Fitness Inventor

Okay guys, my tribute/contribution to MUSCLE INSIDER’s Arnold issue is the exercise that’s actually named after the man himself: the “Arnold press.” In the course of researching this lift, I did a few special, modified shoulder workouts. I have to admit I hadn’t used the Arnold press in years and the thing I remembered about it was that you can only use about 70 percent of what you use for normal seated overhead dumbbell press. Now, some guys may immediately think that’s a negative thing, but I believe (and recent research and training trends support me on this) that lifting heavy on every set isn’t actually necessary for gaining size or strength … but that’s an article for another time.

For those who aren’t familiar, the Arnold press is performed seated on an upright bench, starting in a similar position to the top of the concentric phase of a dumbbell biceps curl but with the dumbbells closer together in front of your chest.

Then, as you initiate the lift upwards, you gradually rotate the forearms throughout the press and finish in the same position as a traditional shoulder press, with your palms facing away from the body at the top.

This starting position requires this outward, lateral rotation of the forearms and external rotation of the shoulders in the early phase of the lift, which increases deltoid activation, forcing you to do a partial lateral fly with your arms forward of where they’d be in a traditional press, thus hitting the front deltoid to a greater extent. Try this move as your last or second-last shoulder movement, using at least 3 sets of 15 to 20 reps as an effective, Arnold-approved addition to shoulder day!