Stand with dumbbells at shoulder level and use a short leg dip and hip drive to press them overhead. The movement primarily works the shoulder deltoids.
How to do the Push Press (Dumbbell)#
- Stand tall with feet about hip-width and hold a dumbbell at each shoulder with elbows under the weights.
- Bend your knees slightly into a quick dip while keeping your torso upright.
- Explosively extend your hips and knees to transfer force into the arms and drive the dumbbells upward.
- Finish by pressing the dumbbells to full arm extension overhead and briefly lock out the elbows.
- Lower the weights back to the shoulder rack position under control.
Muscles worked#
- Primary: Front delts, Side delts, Triceps
- Secondary: Quads, Glutes, Traps, Abs
Common mistakes#
- Using only the arms instead of initiating with a leg drive.
- Taking too deep a squat-like dip rather than a quick, shallow drive.
- Overarching the lower back during the drive.
- Allowing the dumbbells to travel too far forward instead of staying over the midline.
- Not fully extending the arms at the top.
