Arnold Dumbbell Press
How to do the Arnold Dumbbell Press with correct form, the muscles it works, and where it fits a training plan you actually stick to.
Shoulders
Triceps
Dumbbell
How to do the Arnold Dumbbell Press
- 1
Sit on an exercise bench with back support and hold two dumbbells in front of you at about upper chest level with your palms facing your body and your elbows bent. Tip: Your arms should be next to your torso. The starting position should look like the contracted portion of a dumbbell curl.
- 2
Now to perform the movement, raise the dumbbells as you rotate the palms of your hands until they are facing forward.
- 3
Continue lifting the dumbbells until your arms are extended above you in straight arm position. Breathe out as you perform this portion of the movement.
- 4
After a second pause at the top, begin to lower the dumbbells to the original position by rotating the palms of your hands towards you. Tip: The left arm will be rotated in a counter clockwise manner while the right one will be rotated clockwise. Breathe in as you perform this portion of the movement.
- 5
Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.
Log it, see it on your body.
Every Arnold Dumbbell Press set you log feeds Ascend's anatomy heatmap — so your shoulders volume is visible at a glance — and counts toward your bodyweight-strength tier.
More shoulders exercises
The app is free. Club adds the coach, leagues and analytics.
Core tracking stays free forever — the climb, streaks, logging and your league tiers. Club is for when you want the full coach, worldwide competition and the depth, at about the price of one coffee a month.
14-day free trial · no card to start
| Free | Club | |
|---|---|---|
| Tracking, the climb and streaks | ||
| Per-set logging, PR detection, wearables | ||
| Muscle-league tiers | ||
| The AI coach | nudges | Full conversation |
| Worldwide leagues and challenges | — | |
| PR projections and deep analytics | — | |
| Unlimited crews | — | |
| Themes, export and higher AI limits | — |