The seated dumbbell press is a very popular delt exercise. Most professional athletes consider it basic in pumping gigantic shoulders. This exercise loads all three bundles of deltas, however, the front and middle bundles of the deltoid muscles receive the main load. In this case, the most massive rear beam is loaded only indirectly.

Seated Dumbbell Press Technique

• Sit on a bench with a vertical back and take dumbbells in your hands.
• Place your elbows strictly vertical to the hands. This position should be maintained throughout the working repetition.
• On an arc path, begin to squeeze the dumbbells up, while feeling the work of the deltoid muscles. At the top of the amplitude, the dumbbells should be close to each other.
• Without unbending your arms to the end and without pausing, begin to lower yourself to the starting position.

• Seated dumbbell press is performed simultaneously with both hands.
• Exhale as you push the dumbbells up, and inhale as you lower them.
• During the exercise, do not unfold the brushes. Do the bench press as if you have a barbell instead of dumbbells.
• Lower your arms until your elbows are parallel to the floor. When lowered too low, delta weights are placed at a very disadvantageous position, which lowers their power potential.
• Try not to push your elbows forward, do not bend over and do not backbend.
• Before performing the dumbbell shoulder press, accurately select your optimal working weight.
• Do not make jerky movements, maintain a moderate pace of the exercise. Too sudden movements can lead to elbow injury.

Related videos: "The correct technique for performing a seated dumbbell press (on the shoulders)"

Basic practice is aimed at pumping 3 bundles of deltas. According to bodybuilders, you can thoroughly work out your shoulders, give them volume, get rid of asymmetry only by pressing up. Pumped front beam increases muscle strength when bench press, middle and back form athletic forms. The supraspinatus, triceps, dentate and pectoral are synergists, the posterior head of the triceps, biceps play the role of stabilizers. The exercise is relevant for advanced and beginners.

Dumbbell press technique while sitting on pumping shoulders

Overhead dumbbell bench press is performed on a bench with a straight back.

1. We unfold the shoulders, serve forward, and keep the lower back static until the end of the set.
2. In the starting position, we hold the shells at eye level, point our elbows down.
3. By tension of the shoulder muscles, synchronously vertically squeeze the dumbbells up, bringing them together with straight arms at the end point. When connecting the hands, the middle and frontal heads are optimally reduced.
4. Returning to the PI, we do not allow deep sagging of the elbows down, otherwise you can stretch the shoulder joint.
5. In the lower position, keep the forearms parallel.
6. We work at a pace.

Shoulder dumbbell press technique in video format:

Brush rotation option: when squeezing up, we turn the wrists towards us. In the negative phase, we return to the starting position.

• We make movements in one breath, without stopping in a pause, having reached the bottom position.
• We inhale in a positive phase, after a second delay we lower the shells along with the exhalation.
• A brief hitch will help straighten your back, which puts more strain on your deltoids.

We perform 3-4 sets of 10-12 times.

Beginners are better off doing alternate lifts.

Despite the simplicity of the technique, we observe the nuances:

• we sit down to the stop with the back;
• we spread our legs wide, firmly rest on the floor;
• lower the load slowly to the line of the eyes;
• do not hang in pauses at the bottom and at the top;
• when lifting shells to the shoulders, we help with the hips.

You can diversify with a bench press. It is not forbidden with the EZ or the classic neck, holding the base with a pronated grip, distancing the wrists facing away from you by 10 cm from each other.

Compared with the barbell, due to the optimal range of motion, dumbbells better load the heads of the deltas.

Which bench to choose: from a standing or sitting position? Studies of the electrical impulses of fibers have shown different results. In the standing position, the muscle activity of the frontal delta is 8% higher, the back one is 23%. Conclusion: standing practice is more effective, however, with existing problems in the lower back, preference is given to the sitting option. Bodybuilders consider it the most promising, explaining that a large group of stabilizing muscles is involved in the process.

Good day, dear friends! In this article, the “Me and Fitness” team will tell you about such an exercise as a dumbbell bench press while sitting on your shoulders. In most cases, this exercise is of interest to men, because it allows you to perfectly work out the deltas, that is, the shoulders. For girls who are more interested in pumped legs and, it is also useful, because in order to avoid imbalance, it is important to work with all muscle groups.

Today we will tell you about how to do a vertical bench press correctly, what mistakes you should be wary of, and what results to expect from training.

Benefits and features of the exercise

The seated dumbbell press is a multi-joint basic exercise that targets the anterior deltoid muscles. Before studying the technique of performing the exercise, you should delve into the anatomical features and structure of the human body, because it is extremely important to understand which muscles work during training.

