ROAN- Home
- Gym exercise library
- Shoulders
- Arnold Press
Shoulders · Dumbbell
Arnold Press
How to do the Arnold Press with good form: step-by-step technique, the muscles it works (delts), coaching cues and the mistakes to avoid.
Muscles worked
- Primary
- Delts
- Secondary
- Triceps
How to do it
- Sit on an upright bench holding two dumbbells in front of your face at upper-chest level with a supinated grip (palms facing you).
- Brace your core and press the dumbbells straight up overhead.
- As you press, smoothly rotate your wrists so that your palms face forward (pronated grip) by the time your arms are fully locked out.
- Pause briefly at the top of the movement.
- Lower the dumbbells while reversing the wrist rotation, bringing your elbows in and ending with your palms facing your face again.
- Ensure the rotation happens fluidly during the press, not in jerky, separate steps.
Coaching cues
- Start palms in, end palms out
- Rotate smoothly throughout the press
- Keep the elbows tucked at the bottom
Common mistakes
- Rotating the dumbbells before pressing, which defeats the purpose of the movement
- Using momentum to swing the weights up
- Not bringing the dumbbells far enough down in front of the face
Equipment and setup
Adjustable bench, dumbbells
Adjustable bench set to an upright 90-degree angle.
Also known as: Twisting DB Press
Track your Arnold Press in ROAN
ROAN fills in last session’s weight and reps, estimates your 1RM and keeps your best sets.
