Arnold press: technique and variations of execution

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dumbbells

The Arnold press is a popular basic exercise for developing the deltoid muscles. As you can guess from the name, it came into widespread use thanks to Arnold Schwarzenegger, who built his entire shoulder training around it. This exercise has its advantages relative to the classic seated dumbbell press. For example, it more strongly involves the middle bundle of the deltoid muscle into work, due to which the shoulders become more voluminous.

Today we will figure out how to do the Arnold press correctly and how to use this exercise in your shoulder training.

What muscles does the Arnold press work?

The main task in the Arnold press is to develop the muscles of the shoulder girdle. Namely:

Deltoid muscles. It is this press that puts a lot of stress on the front head
(initial phase).
Then it shifts to the middle head
(middle phase of execution).
And in the end, although small, the load goes to the back head
(shoulder stabilization in the upper phase).
Rotator cuff muscles. This is a group of muscles that are responsible for rotating and stabilizing the humerus. It includes: supraspinatus
,
infraspinatus
,
subscapularis
and
teres minor.

In addition to the main muscles, there are secondary ones. Who also take part in the movement. This:

Triceps . Extends the arm at the top of the exercise.
Coracobrachialis muscle. Responsible for flexing and adducting the shoulder to the body. That is, it actively works when returning to its original position. It also holds the humerus in the joint.

When performing the Arnold press standing, not sitting. Additionally, the muscles responsible for stabilizing the body will work.

Press
Back extensors
Gluteal
Thigh muscles (anterior and posterior groups)
Calf muscles

This entire muscle army will serve us when performing this exercise.

How to replace the exercise

A worthy alternative to this exercise is definitely the military press. However, professional athletes often use these two elements in conjunction, starting the workout with the soldier press and finishing off the delta with the Arnold exercise.

The classic seated dumbbell press is much simpler in terms of coordination and technique than the Arnold press. According to data published recently by Norwegian scientists, the latter exercise is still better suited for working the front delts, but requires high mobility of the joints of the shoulder girdle.

Beginners should include a classic seated dumbbell press variation in their training program, as rotating the wrists can lead to injuries and sprains. For the same reason, it is necessary to be very careful in the procedure of “warming up” the muscle groups involved in the bench press.

Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages

In this press, the front head of the deltoid muscles is constantly under tension. This contributes to its better development.
Helps give the shoulder muscles a more expressive shape.
This press helps strengthen the rotator cuff muscles. Due to rotation in the shoulder joint and working with light weight.

And that, unfortunately, is all. And then the question immediately arises, how is this possible?? After all, this exercise was performed by Arnold Schwarzenegger himself, it cannot have so few benefits. In fairness, it is worth noting that his shoulders have never been his strong point. There was a particular lack of development in the middle beams. From this we can conclude that there were some flaws in the training of the eight-time Mr. Olympia. Of course I don't presume to condemn him. Because he is truly the greatest athlete. And during certain training periods, the Arnold press may even be appropriate. For example, when preparing for competitions or during drying to give them relief. But unfortunately, it is not suitable for everyday training.

Flaws

With poor technique and incorrectly selected dumbbell weights, you can easily injure the rotator cuff muscles. They are especially vulnerable at the moment of abduction and rotation of dumbbells from the initial position to the middle one.
A very large load falls on the front head. And since she already works in a large number of basic exercises. Starting from: DUMBELL PRESS and ending with Push-ups. There is no point in doing additional exercises for it. On the contrary, this may overwork this head. And cause injury.
By performing the Arnold press, we will not be able to build muscle mass. Since this exercise is more aimed at giving relief.
The exercise is not suitable for beginner athletes. Since there is a high risk of injury and very little return in muscle growth.

That is, to summarize the above. This can be concluded. That Arnold's bench press does not live up to the hopes that most athletes place on it. And most likely it is still popular, since it is named after the idol of most builders. But it is still worth considering the fact that during certain training periods this exercise can be effective. And to slightly reduce the risk of injury, you should leave room for it at the end of the workout and take light weights.

Why this name?

In the world of fitness and bodybuilding, it is difficult to secure something original for yourself - this is true. It’s difficult to come up with something new; exercises are often similar or overlap with each other. But Arnold Schwarzenegger is the man who succeeded.

