Posted in Exercise Database, Shoulders, Shoulders, Video, At Home, Gym | Tagged Shoulders, Exercise Demo, Exercise Database, Medicine Ball Shoulder Press | Leave a comment This cannot be achieved in sitting … 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. When people say standing presses hurt their lower back, it’s often because those lower back muscles are weak. 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! BarBell Deadlift (conventional) Barbell Deadlift Sumo Stance. Our dumbbell shoulder press standards are based on 486,000 lifts by Strength Level users. 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). 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. Do not swing your hips to get the weight moving. Getting in the proper position on shoulder presses is critical for keeping the movement safe. 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. Return to the start position in a controlled, smooth arc inhaling as you do so. (As opposed to seated, where your lower body is totally eliminated from helping absorb any force.) At that point, you’re basically doing an incline press. You may also remain seated instead of standing. There are three deltoid muscles (or heads) in the shoulder: the anterior (front) deltoids, the middle deltoids, and the posterior (rear) deltoids. In an earlier article we discussed the dumbbell shoulder press, a great movement to gain valuable muscle mass, strength, and address asymmetries for athletes and lifters of all sports. The shoulder press can be done standing or seated. Not that the incline press is a bad exercise, of course. 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. In a seated position with your feet firmly planted on the floor, grasp two dumbbells with both hands. Make sure your core is tight and your chest is … Find the dumbbell shoulder press on Day 3 (shoulders and traps focus) of all four weeks of my Full-Body Shortcut to Size program. When your elbows are in front of the body, however, coming down below the chin is fine. When doing seated shoulder presses, you’re able to use more weight because your upper body is supported. That’s why I prefer dumbbell presses. 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 it’s an important factor for overall fitness, health, and even strength. But if it’s shoulder day and the goal is to hit the middle delts, keep your torso vertical. Pressing with dumbbells while in standing activates the abdominal, oblique, lower back, and spinal stabilizer muscles. That said, your exact range of motion on shoulder presses will vary somewhat depending on what version of the movement you’re doing. This applies more to a barbell press, but this should also give you an idea of how wide to have your hands when using dumbbells. Bodybuilders (and anyone who lifts weights a lot) tend to have overpowering front delts compared to middle delts because of all the chest exercises they do. When talking about shoulders as a body part, the muscle group we’re referring to is the deltoids. Bend your elbows and bring the dumbbells at shoulder height with your palms facing the body. Once the dumbbells reach your shoulders, twist the dumbbells to have your palms face out. Dumbbell strength standards are based on the weight of each dumbbell, not the weight of two added together. Alternative Exercises Standing Barbell Shoulder Press, Standing Dumbbell Shoulder Press. If you’re able to keep your elbows out to the sides, though, with barbell presses, keeping doing it. Continue curling the dumbbell upward until your biceps are fully contracted and the dumbbell is at shoulder level. 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. 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