Setup
Stand with feet hip-width apart, holding a dumbbell in each hand at shoulder height with palms facing forward and elbows slightly in front of your body. Engage your core and maintain a neutral spine with a slight natural arch in your lower back.
How to do it
- Press both dumbbells straight overhead until your arms are fully extended, keeping them aligned over your shoulders.
- Squeeze your glutes and brace your abs throughout the movement to prevent excessive back arching.
- Lower the dumbbells with control back to shoulder height, maintaining tension in your shoulders.
- Keep your wrists stacked directly over your elbows throughout the entire range of motion.
- Exhale as you press up and inhale as you lower the weights.
Watch out for
- ✗Leaning back excessively and turning the movement into an incline press instead of keeping the torso vertical.
- ✗Pressing the dumbbells forward in an arc rather than straight up overhead.
- ✗Allowing the elbows to flare out too wide instead of keeping them at roughly a 45-degree angle from the body.