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Exercise guide

Seated Dumbbell Press

How to do the Seated Dumbbell Press with correct form, the muscles it works, and where it fits a training plan you actually stick to.

CompoundDumbbellBeginnerPush
Primary muscles

Shoulders

Secondary

Triceps

Equipment

Dumbbell

Step by step

How to do the Seated Dumbbell Press

  1. 1

    Grab a couple of dumbbells and sit on a military press bench or a utility bench that has a back support on it as you place the dumbbells upright on top of your thighs.

  2. 2

    Clean the dumbbells up one at a time by using your thighs to bring the dumbbells up to shoulder height at each side.

  3. 3

    Rotate the wrists so that the palms of your hands are facing forward. This is your starting position.

  4. 4

    As you exhale, push the dumbbells up until they touch at the top.

  5. 5

    After a second pause, slowly come down back to the starting position as you inhale.

  6. 6

    Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.

In Ascend

Log it, see it on your body.

Every Seated 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.

Related

More shoulders exercises

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