Dumbbell Shoulder Press

Directions:

Preperation/body position

1. Find dumbbells that are of a suitable weight for you to manage.
2. Clean the dumbbells so that they are on each side of your shoulders, whilst keeping torso erect and back straight.
3. Upper arms should be roughly inline with one another, i.e. perpendicular to the way you are facing.

Excution/Movement

1. Whilst keeping torso erect and back straight, press the dumbbells upwards until arms are extending above.
2. Whilst keeping good body posture, slowly lower the dumbbells.
3. Repeat for desired amount of repetitions.

Comments

The dumbbell shoulder press is a popular variation of the shoulder press. The dumbbell version 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 versions, where often the strong side of the body can take over the movement. The dumbbell shoulder press allows 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.