Lots of Arnold pressing demos on Instagram these days, which is good and bad…
The bad is when trainees slam into the top lockout position, which is dangerous for the shoulder capsule.
The good is that it can be a great exercise to end your delt workout for unique lateral-head contraction—better than a regular DB press…
That’s because the Arnold press provides more range of motion for the side heads than standard presses due to the palms-facing-you start position…
Here are a few key performance Do’s and Don’ts to give you the best shoulder-mass results from the AP…
1) Don’t rest at the bottom, palms-facing-you position—you want to keep tension on your delts throughout the set; keep moving
2) Don’t go all the way to the top, lock-out position; in fact, for maximum safety, stop even lower than Arnold in the pics above
3) Do twist the dumbbells to palms-forward as you press, not at the bottom before you start—it’s one DB-rotating motion, not two moves
4) Do keep your upper arms slightly in front of your torso through each rep to reduce shoulder-capsule stress
5) Do the Arnold press last, after your ideal exercise, as your contracted-position exercise
6) Do scream, “Get to the choppa!” during your set (kidding)
Remember that it’s the bottom two thirds of the stroke where the side-delt heads are the prime mover; above that your front delts take over…
No need to lock out. These are good “advices.”
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