By Robin Roelofsen, GIANT!

The average bodybuilder or fitness enthusiast is looking to develop great arms, chest and abs. Wide shoulders are somewhat lower on the list, but are still very popular. The way most athletes are trying

The great Larry Scott doing Dumbbell Presses

to achieve this in the gym is by doing loads of lateral movements that definitely have their place in the shoulder training regimen, but the major exercises do not get as much attention as they deserve.

What am I talking about when I refer to the major exercises? Well… overhead presses, of course!

There are a load of different shoulder presses that develop the shoulder muscles and help give the boulder shoulder look to any athlete. Even though most pressing movements mainly develop the front part of the deltoids, the anterior deltoids, the whole shoulder muscle complex benefits from heavy overhead presses.

Overhead presses allow the muscle groups in your upper body to work as a whole, giving the body an athletic advantage that has its virtues in other sports as well.

There are numerous shoulder press variations, but I will give you the top ones in my book.


Military Press

The military press is the bread and butter exercise for your shoulders, like squats are for your quads. The exercise works your anterior deltoids, with the support of your medial delts (the side delts),

Seated Military Presses

triceps and a lot more smaller muscles. The military press is an exercise anyone can do, providing you have a barbell.

You can perform the military press standing up or seated on a bench. When you do the exercise standing up, you might want to consider wearing a heavy weightlifters belt to protect your lower back.

When you perform the exercise while sitting down, either use a shoulder press bench, which has back support, or use an incline bench with the back support set at its most vertical position. This will protect your lower back and ensure you do not fall backwards when you lose control of the weight.

Depending on the variation you choose, either stand with your feet at shoulder width or sit on the bench, feet planted firmly on the ground and your back pressed against the back rest.

• Grab the barbell with an overhand grip at slightly wider than shoulder width, and bring the barbell up to your upper chest
• Keep your elbows slightly forward at all times, do not allow them to point backwards
• Press the weight overhead – watch your nose! – until your arms are straight
• Slowly lower the weight back to the starting position (again, watch your nose!)

If you have difficulty lowering the weight all the way to your upper chest, lower it to your chin.


Behind-The-Neck Press

The behind-the-neck press or neck press is an exercise most coaches will not recommend. The reason for this is, that the position you get into at the bottom part of the press will compress the

Behind-The-Neck Presses

muscles in the neck and back, which might cause problems. The other possibility is that you may develop rotator cuff problems due to the extreme movement.

However, if you are flexible enough and you do not lower the barbell too far, you can perform the neck press. I do not lower the barbell further than the base of my skull to protect my rotator cuff.

The neck press primarily targets the anterior delts, but the medial delts also get a good beating.

Again, this overhead press variation can be performed seated or standing up. Depending on the variation you choose, make sure you stand with your feet at shoulder width or sit on a bench, feet firmly on the ground and your back pressed against the back rest.

• Hold the barbell with an overhand grip, hands slightly wider than shoulder width, and bring the barbell up to your upper chest
• Press the barbell overhead until your arms are straight
• Slowly lower the barbell behind you head until it reaches the base of your skull or the half of your ears and press it upwards again
• Keep lowering the barbell behind your head until the set is over, then lower it back to your upper chest and put it down

Remember to bring your elbows back so you can lower the bar behind your head without having to bow your head to allow the barbell to pass. If you cannot bring the barbell down behind your head without bowing your head, do not do the exercise, you are not flexible enough!

Machine Presses

Machine Press

Of course, the barbell presses have a machine variation as well.

The machine press is a machine you can find in almost any gym anywhere. The advantage of the machine press is that you can concentrate on working your anterior deltoids without having to worry about balancing the weight.

This is also a disadvantage, since it does not require your body to work as a whole. When you add the machine press to your workout, make sure it does not totally replace free weight exercises.

Most proper machine press stations also allow you to sit on them with your face towards the machine, allowing you to do neck presses as well. Make sure the machine suits your body structure before piling on the weight, otherwise you may injure yourself.


Dumbbell Press

To allow your arms to move through a more natural arc than barbells allow, you can also do shoulder presses using

Dumbbell Press

dumbbells. Next to military presses, this is one of the best overall shoulder exercises around.

Dumbbells allow for more freedom of movement, which also means they are harder to control. Ancillary muscles will come into play, allowing your upper body to work together. Your anterior delts will take the brunt of the work, but your medial delts and your triceps will also be worked hard.

Although dumbbell presses can be done standing, I recommend performing them seated on an incline bench with the back rest in the highest position. This will ensure you do not sway when pressing the weights overhead, protecting your lower back.

• Sit on a bench with two dumbbells, and keep your feet at shoulder width to ensure stability
• Bring the dumbbells up to next to your shoulders, palms facing forward or facing each other
• Press the weights simultaneously overhead until your arms are straight
• Slowly lower the weights to the starting position

Arnold Press

A great variation on the regular dumbbell press is the Arnold press, ‘invented’ by Arnold

Arnold Press

Schwarzenegger. The Arnold press mainly works the anterior delts, but the medial delts will get a greater than normal part of the work.

The execution of the Arnold press is more difficult than the regular dumbbell press, so it will be best to try the exercise first using light weights until you get the hang of it.

• Take two dumbbells, sit on a bench and plant your feet at shoulder width
• Bring the dumbbells up like you do a dumbbell curl, so the weights are in front of your chest, palms facing your body
• Press the weights upward while bringing your elbows out to the side and slowly twisting your hands until your palms are facing forward
• Lower the weights slowly while reversing the movement until the dumbbells are in front of your chest again

This exercise will take some getting used to, but it is a great addition to your shoulder workouts.


One-Arm Dumbbell Press

The last exercise I want to show you is another variation on dumbbell presses: the one-arm dumbbell press. This exercise can be done either standing up or seated down, but I prefer the seated version because you can hold onto the bench with your free hand to keep your body stable.

• Sit on a bench with one dumbbell in your hand, place your feet at shoulder width and hold the seat rest with your free hand
• Bring the dumbbell up to your side and keep it next to your shoulder
• Press the weight up until your arm is straight
• Slowly lower the weight until it is next to your shoulder again

When you are looking for complete shoulder development and you go for that boulder shoulder look, make sure you incorporate these exercises in your routine regularly. You will notice the benefits soon enough!


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