Delta consists of anterior, lateral and posterior bundles. During the dumbbell press up, the main emphasis falls on the first two groups.

Additionally, the trapezius, serratus anterior, pectoralis major and triceps are involved. The biceps act as stabilizers. The exercise has proven to be highly effective in practice. By including it in your workout, you can appreciate a number of benefits, namely:

• muscle mass and volume of deltas increase;
• improved strength and endurance;
• increased bone strength;
• improved projectile control and stabilization;
• due to the growth of the shoulders in breadth, a beautiful waist is formed.

The exercise has another important plus - a large amplitude of movement, especially in comparison with the bench press. The athlete can lower the hands very low, actively working out the working muscles. Also, unlike the barbell press from the chest or from behind the head, you can work out the stabilizing muscles.

Step-by-step instruction

Exercise belongs to the class of technically easy. But in order to avoid common mistakes and the risk of injury, it is necessary to study the technique in detail. The algorithm of actions is as follows:

• We sit on a bench, the back of which is set at an angle of 90 degrees.
• We take dumbbells in our hands and put them on our hips.
• The legs are slightly spread apart, the feet firmly rest on the floor.
• We bend our elbows and throw the shells up so that they are at shoulder level, palms looking away from you.
• We take a deep breath, exhale and begin lifting the dumbbells from the shoulders up. Having reached the maximum point, do not straighten your arms at the elbows.
• At the top above the head, we fix the position for 1-2 seconds and return.
• We perform 3 sets of 15 times.

You need to move smoothly and measuredly. It is very important to choose the right weight for classes. If it is too small, there will be no effect from training. But too heavy equipment should not be used. In training, you should follow the technique, and not chase the weights. Take dumbbells with which you can perform all three approaches, but applying effort to this.

Variations

Often among novice athletes, the question arises of how to replace the classical technique. The exercise has several variations, we suggest studying them in detail with a photo. The most common and popular versions are recognized:

Arnold press. This technique is more difficult than the classic bench press, so it is not recommended for beginners and people with a minimum level of physical fitness. To perform, you need to sit down, take the dumbbells with an inward grip, lower your arms along the body. You need to move in two stages, first we raise the dumbbells to chest level, then squeeze them up, while turning the brushes 180 degrees, so that at the top point the palms will look out.

Alternate press. It is necessary to sit on a bench, take dumbbells and lift them to the sides and up so that they are at head level. In this case, a right angle appears in the elbows. It is necessary to alternately squeeze the dumbbell up with one hand, the second hand remains in its original position, that is, it is motionless at this moment, we do the same for the other.

Bench press in the simulator.Here this version will be the best solution for those who are just mastering the technique. In the simulator, the load is correctly distributed, and the athlete moves along the correct trajectory.

standing. This is a complicated version of the exercise, which is characterized by high productivity. Suitable for those who do not have back problems and can withstand such a load.

See also video:

Common Mistakes

Often, beginners make mistakes in training, and then complain about the lack of progress. To notice an increase in the delta, you need to exercise correctly and know what to do during training is absolutely impossible.

Common rookie mistakes are:

• No workout. Before starting a workout, you need to thoroughly warm up the joints and muscles. The first approach can be done with light weight, and only after that proceed with working weights.
• Wrong breathing. It is important to saturate the blood with oxygen during exercise. You should always press the dumbbells up on the exhale, lower it - inhaling the air.
• Jerks. If an athlete has to do jerks, then he picked up too little or too much weight. Jerks are fraught with injuries, so review your working weights.
• Overtraining. You can not combine several exercises for the same muscle groups in one workout at once. So the muscles are easy to "score" and damage. Plan your curriculum responsibly.
• Performing an exercise on an incline bench. If you raise your arms with dumbbells in an incline, the pectoralis major muscle is involved more than the shoulders.

This is everything you need to know about the dumbbell shoulder press. We hope you understand all aspects and nuances of such training. If we helped in this, do a good deed in return - share the article with your friends through social networks. Thank you all in advance, good luck and see you soon!

Seated dumbbell press is an exercise for the development of the deltoid. The predominant load falls on the front and middle delta. Exercise variations vary depending on the inclination of the bench. The more vertical the angle of inclination is applied, the more the middle delta is loaded, and the less the anterior and chest muscles are loaded. A slope of 30 degrees and below shifts the focus to the pectoral muscles. Part of the weight of the dumbbells rests on the pectoral muscles. Then the exercise is used as a special preparation for the bench press, in order to develop synergy (simultaneous work) of the muscles of the chest and shoulders. In all other cases, the bench press serves to increase the volume of the shoulders and muscle strength.

