arnold press

The Arnold Press is Arnold Schwarzenegger’s variation on the traditional Dumbbell Shoulder Press. He created this exercise to target the three key muscles in the shoulder in one fluid movement. For shoulder gains, this exercise is not to be missed.

Here we will delve into the muscles worked, how to perform the Arnold Press, benefits, common mistakes to avoid, reps and sets, how to progress this exercise, how and where to fit it into your workout plan and finally other exercises targeting the same muscle groups.

Muscles Worked When Doing the Arnold Press

The Arnold Press effectively engages the 3 key shoulder muscles (deltoids), helping you to build well rounded shoulders.

Anterior Deltoid (Front Shoulder): The front part of the shoulder is the primary muscle targeted during the upward motion of the Arnold Press.

Medial Deltoid (Side Shoulder): As you rotate the dumbbells during the exercise, the lateral or side part of the shoulder is actively involved.

Posterior Deltoid (Rear Shoulder): The rear deltoid muscles are worked during the final phase of the press, which involves lowering the dumbbells back to the starting position.

Triceps: The triceps, located at the back of the upper arm, are engaged from a secondary perspective to assist in extending your arms overhead.

You can use the muscle highlighted image at the top of this page for a visual guide of the muscles worked.

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How to Perform the Arnold Press

See below steps to perform the Arnold Press:

1. Start Position: Sit upright on a bench with a dumbbell in each hand. Your back should rest firmly against the bench, this will help with better muscle isolation.

2. Hand Position: Begin with your palms facing your body and your elbows bent. The dumbbells should be just above your upper chest, and your elbows should be tucked in.

3. Lift and Rotate: Lift the dumbbells up over your head by rotating them out to the side, through a 90 degree angle and up so that your arms are fully extended over your head. Now your wrists should be facing forward.

4. Pause and Lower: Pause at the top for a second, then begin lowering the dumbbells back down to the start position through the same smooth and controlled movement.

5. Go for reps.

6. Standing Option: Above we described how to perform this exercise sitting, however it can also be performed standing. If standing, make sure your feet are firmly planted on the ground, you can stand with feet shoulder width apart, or you can place one foot in front of the other in a split stance.

Benefits of the Arnold Press

The Arnold Press offers a range of benefits, making it a valuable addition to your shoulder workout routine:

Comprehensive Shoulder Workout: Very few exercises will target the anterior, medial, and posterior deltoids in one fluid movement. That is why it became such a revolutionary exercise.

Functional Range of Motion: The rotation during the exercise supports the development of shoulder flexibility and mobility.

Muscle Engagement: It provides efficient and consistent engagement of the anterior, medial, and posterior deltoids, throughout, making this a complete shoulder workout.

Arnold Press: Common Mistakes to Avoid

Sloppy Form: Poor form can lead to ineffective muscle engagement and, at worst, injuries. Focus on keeping your posture in check and completing the entire movement through the shoulders & elbows for clean and concise reps.

Too Little or Too Much Weight: Be sure to select a set of dumbbells that challenge you, you should be feeling the resistance of this exercise, if you’re not, go heavier. On the flip side, if you are struggling to maintain good form with heavier dumbbells, go lighter.

Reps and Sets

The number of reps and sets you perform depends on your current strength with this exercise.

Beginners: Start with simply mastering the move. Keep in mind that if you’re just starting out, 3 reps is a valid set.

To determine how many reps/sets of the Arnold Press you should start with, you first need to figure out how many reps you can comfortably perform. Then add 2, and perform that number of reps for 3 sets.

For example; let’s say you can perform 4 reps comfortably. Add 2 to make 6 reps. Perform those 6 reps 3 times over, allowing yourself sufficient rest inbetween.

Experienced lifters: You know your body and its abilities better than anyone, use your own judgment.

We recommend that you avoid performing more than 12 reps per set. If you’re comfortably performing 12 reps for up to 6 sets, it’s time to make the exercise more challenging.

How to Make the Arnold Press More Challenging

To make this exercise more challenging you can add more weight of course, or you can slow down the range of motion so that you are performing your Arnold Press with more time under tension.

How to Incorporate the Arnold Press into Your Workouts

The Arnold Press will fit nicely into any upper body, shoulder or Back Shoulders and Triceps Workout Plan. You should always prioritise compound exercises, the exercises that work the most muscle groups, use the most weight and expend the most energy. Work your way down to smaller isolation / lighter weight exercises from there.

With that said, we recommend that you perform the Arnold Press towards the end of your workout, but before any cable, machine or bodyweight exercises.

You can learn more about exercise order here.

Exercises That Target Similar Muscle Groups to the Arnold Press

Similar exercises include the Dumbbell Shoulder Press and the Dumbbell Push Press. For more powerful exercises, consider the Military Press or the Barbell Push Press.

A combination of compound and isolation exercises is recommended for well rounded results.

You can find more Shoulder Exercises at the bottom of this page. Or you can check out our entire exercise database broken down by muscle group here.

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