Dumbbell Arnold Press

1. Sit on a bench with an upright back support, holding a dumbbell in each hand.
2. Start with the dumbbells at shoulder height in front of you, palms facing your body and elbows tucked, as if finishing a curl.
3. Brace against the backrest and take a breath.
4. Begin pressing while sweeping your elbows out to the sides, rotating your palms to face forward as the weights pass head height.
5. Finish locked out overhead with palms facing forward, exhaling through the top half of the press.
6. Reverse the motion on the way down: elbows come forward and palms rotate back toward you as the dumbbells return to the start.
7. Keep the whole rep smooth and continuous; the rotation and the press should blend into one movement.

Common Mistakes

• Rotating too abruptly: snapping the wrists around instead of blending rotation into the press strains the shoulder; rotate gradually through the middle of the rep.
• Loading like a normal press: the longer range means you cannot use your usual pressing weight; drop the dumbbells a few kg and earn the range first.
• Skipping the bottom position: starting with palms already forward deletes the exact feature that defines the exercise; begin every rep palms in, elbows in front.
• Arching the lower back: heaving the weights up with a big arch defeats the strict, high-range purpose of the movement; keep the back against the pad.