Alternating Arm Shoulder Press. The Benefits

Aug 26, 2009
Alternating Arm Shoulder Press. The Benefits

Change up the shoulder routine....slightly!!!

Alternating Arm Shoulder Press

To execute the DB Shoulder press alternating arms, take a dumbbell in either hand and bring up to the shoulders. Make sure that the dumbbells are slightly in front of the shoulders before starting the movement. Press one dumbbell up leaving the other in the starting position. Press all the way up above the head squeezing the shoulder at the top of the movement and return to the starting position and repeat the exact same movement with the opposite arm. Make sure to press all the way up and slowly return to the starting position.

 

Know what muscle your working

Depending on what muscles you intend on emphasizing you can position the arms differently when using the dumbbells. For instance by having the dumbbells slightly in front of the shoulders and your elbows more forward as you press up you emphasize more of the anterior deltoid. If you shift the dumbbells out and flair the elbows out as you press up you can shift the emphasis more on the lateral deltoid which can lead to more of a rounded or boulder shape in the shoulders. We recommend to use the dumbbells as an alternative to Behind the neck BARBELL military or shoulder presses for striving to develop more muscle definition in the lateral deltoid when executing this exercise. The benefit of alternating the arms in this exercise is that you can emphasize the shoulders unilaterally. When you focus on one specific area….. in this instance your shoulders….. unilateral movements such as this can lead to potentially more muscle growth in the muscles that are being worked.

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