Standing Dumbbell Shoulder Press

Start

Finish

How to do it

Stand with feet hip-width, dumbbells at shoulder height, brace the abs and squeeze the glutes, then press overhead in one strict motion with no dip of the knees.

Muscles worked

Primary: shoulders · Also works: triceps, core, upper chest

Equipment

Dumbbells

Common mistakes

• Using a small leg dip to start the press, which turns a strict press into a push press
• Leaning the torso back so the movement becomes a standing incline press
• Letting the ribcage flare at lockout instead of keeping the ribs stacked over the pelvis

Variations

• Staggered-stance standing press
• Standing press with a five-second lowering phase

Can't do this one? Swap it for

• Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press
• Standing Overhead Press
• Barbell Push Press

Take care: ABROFIT automatically removes this movement for anyone who has flagged a shoulder problem. If that's you, use one of the swaps above and speak to a physio before loading it.

Related exercises

• Standing Overhead Pressshoulders
• Pike Push-Upshoulders
• Dumbbell Lateral Raiseshoulders
• Shoulder Controlled Rotationsshoulders
• Face Pullshoulders
• Cable Lateral Raiseshoulders