Exercises

The Arnold press is an overhead dumbbell press that begins with the palms facing toward the body. As the weights are lifted, the palms rotate outward. The primary load falls on the anterior deltoids, while the medial deltoids and triceps provide assistance.

You lower yourself between the handles and press your body back up until your arms are straight, while the support moves along with you. The exercise targets the triceps, chest, and front of the shoulders; adjusting the level of assistance changes the proportion of your body weight that you lift.

Dumbbell lateral raises for the rear delts are a pulling exercise involving a wide arm movement, targeting the back of the shoulders. In this variation, you lie chest-down on an inclined bench while performing the movement with dumbbells; the posterior deltoids and the muscles of the rotator cuff do the primary work, with the trapezius and rhomboids providing assistance.

Lateral raises on a machine target the middle portion of the deltoid muscle: you move your arms outward against the resistance of levers equipped with padded supports. Adjust the axis of rotation and the supports to align with your shoulders and elbows, then lift your arms to approximately shoulder level, making sure not to shrug your shoulders.

The overhead dumbbell press is performed by holding a dumbbell in each hand and lifting them from shoulder level to a position with arms fully extended overhead. Movement occurs at the shoulder joint and the elbow joint; the primary movers are the deltoids and the triceps—the deltoids lift the arm, while the triceps extend the elbow. Simultaneously, the trapezius and serratus anterior muscles rotate the scapula upward, enabling the arms to reach an overhead position, while the rotator cuff stabilizes the head of the humerus within the glenoid cavity. Whether performed seated or standing, and with palms facing forward or toward each other—all four variations are common, and no single one is the only correct method.