How To Arnold Press: For Complete Deltoid Development

Mastering the Arnold Press: A Comprehensive Approach to Deltoid Development

Arnold Shoulder Press Exercise

Building Boulder Shoulders with the Arnold Press

Are you yearning for broad, impressive shoulders that command attention? Look no further than the Arnold Press, named after the legendary bodybuilder himself. This exercise specifically targets the deltoid muscles, sculpting your shoulders into larger, more defined shapes.

One of the standout features of the Arnold Press is its versatility. Unlike traditional overhead presses and barbell exercises, it places increased tension on the shoulder muscles, even with lighter weights. This means you can achieve excellent results without the need to lift heavy weights, making it accessible to individuals of varying strength levels.

Additionally, the Arnold Press effectively targets all the muscles of the shoulders, ensuring comprehensive development and addressing any imbalances. This not only promotes overall muscle growth but also enhances stamina for other lifting exercises.

In this guide, we'll delve into the specifics of the Arnold Press, including how to perform it correctly and the various variations available to tailor it to your fitness goals. Let's get started on sculpting those impressive shoulders!

Arnold Press Workout Form

Standing Arnold Press

·         Get your dumbbells and lift them close to your chest with your biceps.  

·         Maintain them at this position with your palms facing you.

·         Next, stand straight and position the feet in line with your hips

·         And the neck and head in a neutral posture

·         Throughout the session, keep your chin tucked as if holding a small boll or an object under it.

·         For stability, bend your knees slightly and maintain the feet flat on the floor for grip.

·         Now, lift the dumbbell above your shoulder slightly and maintain them there. the palms must remain facing you and the upper arm lies close to your ribcage. Meanwhile, the elbows are pointing to the ground. So, this will be your starting position for all your reps.

·         Before lifting the weight, brace your hips, shoulders, and core simultaneously.

·         Now you can start thrusting both dumbbells with your spine properly aligned and the wrist position neutral.

·         Lift the weight while gently rotating your arms out until the elbows face away from your body. At the final point when your hands are fully stretched above your shoulders, the palm must be facing forward, dumbbells pressed overhead. Ensure these whole motions occur gently and simultaneously in one round.

·         Overhead, your arms can be slightly bent at the elbow as you maintain the weights above. After a second, drop them to the starting position in a reverse motion. That is, rotate your arms inward as you gently drop them until the elbow points to the ground. The palm faces you, and the weights above the shoulders with the arm bent at the rib cage level.

Seated Arnold Press

When it comes to seated Arnold Press, you can use all the above steps except the third point. Instead of standing upright, look for a shoulder workout bench and sit down. You can support your back with this technique of Arnold press or just use a bench without support.

Ensure you are sited comfortably; with your thighs parallel to the bench your area sitting on for stability. Once you have done this, continue with the rest of the steps above on how to do Arnold Press.

NOTE:

Keep in mind, Arnold Press is a shoulder press variation in an advanced state.  Therefore, you must take caution during practice to avoid injuries to your shoulder. Further, you should practice better form if you intend to use heavier weights. And in case you are experiencing any pain during the exercise, consult a physician or professional trainer for advice.

What muscles does the Arnold Press work?

The name Arnold Press was coined from the name of the legend bodybuilder, Arnold Schwarzenegger. As we mentioned earlier, this shoulder workout is a variation of the typical shoulder press. As a result, it has unique motions and it targets more muscles than the normal shoulder press.

Therefore, through the use of dumbbells and various motions, the major muscles around the shoulders and upper body feel the impact. And this includes muscles such as the delts, trapezius, and triceps. In particular, the exercise focuses on shoulder muscles besides other muscles that are recruited in the process.

And unlike the popular shoulder exercises such as overhead press, military press, and lateral raise, all the deltoid muscles are engaged. That is, the anterior, lateral, and posterior deltoid shoulder muscles are all activated during the Arnold Press workout.

Suggested Arnold Press rep range

If you’ve got the trend and stability to do Arnold Press, then strive to attain 12 reps per set. Speaking of sets, you can do 3 to 4 sets with a half a minute rest in between. However, as a beginner, you can try and reach between 5 and 8 reps with a 30 second break between the sets.

Standing Arnold Press vs. Seated Arnold Press

There is hardly any difference in steps when doing Standing and Seated Arnold Press. The contrast comes only in a few steps. And that’s, standing Arnold press requires you to do this shoulder workout while standing. On the other hand, seated Arnold press requires you to seat down.

While the two workouts impact your shoulders the same way, the standing Arnold press comes with a bonus. When you stand doing the Arnold press, multiple stabilizing muscles are engaged. Unfortunately, this is a bonus that you won’t find in the seated workout counterpart. However, it also has a unique advantage.

That is, seating with your back against the bench provides support that ensures perfect form. In addition, you can push your shoulder muscles to the limit thanks to the support. As a result, you can lift heavier weights with this workout form. And if you choose to use bench support, your entire back must be against it. This will focus your effort on the shoulders and arms.

CONCLUSION

Finally, you have a chance to boost the growth of your shoulders, make the round, well-defined and bigger. In addition, they develop enough strength and resilience to cope with other workouts that exert strain on them. And this includes the likes of rows, pull-ups, and deadlifts. Unlike other shoulder workouts that neglect some muscles, Arnold Press targets every muscle evenly including the stabilizers. As a result, your shoulders are drawn back and your body assumes a straight pos. so, implement this workout according to the steps above, and you will attain your dream shoulders.