Exercising and maintaining a weekly training routine has become essential in the lives of many people in order to stay fit and stay healthy. However, within all the types of sports that we can do, there is a whole world of competitions and objectives. If what you are looking for is to grow your muscles and tone them, in addition to losing all the extra kilos, it is best to do strength exercises through weights such as dumbbells. In this sense, one of the most relevant muscles, not only because of its shape and aesthetics, but also because it is involved in most activities, is the shoulder.
Having strong shoulders is essential to avoid injuries and to be able to carry out all kinds of daily activities. That is why, in this article, we are going to talk about one of the exercises that works best. We will talk about how to do the dumbbell overhead press and everything you need to know about this complete exercise.
Table Of Content
1. How to do dumbbell military press step by step
2. Muscles involved in the dumbbell overhead press
3. Common mistakes when doing the dumbbell military press
How to do dumbbell military press step by step
To start doing the dumbbell overhead press, the first thing you’ll need to do is get two dumbbells or barbells. At first, the main objective is to be able to master the technique, so we recommend that you do not use a lot of weight the first few times. With the dumbbells in your hands, you must follow these steps:
- Position yourself, either sitting or standing, in an area where you can have a backrest to keep your back straight. At first, it will be easier for you to do it this way.
- Once located, get into the position from which you are going to proceed with the lift. Place your arms in the shape of a candlestick already with the dumbbells securely attached. The dumbbells should be at shoulder height and the palms of the closed hands facing forward.
- Engaging the muscles in your arms and shoulders, slowly lift the weight above your head, making a triangular shape ending with both weights together above your head.
- To return to the starting position, re-engage your muscles to control the weight and return to shoulder height.
- Several repetitions should be done for three series with an estimated time of three seconds going up and another three going down. According to intosport Dumbbell Military Press – Fitness Gym Training
Muscles involved in the dumbbell overhead press
The military press exercise with dumbbells concentrates all its effort in the area of the arms and shoulders and is quite effective and recommended, not only to gain density and strength but also to correct back problems by correctly loading the weight. Still, because it is a very focused exercise, the muscles most involved are very specific.
On the one hand, we have the lower area of the arms, the triceps, which will be in charge of carrying the weight of the descent. On the other hand, we have the entire shoulder area in charge of the climb, these muscles are the middle deltoid, the anterior deltoid, the rhomboids, the trapezius and the pectoralis major. The superior and inferior serratus anterior muscles are also involved.
Common mistakes when doing the dumbbell military press
The military press with weights or dumbbells is an exercise where there is a large amount of effort focused on certain muscles, so one of the main premises to avoid injuries is knowing and mastering the technique. Some of the frequent mistakes that make you see your body resentful after exercise can be:
- You don’t keep your back straight. You may be using more weight than required and your back ends up arching. It is advisable to lower the load in order to keep the back aligned with the backrest.
- You do not position the wrists well. In addition to the back, if you have more weight than is appropriate, your wrists will surely end up being loaded and going forward or backward, making the whole exercise difficult and overloading the tendons of the joint.
- Load the weight on the pectorals. Whether you do it with two dumbbells or with a barbell with two weights, one of the mistakes of beginners is to load the weight of the descent on the pectorals. The weight should fall mainly on the arms.
- Anchor your elbows on the way up. The elbows should be kept slightly bent when going up so that the descent does not end up damaging the joint. According To Jeet Selal Aesthetics Common mistakes when doing the dumbbell military press
These are some of the tips to keep in mind when doing the military press, an exercise full of advantages and benefits to tone up. Even so, if you are going to a gym, we recommend that you talk to the trainers so that they can supervise you and give you personalized guidelines.
Now that you know how to do the dumbbell military press, we recommend you to also know How to do the bench press, The best exercises to strengthen the arms and The best exercises for the shoulders.