One day, a famous bodybuilder noticed that his shoulder muscles were developing asymmetrically. And Schwarzenegger solved the problem with the help of a bench press with dumbbells while sitting from the chest. Yes, the exercise is similar to a regular dumbbell press. But there are differences. This option gives the fastest possible increase in visual volume, and the load is distributed across all bundles of the deltoid muscles.

Schwarzenegger showed by personal example the effectiveness of the exercise. And he was the first to record its execution on camera. As a result, Arnie got an excellent athletic figure, and the exercise became his name.

Arnold press technique

Most often, the Arnold press is performed while sitting on a bench. This gives an additional point of support. That is, we rest our feet on the floor and sit with our pelvis on the bench. Athletes who want to unload their backs can additionally rest against the back of a bench set at an angle of 80-90°. The exercise itself consists of 3 stages. Pulling the elbows to the side, turning the dumbbells and the bench press itself.

Initial position:

Go to the bench press. If you need a backrest, then raise it to the desired height.
Take dumbbells of the desired weight in your hands and sit down. Press your shoulder blades firmly against your back (when working without it, keep your back straight). Bend your lower back slightly.
Spread your legs wide and place them on the floor.
Curl your arms with the dumbbells as if you were doing a BICEPS CURL. Palms face back.
Raise your elbows slightly upward until you feel tension in the front head of the deltoids.

Performance:

As you exhale, we begin to move our elbows in different directions from the bottom point. And at the same time, turn the dumbbells counterclockwise. Until the palms point forward. And without pausing, press the dumbbells up in an arc. That is, at the top we bring them together a little.
While inhaling, we return to the starting position. Doing the same thing, only in reverse order. We lower our hands down, bring our elbows together while simultaneously rotating the dumbbells clockwise.

At first, the exercise will seem difficult, and you will sometimes get confused. But after just a few approaches, your neuromuscular connection will strengthen and the movement will become familiar. The main thing is not to rush. The main goal of the exercise is to feel the work of each head of the deltas. And perform the movement by reducing them.

Arnold Press

Performing a standing Arnold press will make the exercise more multifunctional. By engaging the muscles of the back, legs and abdomen. Which will provide stability to your body and will receive a static load. But unlike the sitting option, you will have to focus not only on the movement itself, but also on stabilizing the body. And if you take into account the fact that the Arnold press already requires good coordination. We can conclude: only professional athletes can perform this option correctly. The main thing when performing while standing is not to turn the exercise into throwing dumbbells by pushing with your legs. This will turn the exercise into a kind of shvung. And the risk of shoulder injury will increase.

How to enhance the effect?

Many athletes perform this exercise standing, but it is more effective to do Arnold presses while sitting, leaning on the hard back of a bench or chair. In a sitting position, your body is fixed and you do not waste energy maintaining its stability. Thanks to this, you can direct maximum effort specifically to working on the shoulder muscles.

We hope our material turned out to be useful and soon this exercise from Iron Arnie’s arsenal will become one of your favorites. Good luck and good results!

Arnold One Arm Press

This is a very rare option. It is mainly used for restoration purposes. Also, working with each hand in turn, we will load the oblique abdominal muscles. Which will prevent the body from tilting towards the working arm. To be honest, I don’t see any particular advantages in this option. Since the exercise will take much longer to complete. And these costs are not so justified. But if you have a desire, you can try it in action.

Recommendations for implementation

Movements should be under your strict control. Don't let your shoulders drop down due to inertia.
Don't get too hung up on rotating the dumbbells. When you begin to move your elbows to the side from the starting position, your forearm will automatically begin to rotate in the desired direction.
In the middle phase of the exercise, make sure that your elbows are in the same plane as your body (not moving forward or backward). This will allow maximum use of the middle head.
When performing a standing press, do not help yourself press the weight by swinging. This may cause spinal injury.
At the top point, do not straighten your arms completely. This will take the load off the deltoids and can overload the elbow joint.

Basic mistakes when performing the exercise

Too much dumbbell weight

As trivial as it may seem, it is the use of inappropriate weight that causes violation of technique and serious injuries. I don’t know why, most athletes forget about this. As for this exercise, the working weight should be much less than in classic bench presses. By about 30%. This is of course not an exact number. But it's perfect as a guide.

