For all the benefits the traditional overhead barbell press affords, the dumbbell version keeps pace stride for stride. I see way too many people at the gym who don’t know the proper positioning for overhead press. The exercise helps build muscular shoulders with bigger arms, and is one of the most difficult compound upper-body exercises. Gasp, the thought! The press, overhead press (abbreviated OHP) or shoulder press is a weight training exercise with many variations, typically performed while standing, in which a weight is pressed straight upwards from racking position until the arms are locked out overhead, while the legs, lower back and abs maintain balance. Arnold wins! If you happen to be completely new to this exercise, start out light because you’ll quickly see it doesn’t take a lot of weight to feel it taxing your shoulders beyond belief. Dumbbells require the most coordination but also allow the most freedom, such that you can do them with even your hands facing forward or neutral (palms in). Power Pointer: With standing moves, a slight thrust can help you push heavier weights than when done seated. Exhibit C: No cheating. And with that increased ROM comes greater time under tension and the recruitment of the traps, which act to raise the shoulder blades. While a number of variations of dumbbell overhead presses have risen in popularity, our focus is on the original. What that means is that your delts are recruited for a longer period of time and through a greater range motion with dumbbells than during an overhead barbell press. That increase in partial strength will eventually help your overall, full-range strength and size. Press the weights straight up, pronating your hands (turn your wrists out once the dumbbells reach eye level) so that your palms face forward as you reach full-arm extension. Probably one of the most underused versions of the overhead press is the partial press. It is a basic weight training workout that requires one to hold a barbell and take it overhead in such a manner that the arms are stretched all the way up. You can adjust the safeties from week to week as you gain strength at each level. Since both hands can move in any direction, you can move your arms out to your sides a bit to better focus on the middle delts, or even bring your arms more to the front (think of the Arnold press) to better recruit the front delts. And as you get stronger and more adept at using the partial mentality, you’ll eventually employ techniques such as reverse movements (in which you momentarily settle the bar on the bars to eliminate the stretch reflex, or elastic energy) and rest-pause tactics with greater efficiency. Those attributes allow the partial press to be instrumental in helping you achieve your objective of getting boulder, sleeve-busting shoulders. The bench press and the overhead press each work different muscles but there is some carryover between the exercises. When you do lateral raises, in which your elbows move out to your sides, you involve more of your middle delts. For all the benefits the traditional overhead barbell press affords, the dumbbell version (with palms facing forward) keeps pace stride for stride. Overhead Press. At first, you may be forced to use a lighter weight than you’d use for seated overhead presses, but once your lower back strengthens through adaptation, you’ll be able to lift as much — and likely much more — weight standing as you do when you’re seated. Free-weight presses also allow for a more natural arc of movement as you press the weight overhead. We know what you’re thinking: What move could possibly be better than the overhead press for shoulder size? With all that your shoulders are capable of and with the various tools at your disposal, it’s fair to say that after you try the moves, your delts will grow like never before. Overhead Press vs. The overhead press incorporates multiple muscles of the shoulder in addition to the muscles of the surrounding area. In fact, that added confidence factor actually brings us to the next main point, which is simply the amount of stress or weight you can place upon your shoulders in a partial environment. First and most obvious, the bar isn’t going to crash down upon your head nor will you have to struggle to rack the weight after failure (and we’ve all been there). From a standing position, your legs and knees absorb the downward shock of the movement, and you can use your legs to help propel the bar back overhead on each rep. Again, once your lower back (not to mention your abs and transverse abdominis (think core) strengthen and combine with the contribution of the legs, you’re immediately able to press more weight overhead. Such mental confidence will go a long way when you’re trying to pack on more delt mass. Ultimately, which you do depends on your objectives. We want you to do this move from a standing position — not seated. For those looking to gain width in their shoulders, helping provide a greater V-taper, putting more stress on the middle delts is actually the key factor. Ready? Dumbbell shoulder press vs. Would the real overhead press please stand up? But when you stand up, you immediately engage your entire body. However, the Arnold press forces your elbows to drop in front of your body, in some regards similar to a front raise, which calls upon the anterior delts to a great degree. There are literally too many positive aspects of the partial press to define in this space, but let us note just a few. © 2020 Pocket Outdoor Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Hi, I'm wondering what you guys think on the differences between these two exercises? The same goes for the standard and behind-the-neck versions of the press, both having everything to do with the position of your elbows relative to your body. Secondly, the press is driven more by the lateral deltoids which are usually less conditioned. Overhead presses are compound moves (meaning more than two sets of joints are working together, in this case the muscles that attach to the elbow and shoulder joints, so the triceps are also assisting) that are typically done first in your shoulder routine. La Shoulder press, detta anche Overhead press o Military press, rappresenta un'estesa famiglia di esercizi con i pesi usati nell'allenamento coi pesi in cui il carico viene spinto direttamente verso l'alto. There are many different exercises done with the help of weights to remain in shape. Power Pointer: By shortening the range of motion, you can use much more weight than you normally would. Because you keep your elbows out to your sides during standard overhead dumbbell presses, the emphasis remains primarily focused on the middle delts. At first, you may be forced to use a lighter weight than you’d use for seated overhead presses, but once your lower back strengthens through adaptation, you’ll be able to lift as much — and likely much more — weight standing as you do when you’re seated. The latest in featured workouts, supplementation, nutrition tips, and more! Create a personalized feed and bookmark your favorites. MORE: The Arnold Press. In other words, if your shoulder routine is always one big dose of old-fashioned barbell presses, this article is about to shake up and overhaul the way you train delts. Overhead press? Military vs Shoulder Press . In other words, more total muscle fibers are hard at work when doing the overhead dumbbell press. Finally, is the idea of progression. Because of the rotation of your wrist, elbow and shoulder joints, you want everything full of fluid and blood before loading up the weight. Would the real overhead press please stand up? But the emphasis each muscle gets can be altered dramatically depending on the version of the overhead press or techniques employed. Because that’s the problem you face if you keep lifting with awkward overhead press mechanics. To prevent an excessive arch in the lower back or protruding rib cage when … My OHP is quite a bit stronger than my dumbbell shoulder press I'd say, and I enjoy doing OHP much more. Your functional-minded personal trainer may want to cover his delicate ears or perhaps skip this section because we’ll be discussing the behind-the-neck press. We want you to do this move from a standing position — not seated. The latest in featured workouts, supplementation, nutrition tips, and more! As you increase that weight, your shoulders and arms become bigger and stronger as they adapt to the increased overload and stress.