Exercise: Seated Dumbell Shoulder Press

Wanna  have arms that look  sexy this summer when it’s time to start wearing tank tops, cap sleeves and swimsuits  again? Then you have to work your deltoids.

Deltoids. Did you even know you had some? Do you know where they are? Most people don’t know the anatomical name for their shoulders, if you were among them, I’ve  just remedied the situation. Deltoids are a reasonably small muscle and therefore fatigue quickly and with much less weight than other muscles require to fatigue. Today I’m going to walk you through how to do a seated dumbbell shoulder press to help you build functional strength.

Most people are not strong when it comes to doing things overhead. Whether it’s lifting things to put them up on a shelf or working with their hands above their heads for an extended period of time, it just isn’t one of the stronger areas for most folks. This exercise will help with that!

Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press

• Sitting on a bench, holding a dumbbell in each hand at shoulder height with your palms facing each other and your feet about hip width apart and flat on the floor, fully extend your arms; raising the weights above your head.
• When your arms are fully extended, your biceps should be next to your ears. This is the top of the motion.
• Lower the weights back down to the starting position just above the shoulders and then repeat for 2-3 sets of 12-15 repetitions.

Remember that because the deltoids are a smaller muscle, you need to be careful not to start out with heavy weights. I begin most of my female clients at 3-5 pound dumbbells and my male clients with 8-12 pound dumbbells on this particular exercise. Remember too that through weight lifting, you will gain strength and with consistency, you will gain it fairly quickly. Don’t be discouraged because you feel like you’re holding, what some of my clients refer to as, “baby weights”.