Exercise Breakdown: The Arnold Press

The Arnold Press is an old-school classic exercise still being used by bodybuilders and athletes today. Arnold’s take on the standard overhead press with dumbbells is a serious upgrade, and if you aren’t using it already, or have never tried it, it’s time to add it to your program.

What Is The Arnold Press?

As you might guess, the Arnold Press was invented by 7-time Mr. Olympia Arnold Schwarzenegger. Part of the reason was to target his delts more effectively. But part of it was also because other bodybuilding greats from the era had exercises they were credited with (Larry Scott - Scott Curl), and Arnold wanted his exercise too. In fact, he also popularized the Lying Side Lateral with this thinking in mind.⁽¹⁾

So what is the Arnold Press? It’s a dumbbell overhead press performed by rotating your wrists as the bells move upward. By twisting your wrists, you activate the deltoids more and slightly increase time under tension.

Muscles Worked

Arnold uses this exercise to target the front and side deltoids directly. It also works the triceps and traps.⁽²⁾

Performance Tips

Make sure you use a complete range of motion, starting with the dumbbells at shoulder height and your palms facing you. Smoothly press the bells overhead, rotating your thumbs inward. Your palms should be facing out at the top of the movement. Push the dumbbells to just shy of lockout, pause for a 1 or 2 count, and lower slowly while rotating your hands back to the start position. This is a strict exercise, form and execution are far more important than weight. Therefore, focus on flawless execution, and leave momentum out of it.⁽³⁾

How To Use It In Your Routine

Here’s an example routine similar to one Rich would have used that’s incorporating the Arnold Press.

Dumbbell Side Laterals - 5 sets - 25, 20, 15, 12, 10 reps

Lean slightly forward with your pinky higher than your thumb.

Dumbbell Rear Laterals - 5 sets - 30, 25, 20, 15, 12 reps

These directly hit the rear head and can be done with all the variations available for side laterals.

Arnold Press - 5 sets - 20, 15, 12, 10, 8 reps

Be completely sure you understand how to perform this exercise, the wrist rotation is everything.

Machine Shrugs - 5 sets - 30, 25, 20, 15, 12 reps

Feel free to use a barbell or dumbbells.

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