Muscles worked
The seated dumbbell shoulder press mainly trains your front delts, with help from the side delts and triceps. Your upper chest helps at the start, and the trapezius and serratus anterior rotate your shoulder blades upwards as your arms go up. With a dumbbell in each hand, each side has to control its own weight. The backrest takes much of the work off your core compared with a standing press. Recline it and your chest takes over more, turning the exercise into an incline press.
Common mistakes
- Getting the dumbbells into position the hard way. Lifting heavy dumbbells to your shoulders with just your arms wastes energy. Sit down with the dumbbells standing on your thighs and bring them up one at a time with a push from your knee. Do the same in reverse after the set, instead of dropping them out to the sides.
- Flaring your elbows straight out with your forearms angled. Many people find this uncomfortable in the shoulders. Keep your elbows slightly in front of your body and your forearms vertical under the dumbbells at the bottom.
- Clashing the dumbbells together at the top. It lets the tension drop. They can drift a little closer at the top, but should not touch.
Variations and alternatives
- Standing shoulder presses are the same press standing, which makes your abs and legs work more.
- Arnold presses add a rotation of the dumbbells during the press.
- Machine shoulder presses have a fixed path, easier to learn and to push close to your limit.
- Overhead presses are done standing with a barbell, for heavy overhead strength in small weight steps.
Sets and reps
The seated shoulder press is best suited to building muscle, with 6 to 12 reps over three or four sets. You can do heavier sets of 4 to 6 reps, but heavy dumbbells are awkward to get into position, and for pure strength the barbell is often more practical. For endurance, or as a second shoulder press, 12 to 15 reps works. There is more in the guide to sets and reps.
Dumbbells often go up in steps of 2 or 2.5 kg each, and for the shoulders that is a big jump. So follow progressive overload with reps first. Stay with the same pair until you reach the top of your range on every set, and expect your reps to drop a little when you move up.