Arnold Press

Directions:

Preperation/body position

1. Find dumbbells that are of a suitable weight for you to execute the exercise.
2. Clean the dumbbells so that they are on each side of your shoulders, whilst keeping torso erect and back straight.
3. Palms are facing towards the body at the start of the movement.

Excution/Movement

1. Whilst keeping torso erect and back straight, press the dumbbells upwards rotating arms whilst extending the arms, so that the end position is palms facing away from the body.
2. Whilst keeping good body posture, slowly lower the dumbbells through the opposite movement.
3. Repeat movement for desired amount of repetitions.

Comments

The Arnold press is an exercise that is not commonly used in gyms compared to that of other shoulder pressing variations.
The internal rotation of the shoulder during the movement is sometimes uncomfortable for those with shoulder and rotator cuff issues.

Using dumbbells for this exercise often requires more attention to balance the weights during execution, thus also working each side of the body independently. This is the upside compared to that of the barbell pressing versions, where often the strong side of the body can take over the movement. The dumbbell shoulder press variations allow for isolateral training.

Shoulder pressing is an effective way to stimulate the anterior (front) and lateral (side) deltoid heads. The stress placed on the posterior (rear) head is minimal however, and is not recruited much during the lift.

For hypertrophy 6-12 reps will likely yield the best results, providing optimal time under tension. This will provide adequate stimulation for sarcoplasmic hypertrophy, and acute response to anabolic hormone concentrations, compared to that of lower rep ranges.
For strength and power 1-5 reps is optimal for stimulating the type iiB fibres and neural adaptations of the nervous system.