Today we will talk about a very important exercise for the development of the deltoid – sitting dumbbell press
The sitting dumbbell press is a basic exercise and perfectly grows the anterior and middle bundle of the deltoid muscles. In addition, the triceps also carry a significant load.

Dumbbell press – features

The biomechanical dumbbell press is very similar to the classic standing press and barbell press from behind the head. However, there are significant differences in these exercises. Let’s look into them.

The amplitude of movement during the dumbbell press is significantly greater than in the standing press, and even more so than in the barbell press from behind the head. The greater the range of motion, the more work the muscles do. This is a definite plus.

When performing dumbbell presses, your shoulder and elbow joints are in a safer position. There is no binding to one position, one trajectory, the movement is more natural.

It is worth saying that the dumbbell press perfectly works out the entire layer of muscle fibers of the shoulder (though excluding the back bundle). The undoubted advantage is the ability to work with heavy dumbbells.

Due to the lack of a barbell, you have to constantly balance the dumbbells. Stabilizer muscles are involved in the work. It turns out that much more muscle groups work in this exercise than in barbell presses. Plus again.

However, all good things have their downsides. The presence of dumbbells and the need to control their balance forces you to use less weight than you could lift in the bench press. Muscles are forced to do more work, so you can never repeat the maximum weight squeezed on the bar with dumbbells.

Another disadvantage is the difficulty of progression of the load when you get close to heavy dumbbells. The step of dumbbell weights in modern gyms is very scattered. 35 kg dumbbells can be followed by 40 kg or more. The heavier your dumbbells, the harder it will be to add a little weight.

The way out of this situation is the following. Build your training plan so that the main basic exercise for the shoulders is the bench press from the chest. At an advanced level, add a dumbbell press to it.

Seated Dumbbell Press: Technique

Perform the dumbbell press while sitting on a bench with a backrest. The angle of the backrest should not be strictly vertical, but should be slightly tilted back (approximately 80-85 °). It is related to the structure shoulder joint flexibility. In a strictly vertical position, it is very difficult to squeeze the dumbbells straight up, the motion vector will still shift forward.

In the starting position, the dumbbells are at eye level. The elbows are turned to the sides, the forearms are strictly vertical and parallel to each other. Deflection in the lower back.

The technique for performing the seated dumbbell press is quite simple. The movement of the dumbbells should take place in the plane of the ears, deviations from the trajectory forward or backward are not allowed. Squeeze the dumbbells up as you exhale, in an arc and bring them together over your head. Avoid the mistake of many when dumbbells are simply squeezed up, without adduction.

Squeeze the dumbbells to the end, try to raise them as high as possible – so the reduction of the deltoid will be maximum. Keep a slight bend in the arms at the elbow so as not to shift the load on the triceps. Keep the tension of the deltas during the entire amplitude of the exercise.

Try to keep the elbows always under the hands at any point in the amplitude. This will achieve the correct arcuate trajectory.

Lower the dumbbells as you inhale, feeling the deltoid muscles stretch. At the lowest point, the shoulder is at an angle of approximately 45 ° to the floor. Keep your body straight. Don’t lean back to help push the weight up with your chest. The task is to complicate the work of the target muscles, which means keep the body strictly perpendicular to the floor, do not turn your head, look forward.

Pay attention to the negative phase of the movement. Lower the dumbbells slowly, stretch your muscles. Lift the weight quickly but smoothly. Perform the exercise as a whole slowly, feel the work of your muscles.

At the bottom, the forearms should be strictly parallel to each other. Use all the useful range of motion, but avoid unnatural dumbbell depths when the shoulder joint is too stretched.

The seated dumbbell press is a more isolated version of the standing dumbbell press, as it the sitting position turns off additional stabilizer muscles that work part-time in the standing position (legs, back). In addition, this exercise is recommended for people who have problems with the spine and who cannot perform a barbell or dumbbell press while standing. Of course, the load on the spinal column does not go anywhere, but it is more gentle than in the standing press version.

Conclusion

Many professional athletes really call the seated dumbbell press the #1 exercise for building powerful shoulders. Of course, they are a little disingenuous, forgetting to mention heavy bench presses. But it is thanks to this exercise that in the advanced stages you can achieve a significant increase in the mass of your shoulders.