In this article, you will learn how to do Standing Shoulder Press With Dumbbells, the mistakes that you should avoid with Tips & VIDEO.
Dumbbell Shoulder Press (also known as Overhead Dumbbell Press) is a great beginner’s level strength exercise that mainly targets shoulders.
You need powerful shoulders for lifting weight overhead. And for this movement no exercise prepares you better than the shoulder press (also called as overhead press).
For this exercise, I prefer using dumbbells. Using dumbbells instead of a barbell increases your range of motion. It makes sure that each side of your body gets opportunity to grow equally strong. The reason is: With dumbbells you can’t just depend on one shoulder to push up the weight.
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Note: The standing overhead dumbbell press can be done bilaterally (using both arms together) or even unilaterally (using one arm at a time).
In case you prefer one-arm version, you can either alternate arms or do all the reps for one arm and then do the same number of reps with the other arm.
How To Do Dumbbell Shoulder Press Properly?
Start Position: Stand with your feet shoulder width apart, knees locked and glutes & abs contracted. Grab a dumbbell in each hand and lift them to head height. Position the elbows out at about 90 degrees with palms facing forward and dumbbells in line with your ears. This will be your starting position.
Movement: While maintaining your low back straight with no leg drive or leaning back, lift both the dumbbells together directly above your head until your arms are fully extended, elbows locked and the dumbbells almost touch overhead. Pause for 1 or 2 seconds, and then return the dumbbells down to the starting position in slow and controlled motion.
This completes one rep. Do desired number of reps.
Dumbbell Shoulder Press Correct Form Tips
(i) Maintain your glutes and abs contracted as you raise the weight overhead in order to prevent your lower back from rounding excessively.
(ii) At top of the exercise, that is when you are holding the dumbbells overhead, make sure your body forms one straight column all through from your feet to the hand.
(iii) Maintain your head and neck straight by looking straight in front of you all through the movement.
(iv) Breath in through your nose while you are bringing the weight down, then breathe out forcefully from your mouth as you press the weight overhead.
Avoid These Dumbbell Shoulder Press Form Mistakes
(i) Leaning Backward And Rounding Low Back: It’s the most common mistake, which the beginners make while pressing the weight up – whether it’s a dumbbell, barbell or kettlebell. When you don’t have enough shoulder flexibility or you use a weight that’s too heavy, you tend to compensate by arching your lower back excessively. This bad form put your back in a compromised position and can cause serious back injuries over time.
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(ii) Not Locking Out Your Arms: While pressing weight overhead, you should lock out your arm at the top of the press. Ideally your upper arms should be right next to your ears and in vertical position.
Watch this video to learn how to do shoulder dumbbell overhead press correctly:
(iii) Leaning Sideways To Press The Weight Overhead: Working out with dumbbells is a good idea. It helps to correct muscle imbalances between the right and left sides of the body. But then one should maintain one’s body upright and strong, so as not to sway from side to side or lean backwards as the dumbbells are raised above the head.
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About Author: Renu Bakshi, AKA Fitness Buffhq, is ISSA Certified Personal Fitness Trainer & Nutrition Health Coach. He shares his experience and knowledge about nutrition and effective workouts to get you in the best shape of your life, no matter how old you may be. The author says: “For me age is just a number!”
