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The dumbbell shoulder press is a classic old school bodybuilding move that mainly targets your anterior deltoid (the muscles at the front of your shoulders) and also utilises your lateral deltoid (shoulder muscles at the back) and your triceps.
How to do it
Step 1: Sit on a bench with a back support and place the dumbbells upright on your thighs.
Step 2: Raise the dumbbells to your shoulder height one at a time and have your palms facing opposite you. Your elbow will be parallel to the floor. This is your starting position.
Step 3: Now push the dumbbells up until your arms are almost straight and the dumbbells almost touch at the top.
Step 4: Slowly lower the dumbbells to the starting position. This is one repetition. Do as many reps as you desire.
Tips: This exercise should be performed with back support. There are variations where you can do it standing up or without back support, but for beginners and people with back issues, they should stick to the version we've mentioned. It's important that you don't begin with extremely heavy weights when you do this exercise and don't lock your elbows while doing it.
The Arnold Schwarzenegger Variation
Bodybuilding legend and former action star Arnold Schwarzenegger popularised a version of this exercise where instead of an outward grip he'd use a supinated grip (palms facing you) and then rotate the wrist while pushing up and return to the supinated grip once coming back down. This variation became popularly known as the Arnold Press and is not recommended if you have a previous wrist injury.
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