In fact, it all depends on the sport. Tennis, team sports, rowing and other sports that require muscle endurance and joint health usually develop strength during the off-season, and use a maintenance regimen during the competitive period.

In bodybuilding, they work either in cycles for “mass and drying”, or simply in a maintenance mode, they perform exercises for as many repetitions as are optimal for the recovery of a particular athlete.

A normal life requires a moderate combination of joint mobility, muscle endurance and strength. The fact is that holding weights above your head, lifting objects, and even simply holding a handrail on a transport requires a combination of strength and endurance.

Important: shoulder muscle training should combine both strength and endurance elements. There is no universal set-repeated mode for everyone. Some athletes initially have more developed strength, while others have endurance.

How to develop endurance

Endurance for athletic purposes develops during the off-season. For “life” it’s enough just to choose 1-2 months when you don’t gain mass and can afford to work in a multi-rep mode. You usually need to work 2-3 times a week, but you can bring up to 5 workouts.

A regular seated bench press is performed with a weight that is 60% of the worker or slightly higher. Let's say you do 12 reps with a weight of 25 kg, for endurance work with 12-15 kg. You need to do about 25 reps per set, and work with a rest of 30-60 seconds between sets. The number of approaches is at least 4.

In the process of such training, the muscles feel a burning sensation, it is necessary to endure it. Endurance is not built by daily training when it comes to strength endurance. Still, this is not cycling, the shoulder can become inflamed from an atypical load. You need to start with 3 workouts per week, and gradually increase to 5. Again, frequency indicators in training are individual and determined by the speed of recovery. According to the "textbook" between endurance workouts should be from 24 to 36 hours.

Many people think that this is not true, but training for strength and hypertrophy is fundamentally different. Strength training takes place in the repetition mode from 1 to 6, and is extremely rarely done with dumbbells, and even while sitting. This is contrary to the main goal of the strength cycle - to develop overall strength, including the muscles of the stabilizers and the core. Usually for strength training they choose something like a military bench press. Dumbbells press for 5-6 repetitions to work out the muscles in isolation. But this is an extremely rare practice. A really strong athlete will require the help of two spotters, and a beginner risks injury when performing this exercise.

The mode of work for hypertrophy is 8-12 repetitions. Do 3-4 working approaches. The fundamental difference between strength training and "volume and mass" training is that strength develops only if the weights in the working sets do not cause significant fatigue. But for hypertrophy, it makes sense to work to failure, while in strength training, failure is not allowed at all.

Important: the strength cycle and the hypertrophy cycle are different periods of time. Usually, first they gain strength and endurance, and then they “swing”, but this is true for sports. There are many options in fitness. Impressive strength is usually not needed, just tone and volume is enough.

There are many technical details. This exercise is performed by the vast majority not correctly. People start benching with raised shoulders, and all because they don’t know how to bring dumbbells to their shoulders correctly.

So, to shake dumbbells while sitting, you need:

• Arrange them so that you can do a sitting on the hips from the floor, that is, put dumbbells on your hips, holding them with your hands;
• With your feet, push the weights to your shoulders;
• Extend your elbows so that the dumbbell bars are in a plane parallel to the floor;
• The bench press itself begins with lowering the elbows down and placing the forearm perpendicular to the floor;
• At the same time, it is recommended to bring the shoulder blades together and lower them down to the pelvis;
• A slight deflection in the lumbar spine is allowed, but it is not necessary to emphasize it;
• By turning on the muscles of the shoulder and triceps, the dumbbells are brought up;
• The elbows are unbent in a plane perpendicular to the floor; it is not recommended to “bevel” them forward or backward;
• Lower the dumbbells to your shoulders, and perform the desired number of repetitions

This exercise is performed first with warm-up weights, then with a worker. No need to rush, or try to push the weight away from you so that the dumbbells go forward. If heavy weights are used, an athletic belt can be used, just enough to remove excess mobility in the lumbar spine.

Alternatives - Standing Dumbbell Press

There are a lot of alternatives to the classic bench press. In women's training, bench presses are often used while sitting on a fitball to turn on the stabilizers, but it is better to choose an easier option to load them - just shake a barbell or standing dumbbells.

The second variation of the "alternative bench press" is the kneeling stand. It is intended strictly for those people who do not know how to turn off their legs, and are constantly trying to shvung, that is, push the working weight due to sharp bending at the knees. This does not make you feel isolated work, and develops the wrong qualities at all - explosive strength and footwork.

