don’t prescribe one-arm dumbbell presses all that often in my programs, but if you want to focus on core strength, definitely consider subbing that in wherever I list dumbbell shoulder press in a workout. The standing version is better on the lower back, while seated presses allow you to use more weight and place more overload on the delts. But there are a number of ways you can do this exercise incorrectly and harm not only the vulnerable shoulder joints but even the lower back. When you come down, lower the bar or the handles of the dumbbells to below chin level; if using a barbell, you’ll be bringing it down to your collarbones. The most important benefit of standing versus seated for me is that it provides more cushioning for my lower back. You want them slightly forward to protect the shoulder joints from injury. At that point, you’re basically doing an incline press. Go somewhere around shoulder-width for your grip. You may also remain seated instead of standing. Romanian Deadlift . In the below “Setup” section, I’ll get into more detail on how to stabilize the shoulder joints during the movement to minimize injury risk. Return to the start position in a controlled, smooth arc inhaling as you do so. Curl the kettlebell up to your shoulder as you would with a regular dumbbell curl. The higher up in the hand the handle is, the further away it is from the forearm. When doing seated shoulder presses, you’re able to use more weight because your upper body is supported. I used to race motocross as a teenager and I had a bad accident, so I have some pretty serious back issues in my lumbar spine. Copyright Office. Now, just to be clear, the elbows are pointed out to the sides, but they’re still slightly in front of the shoulders and torso, not directly in line with them. 1P2 Rep Tempo. The two main variations of free-weight shoulder presses are dumbbell and barbell. So how do we keep the elbows in the right position to target the middle delts? And not just on shoulder presses; where the lower back is concerned, standing is better than seated on dumbbell lateral raises and dumbbell curls as well. The shoulder press can be done standing or seated. You’re also engaging the core to a greater degree when standing versus sitting. The overhead dumbbell press increases strength throughout the entire shoulder region. Stopping at ear level is what I advise for behind-the-neck presses or if your hands are well outside shoulder-width (either with a bar or dumbbells); going below that puts undue stress on the rotator cuffs due to excessive external rotation. By standing⦠Find the dumbbell shoulder press on Day 3 (shoulders and traps focus) of all four weeks of my Full-Body Shortcut to Size program. Other than that, keep those shoulders locked into position and press the weight with authority overhead. One last point on seated shoulder presses: Even though it’s not my preferred version of the exercise, it is without a doubt the best way to overload the middle delts for maximum shoulder size – provided you maintain that nice upright torso position. BENEFITS OF THE STANDING DUMBBELL OVERHEAD PRESS Teaches stable shoulder position when reaching overhead Improves mobility in the shoulder joint by allowing the shoulders to rotate freely without the restriction of a barbell Encourages strength development of all three heads of the shoulder muscles, triceps, while teaching core stability One simple way is to use dumbbells on shoulder presses instead of a barbell. Curl the dumbbells up towards your shoulders. Now, flip them back so your palms are facing you. When doing shoulder presses, the main heads involved are the front and middle delts, not so much the rears. With a barbell, you either have to go in front of the head or behind it. And keep your neck as straight as possible – don’t flex your cervical spine at the bottom of the rep. Because you’re supported by the seat or bench, you’ll be able to use more weight, and more weight equals more overload. Stand holding a pair of dumbbells at shoulder level with your palms facing forward and elbows out to the sides, not in front of your torso. There are three deltoid muscles (or heads) in the shoulder: the anterior (front) deltoids, the middle deltoids, and the posterior (rear) deltoids. , which is done identically to the start position in a seated position with your feet shoulder-width apart far. A dumbbell in each hand, stand tall with your feet shoulder-width apart core to greater. 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