Above-the-nape presses with seated dumbbells 🆙

Synonyms

The seated dumbbell over-the-neck press is also known as the Dumbell seated military press, Dumbell seated shoulder press.

Type of Exercise

Seated Above-the-Neck Dumbbell Press is a Multiarticular / Accessory Exercise

variants

Above-the-nape presses with standing dumbbells

Above-the-nape presses with seated dumbbells: Execution

The starting position sees the athlete sitting on a bench inclined at about 75 °, with his back in his position of strength, legs apart and feet firmly resting on the ground behind the knees to favor the maintenance of the three natural curves of the back and to hold the weight more effectively. The elbows are flexed, the wrists straight and the shoulders are not completely abducted in the transverse plane, but are adducted in the longitudinal plane and extra-rotated so that the elbow, wrist and barbell are exactly aligned in all 3 planes. The dumbbells are held at the same height as the upper part of the sternum with a grip that can be prone or neutral; the latter is more correct and particularly recommended when the handlebars are bulky, which therefore if held with a prone grip, would force the athlete to keep the elbows less flexed than it would take to have the forearms perpendicular to the ground with consequent unnecessary effort on the part of the elbow flexors to hold the handlebars and reduce the descent movement. The execution consists of pushing the dumbbells up on the vertical plane they were on before starting, thus trying to draw a segment of a straight line and not a curve. During the push, the shoulders flex in the sagittal plane and abduct in the longitudinal plane, while the elbows extend and the shoulder blades begin to rotate upward when the elbows are at or above shoulder level. The execution ends with the full extension of the elbows and just before the arms come to be perpendicular to the ground. It is also possible to perform this exercise in a unilateral version with consequent greater stimulation of the spine stabilizers. Performing this exercise requires some shoulder mobility if it is not kept fully abducted in the transverse plane, while good shoulder mobility is required to keep it fully abducted in the transverse plane.