Arnold Press
A seated dumbbell shoulder press that starts with your palms facing you at chest height and rotates them forward as you press overhead, mainly training the front delts.
- Primary muscles
- Front delts
- Secondary
- Triceps, Side delts, Serratus
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Logged as
- Weight × reps
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Why do it
The rotation adds range at the bottom and brings the side delts in a little more than a standard dumbbell press, so it's a common pick for building shoulders with moderate weights. It suits beginners and bodybuilding-style training more than heavy strength work, since the twist makes big loads hard to control. Sitting with back support keeps your torso still so the shoulders do the pressing.
How to do it
Sit on a bench with back support and hold the dumbbells at chest height, palms facing you and elbows tucked under the weights.
Press the dumbbells overhead while rotating your palms to face forward at the top.
Lower under control, rotating your palms back toward you as you return to chest height.
Keep your back against the pad and move both arms together.
Common mistakes
Rushing the rotation
Spinning the dumbbells at the top or bottom makes the twist pointless. Rotate gradually through the whole press, palms forward only at the top.
Elbows flaring right away
If your elbows swing out at the start, it turns into a regular press. Keep them tucked under the weights at chest height, then let them open as you rotate.
Arching off the backrest
Leaning back to finish a rep turns it into an incline press. Keep your back against the pad and go lighter if you can't.
Arms moving out of sync
One dumbbell racing ahead usually means one side is weaker. Move both arms together and let the slower side set the pace.
Sets, reps and progression
How many sets you do and how close to failure you take them depend on your goal and your week, not on the exercise. These guides cover it:
Alternatives that train the same thing
Same movement, a different angle or piece of equipment.
