What muscles does the Arnold press work?

The shoulders, mainly the front and side delts, with the triceps helping to straighten the arms.

Is the Arnold press better than a regular shoulder press?

Not proven to be. It works the shoulders through a longer range with a rotation; the regular press lets you lift more. Both build the shoulders.

Is the Arnold press bad for your shoulders?

Not for healthy shoulders with a sensible weight. If the turn or the deep start bothers you, stick to a regular dumbbell press.

Arnold Press: Muscles Worked and How to Do It

Arnold press: muscles worked and how to do it

The Arnold press trains your shoulders, mainly the front and side of the delts, with your triceps helping to straighten your arms.

It is a dumbbell shoulder press that starts with your palms facing you, like the top of a curl, and turns them to face forward as you press. The turn makes the bottom of the movement deeper and puts the front of your shoulders under load for longer. It is named after Arnold Schwarzenegger, who made it popular.

At a glance

Main muscles: Shoulders
Also works: Triceps
Movement: Overhead press
Equipment: Dumbbells, Adjustable bench
Type: Compound (several joints)

Front

Back

How to do an Arnold press

Sit on a bench with the back upright, a dumbbell in each hand.
Hold the dumbbells in front of your shoulders, palms facing you and elbows in front of your body, as at the top of a curl.
Start pressing up, and as you do, open your elbows out to the sides and turn your palms to face forward.
Finish with your arms straight overhead, palms forward and the dumbbells above your shoulders.
Reverse the movement on the way down: elbows back in front, palms turning towards you.

Cues that help

"Open the door": the elbows swing out to the sides as the palms turn.
"Turn and press together": one smooth movement, not a twist followed by a press.
"Ribs down": no leaning back to finish the press.
"Slow on the way down": the turn back in is part of the rep.

Common mistakes

Too much weight. The turn is awkward with heavy dumbbells, so expect to use less than on a regular shoulder press.
Turning the palms first and pressing after, which loses the point of the exercise.
Arching the lower back to get the dumbbells up.
Rushing the lowering and letting the dumbbells drop into the start.

Arnold press or regular shoulder press?

The Arnold press adds a rotation and a deeper start, which keeps the front of the shoulders working for a longer range. The regular dumbbell shoulder press lets you handle more weight and is easier to progress. No study has shown that one builds more shoulder muscle than the other, so choose the one that feels better on your shoulders, or rotate between them across training blocks.

Sets, reps and weight

For muscle: 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps, resting about 2 minutes.
Use 10 to 20% less weight than on your regular dumbbell shoulder press to start.
Add reps first, then move up a pair of dumbbells.

Variations and alternatives

Standing Arnold press: more work for your core.
Dumbbell shoulder press: no rotation, more weight.
Overhead press: the barbell version, standing.
Lateral raise: for the side of the shoulders on its own.

Tracking your Arnold press

PushBeyond logs the weight and reps of each set and charts the history of the exercise. Its muscle map counts the Arnold press for your shoulders, with your triceps as a helper.