Exercises · Shoulders

Standing Dumbbell Press

Standing Dumbbell Press is a beginner-friendly compound exercise for the shoulders, done with dumbbells. Step-by-step instructions are below; the plain-English guide, common mistakes and sets and reps ranges for this page are still being written.

• Primary musclesShoulders
• Secondary musclesTriceps
• EquipmentDumbbells
• LevelBeginner · compound

How to do it

1. Standing with your feet shoulder width apart, take a dumbbell in each hand. Raise the dumbbells to head height, the elbows out and about 90 degrees. This will be your starting position.
2. Maintaining strict technique with no leg drive or leaning back, extend through the elbow to raise the weights together directly above your head.
3. Pause, and slowly return the weight to the starting position.

In the app: this exercise is one of 873 in GymPilot's library, with the same photos, form cues and a link back to the moment in an imported video it came from.