The standing dumbbell press option allows you to:

• Take more weight, as the position of the body is more stable and more natural for weight lifting;
• Develop stabilizers from the muscles of the feet to the muscles of the body;
• To help develop strength in barbell presses, clean and jerks, and jerks;
• Work in a plane that is natural for human anatomy and does not damage the joints

The technique of stabilizing the center of the body is used. The athlete tightens the quadriceps, buttocks, as if resting on the floor with his feet, pulls the abdominal wall to the spine, pulls in the stomach and brings the shoulder blades together, lowering them to the spine. At the same time, the trapezium and shoulders remain relaxed.

Technique

• Dumbbells are brought to the shoulders by taking into the rack, that is, the knees are slightly bent and the weight is brought to the shoulders in one powerful movement;
• The athlete stabilizes the body as above;
• Due to extension in the shoulder and elbow joint, it brings the dumbbells up;
• Lowers them smoothly to the shoulders;
• The peculiarity is that the dumbbells move along a more “flat” trajectory than the barbell;
• It is not necessary to start them behind the head, as it is accentuated in the movement with a barbell.

Important: you need to avoid pushing with your feet, and rolling from heel to toe in order to perform the exercise technically correctly.

• For bodybuilding and fitness purposes, it is not recommended to fully “stick” your elbows at the top point;
• It is necessary to avoid a flat trajectory, and try to bring the dumbbells slightly to the top of the head, and not to the forehead;
• Complete relaxation of the hands, as well as "release of tension" from the center of the body due to relaxation of the abdomen, is not allowed;
• Weight for strength training is lifted no more than 5-6 repetitions, approaches should be no more than 5.

Errors:

• Shvung weight, that is, dispersing it and pushing it with your feet;
• The buildup of the body back and forth;
• "Strong" technique" in which the athlete, as it were, "rolls" the dumbbells on his shoulders in each repetition, and "pushes" the dumbbells with his stomach and chest at the start

Important: standing dumbbell raise is an exercise for experienced athletes, it is better not to perform it if you are a beginner and your back is still weak.

Dumbbells can be replaced with kettlebells. In this case, you need to start from shoulder level, but the palms should be directed towards each other. In the process of moving up, the shells turn like in the Arnold press. Some athletes initially press their palms forward, but this position is quite traumatic for the wrists.

Common Dumbbell Press Mistakes

Work without warm-up

Even if your shoulders are in plan after your legs, you still need to shake the warm-up weight. Or rather, start with a minimum weight, and approach the worker in increments of 3-5 kg. This will not only help you prepare well for training weights, fill your muscles with blood, and warm up the ligaments, but also allow you to gain additional work to work out the technique.

It is always necessary to carry out a joint warm-up before the main workout. And if the athlete was injured before, then work with rubber. The rubber should be pulled towards the face, as in the rear delta exercise, and not stretched in front of you, as many mistakenly do.

This version of the press creates an increased load on the pelvis and spine, if the athlete is not standing on one knee of the opposite leg, in a position resembling a deep lunge. Beginners should not perform this movement while seated, as this can lead to poor posture.

The one-arm press is performed when necessary due to muscle imbalances, but for most people it is completely unnecessary, and should not be replaced with a regular bench press.

Important: A one-arm Arnold press variation involves holding a dumbbell in the non-working arm to stabilize the core, this is important to maintain balance and not stress non-target muscles.

Breath

Usually athletes tend to hold it when the going gets tough. This is not correct and can even lead to loss of consciousness when lifting dumbbells overhead. The dumbbell press while sitting obeys the usual rule - exhalation occurs for effort, inhalation - for lowering the shells.

By the way, you should not drop the dumbbells on yourself and quickly and superficially inhale. You need to gently lower the dumbbells to your shoulders and inhale quite volumetrically.

Jerks, pushes and cheating

Snatching and other ways to push more weight up without straining your muscles shouldn't affect the quality of your lifts. Avoiding them is quite simple - learn to collect the center of the body and do not let your ego lift the weight for you. Yes, you need to choose adequate weights, and strive to load only the target muscles. Jerks and jerks can be performed as independent techniques in the speed-strength training of a weightlifter or strongman, but in bodybuilding they are not always needed.

Important: the elbows should bend and unbend at the same speed in the same amplitude. No need to let them "walk" back and forth. This will help make the movement technically correct and safe.

