Overhead press
Standing dumbbell overhead press
Works
Also works
Equipment
How to do it
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and a dumbbell in each hand at shoulder height.
- Hold the dumbbells with a pronated grip and your elbows pointing forward and down.
- Brace your abs and glutes to keep your torso tight.
- Press the dumbbells overhead until your elbows extend without locking out.
- Lower the dumbbells under control to shoulder height.
- Avoid arching your lower back during the press.
Common mistakes
- Arching the lower back to assist the press
- Clashing the dumbbells at the top
- Dropping the elbows below the shoulders and losing control
What the evidence says
Across four shoulder press versions, standing with dumbbells produced the highest deltoid activation and was also the version allowing the lowest 1RM. That's a trade-off, not a ranking: pick stability and activation, or load.
Saeterbakken AH, Fimland MS. «Effects of body position and loading modality on muscle activity and strength in shoulder presses». Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2013. View the study
Comparing free barbell against machine in eight competitive bodybuilders, the barbell version excited the shoulder muscles more than the machine, which stabilises the path for you. The machine isn't worse, but don't expect it to replace the barbell's stabilisation demand.
Coratella G, Tornatore G, Longo S, Esposito F, Cè E. «Front vs Back and Barbell vs Machine Overhead Press: An Electromyographic Analysis and Implications For Resistance Training». Frontiers in Physiology, 2022. View the study
Measuring four exercises in the same group, the shoulder press produced the highest anterior deltoid activation (33.3% of maximum contraction) and hit the medial deltoid almost as hard as the lateral raise (27.9% vs 30.3%), while the bench press barely reached 5%. Horizontal pressing doesn't cover the shoulder; overhead pressing gets much closer.
Campos YAC, Vianna JM, Guimarães MP, et al. «Different Shoulder Exercises Affect the Activation of Deltoid Portions in Resistance-Trained Individuals». Journal of Human Kinetics, 2020. View the study
What isn't settled: All three claims come from acute measurements — electrical activation and load lifted in one session — not from growth. We found no long-term training study comparing seated vs standing, barbell vs dumbbell, or machine vs free weight for shoulder hypertrophy. More activation is not more muscle: it's a reasonable hypothesis, unconfirmed. There is no specific literature on the Arnold press or the Smith machine version.
Other variations
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