How to do military press with dumbbells?

As with any type of weight-bearing exercise, understanding correct technique and maintaining proper technique can help prevent injury. Also, dumbbells allow for a greater range of motion than a barbell and are sometimes easier on the joints.

Step by Step

Doing a standing dumbbell military press requires good technique to avoid injury:

1. We will bend our knees to pick up the dumbbells.
2. We will stand with our feet shoulder-width apart and raise the dumbbells to shoulder height. The palms can face forward or towards the body.
3. Once we have the correct posture, we will press the dumbbells above the head until the arms are fully extended. We will maintain this position for a moment and then we will bring the dumbbells back to shoulder height.
4. We will complete the desired number of repetitions.

In addition to the basics of how to complete a dumbbell overhead press, it’s important to understand proper form with a few tips:

• Tighten abs and glutes. To avoid lower back and neck injuries, keep your glutes and abs tight as you complete the dumbbell press.
• Different positions of the hands. Some people keep their palms facing forward the entire time while lifting, and others prefer to have their palms facing their body. You can also start with your palms facing your body and slowly rotate them as you press the dumbbells overhead so your palms are facing forward. It is important to fully extend your arms without locking your elbows.
• Look straight ahead and keep your neck straight. You can also prevent injury by keeping your head and neck straight as you complete the exercise.
• Exhale up. Proper breathing is also important. It can improve circulation while you exercise and improve your performance. When completing a seated or standing dumbbell press, inhale as you pull the weight toward your body and exhale as you push the weight overhead.
• Lift a lighter weight . Some people make the mistake of rounding their lower back when lifting weights. This puts too much stress on the lower back and can cause injury. To avoid rounding your back, don’t use too heavy a weight. You should also avoid swaying or rocking your body as you raise the dumbbells above your head. Too much swing indicates that the weight is too heavy, which can lead to injury.

Profits

This exercise works the deltoid muscle of the shoulder . In addition to building shoulder strength, the standing overhead dumbbell press engages your core for stability throughout the movement.

Although we can shoulder press with an exercise machine, barbell, or kettlebell, using dumbbells offers unique benefits. For example, science has found that using a dumbbell activates more of the anterior (front) deltoids than using a kettlebell.

Performing this movement also helps identify if we have an imbalance in shoulder strength. One sign is if we can lift a certain amount of weight more easily with one arm than with the other. Muscle imbalances can affect the way we move, limiting mobility and the efficiency of movement.

Also, in daily life, we may need to place objects on shelves above our heads. This exercise helps build the strength we need to perform these types of tasks safely.

Common mistakes

To get the most out of this exercise, we must avoid these common mistakes:

• Flared elbows . We will not point the elbows directly to the sides, as this will put pressure on the rotator cuff muscles.
• Locked elbows. Locking out the elbows at the top of the lift will transfer tension from the delts to the triceps, which are not the target.
• Hunched shoulders . For added stability, we’ll keep the shoulder blades down and back during the overhead press.
• Push too fast . We will not push up explosively, we will press slowly and gently. We will control the movement of the weights and not allow them to drift too far forward or backward during the press. We will try to keep them embedded in the same way above the head.
• Arched back . We will avoid arching the lower back too much while lifting the dumbbells overhead. Excessive bowing can be a sign that the weight is too heavy. We’ll switch to a lighter weight to practice keeping our back in a safe position as we increase the weight.
• Lower the dumbbells too far . During the exercise, we will lower the dumbbells only to the shoulders before pressing again. If we lower them more, we will increase the risk of straining the shoulders.

variants

You can perform this exercise in several different ways depending on your fitness level and goals.

Sitting

Although the standing dumbbell military press is a classic movement, it can also be performed seated. A seated dumbbell press is a better option for people just starting out in strength training or those with back problems or injuries. A sitting position helps stabilize the back.

To do the seated overhead press, we’ll sit on a bench and follow the same steps. We can also do a seated press in a chair to offer more support for the back.

alternate arms

Another variation is to alternate arms. We will press up with one arm and then with the other instead of working with both at the same time. Science shows that this option is better for activating core muscles, especially when the exercise is done standing up. But it can also be done sitting, kneeling or with the posture of the knight.

We can even do it with just one dumbbell to avoid carrying two heavy weights. This will make us activate the abdomen even more to maintain a good posture.

hammer grip

This overhead dumbbell variation, sometimes called a hammer shoulder press, involves changing your hand position to a hammer grip (palms facing each other) like you do in a curl. of hammer

The hammer grip is also called the neutral grip. Changing your grip activates different muscles in your shoulders and can also make it slightly easier for beginners. Also, it becomes safer for shoulder stability.