Arnold Press

by JP – Updated: 09/24/2016

Muscles Used    •    Exercise Type    •    Form Instruction    •    Tips and Techniques    •    Recommended Reps    •    Common Variations    •    Substitutions    •    Equipment Needed

Bottom	Top

Primary Mover(s)	Muscles Used:	Secondary Mover(s)
Delts (F)		Delts (S) Triceps
		Other Mover(s)
		Traps, Delts (R)

See all the exercises at the:
Weight Training Exercises Database
– Dumbbell Arnold Press –
AKA: Arnold Shoulder Press

Compound Exercise, Push Movement

Seated, grasp dumbbells with an underhanded grip and elbows flexed, palms facing in towards your chest with dumbbells at or slightly below shoulder level. Raise overhead while rotating shoulders (turning thumbs inward). At the middle stage of the exercise, elbows should be at shoulder level and forming right angles with palms facing each other. At the top, palms are facing forward with elbows nearly locked. Lower back down along the same path.

Make sure to keep your back straight as you perform this lift. Some people have the tendency to arch their backs as they raise which can prove problematic. Seated with appropriate back support may be the safest way to perform the exercise. It can also be done standing.

Because you are rotating your shoulders, the rotator cuff muscles are involved. This can make this a somewhat dangerous exercise as these muscles are often underused and therefore weak and prone to injury. Those that have had rotator cuff problems want to take it easy and everyone should start out a little light and gradually increase poundages to build up the stabilizer muscles necessary to avoid such problems.

Keeping the weights manageable as well as keeping good form and controlled motion (avoiding jerky movements) are especially important with the arnold press and can help you avoid a silly injury.

The “Arnold Press” gets its name from Arnold Schwarzenegger. While he likely didn’t invent it, he did popularize it in his Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding and it it has been a favorite for shoulder workouts ever since.

The Arnold Press is often championed as the only shoulder exercise that hits all three heads of the deltoids. However, the bulk of the work is done by the front delts with the side delts also working some. The rear delts have minimal involvement.

6-12 the majority of the time, trying higher or lower reps on occasion.

• Partial Arnold Press – Done the same but the starting position is the middle stage (elbows forming right angles at shoulder height with palms facing each other).

For targeting the front delts, the Dumbbell Military Press and Military Press are your best choices. Lateral Raises target the side delts and Bent-Over Lateral Raises target the rear delts.

Dumbbells and Weights