Strong arch in the lower back

This error stems from the first one. Athletes take large dumbbells in their hands, but they cannot squeeze them by contracting the deltoids. And in order to cope with the weight, they begin to sag in the lower back. This makes it possible to involve the pectoral muscles in the work. Which of course greatly simplifies the exercise. As a result, its effectiveness suffers and the deltoids do not receive the necessary load. But this is not the worst thing! This technique greatly overloads the spine, putting it in a very dangerous position. Consequently, over time, we can become seriously injured.

Low elbows at the starting point

When performing the Arnold press, the main task is to keep the deltoids under tension at all times. To do this, we bring our elbows forward in front of the body to load the front head. If you lower them lower, almost to the same level as the torso. The entire load will shift to the biceps. In this case, the dumbbells will have to be lifted from a dead center. And if at the beginning of the approach we will be able to do this with ease. Then towards the end, you will have to resort to cheating. And in order to squeeze the weight, we involuntarily begin to sway. In this case, the dumbbells will simply be thrown up in a big way. This technique can easily injure the muscles of the shoulder and rotator cuff.

Common mistakes

The most common mistakes are:

Sharp jerks, lack of smooth movements.
Changing the position of the body, trying to help yourself by moving your shoulders or bending your back.
The breathing mode should correspond to the type of movements. Chaotic breathing should not be allowed.
Choosing too much weight. Even for experienced athletes, overloading the back muscles is fraught with unpleasant sensations, but for beginners this is generally unacceptable.
If the Arnold Press is the main goal of your workout, you should do a warm-up first. Under no circumstances should you exercise directly on cold muscles.
Do not allow the dumbbells to touch at the top of the lift. This allows the deltas to relax somewhat, reducing the effectiveness of the exercise.

Working out the deltoid muscles of the shoulder is one of the main areas of bodybuilding. These classes are no less important for other athletes, as well as for people in need of corrective or restorative physical education. The Arnold Press is an effective way to define shoulders that produces noticeable results in all applications. You can achieve the expected result only by performing the complexes correctly, without immediately setting too high loads and strictly observing the movement technique. Then you can achieve a clear relief line of the shoulders, achieve elasticity and strength of the ligaments and tendons.

Tips for maximum efficiency

Before starting your workout, be sure to do exercises to warm up your entire body. Pay special attention to the shoulder joints and neck. To warm up, you can use the usual exercises that you remember from physical education lessons.
If you experience pain or discomfort during exercise. You should stop the exercise immediately.
In order to increase the load on the middle head. In the middle phase (elbows moving to the sides), you need to tilt your hands slightly inward. This will shift the center of gravity slightly. This technique was used by the very first Mr. Olympia Larry Scott.
Before performing working approaches, do 1-2 warm-up approaches with light weight.
It is best to perform the Arnold press at the end of your workout. Using light weight and performing the exercise in an average number of repetitions. Approximately 4 sets of 12-15 reps.
At the end of your workout, be sure to do a small set of muscle stretching exercises.

Unfortunately, the Arnold press is not effective. Yes, with its help you can slightly improve the relief of the deltoid muscles. But due to the complexity of the movement itself, it is better to choose other isolated exercises for this role. So, whether to do it or not, the decision is up to you. The main thing is not to forget about the technical points that will help you avoid injuries. If you have something to say about this bench press, I will be glad to read it in the comments.

Good luck to everyone in your training!

Pros and cons of the exercise

Pros:

Works the delta muscles, providing continuous tension in the anterior bundles.
Hones the shape of the muscle, creating a more prominent structure and separation.
The use of light weights reduces the possibility of injuring joints and ligaments.

The disadvantages of the exercise include:

Inability to use exercise to increase muscle mass. This technique does not allow you to lift heavy weights and perform low reps.
The bench press is only suitable for working on relief, for honing the shape of the deltas, which even Arnold was imperfect and disproportionate.
The exercise is not suitable for beginners. First, you need to strengthen the delta muscles and gain a certain shape, and then move on to grinding with the Arnold press.