All beginner bodybuilders suffer from this. They try to repeat the training plans of professionals, and load the muscles with large volumes and significant weights. There are lovers of "collecting workouts" from the plans of professionals, combining several into one. Say, I want legs like one Mr. Olympia, and shoulders like another. This useful activity leads to nothing but overtraining.

Usually the shoulders are trained 1-2 times a week. Moreover, it is advisable to repeat the methods of weightlifters, that is, apply periodization. When you reach the limit of the weights, you need to increase the number of repetitions and reduce the weight. In addition, a workout with heavy presses and pulls is best alternated with a light one, which is dominated by swings and abductions.

It is also not worth overestimating the number of exercises on the shoulders. For beginners, one movement for each beam is generally enough, for more experienced athletes - two. You can progress quite successfully by training your shoulders once a week. This approach is recommended for beginners and intermediate athletes.

In addition, it is necessary to take into account the specifics of recovery. When it is not possible to eat and sleep normally, it is better to reduce the load. If there is such an opportunity, but the athlete cannot activate all muscle fibers due to injury, replace the exercise with isolated swings. Constant control of breathing and technique will help maintain health. Training should be approached rationally, and then sports results will be achieved faster.

According to a significant part of the most experienced bodybuilders from all over the world, the best and most effective basic exercise in a sport such as deltoids is the sitting dumbbell press. This option, at first glance, not too different from the barbell press, in fact, has a number of some advantages that really allow you to get a much better result. Performing this exercise allows you to work out almost all muscle groups of the shoulder girdle, very effectively increasing the quality mass and correctly forming powerful deltas.

I propose to consider the question in more detail - “with the help of a sitting dumbbell press?”

Working muscles

Anatomically, the deltoid muscles are divided into three bundles: middle, anterior and posterior. When performing a sitting dumbbell press, first of all we load the middle and front bundles. To a lesser extent, the posterior deltoid bundle, rotator cuff, triceps and upper pectoral muscles take part in the work.

This exercise is very useful and effective in that it gives a significant load to the rotator cuff - a small muscle group that plays a serious role for every bodybuilder. The cuff is directly involved in any movement of the arm in the shoulder joint, and is involved in many exercises, so that its targeted development can prevent possible injuries in the future. In a person who is not involved in “heavy” sports, it is very poorly developed, and therefore sudden movements and heavy lifting can easily injure muscles.

To whom and when?

For beginners, despite the fact that the exercise belongs to the basic ones, it is not recommended to perform it. The reason for this is the same underdeveloped and not having time to get stronger rotator cuff. Lifting dumbbells along the correct trajectory high above your head creates a significant load on this muscle group, and even with a small working weight and the correct technique, it can easily lead to injury. Therefore, for inexperienced athletes with weak shoulder girdle, it would be best to perform a simplified version - bench press up while sitting or bench press up in the simulator. The essence is the same, however, the cuff is loaded much less.

Exercise is included in their program by athletes who already have muscle mass and strengthened “deltas”. The seated dumbbell press allows you to work out the shoulder muscles much more efficiently (than doing the bench press with a barbell).

Benefits of doing dumbbell presses

If we compare two similar options - bench press with dumbbells or a barbell - in the first case, you can achieve a greater range of motion. The reason is that the bar of the bar does not allow the hands to fully converge at the top point. This partially reduces the load on the deltoid muscles.

The downside of doing dumbbell presses

A significant disadvantage is the increased load on the rotator cuff and the need to constantly monitor the correct position of the dumbbells. Thus, the complexity of execution and the risk of injury increase significantly.

Dumbbell Press Technique

1. We sit on a bench, the back of which is set vertically. We press the back of the head, bottom and top of the back to the back, thereby fixing the correct position of the body.
2. Taking dumbbells in your hands, raise them above your shoulders. In this case, the elbows should be directed to the sides, and the palms should be forward.
3. Holding your breath, gently raise your arms above your head along an arc path so that the dumbbells at the top point come into contact with each other.
4. After a short exposure, lower your hands to the starting position.
5. Repeat as many times as required.

1. In no case do not try to use the maximum working weight - it is very easy to lose balance and get injured when doing this exercise. Choose dumbbells so that you can lift them over your shoulders on your own and perform at least 8 repetitions correctly and accurately.
2. Be sure to move smoothly - this reduces the risk of injury.
3. Raise your arms up until the dumbbells touch - this way, the deltoid muscles get the maximum load.
4. Hold your breath while moving - this creates additional fixation of the vertebrae.
5. At the bottom point (when the dumbbells are above the shoulders), exposure is not necessary.