Arnold Press
Muscles worked: Front delts (assisted by side delts, triceps).
How to do it
- Sit on an exercise bench with back support and hold two dumbbells in front of you at about upper chest level with your palms facing your body and your elbows bent.
- Now to perform the movement, raise the dumbbells as you rotate the palms of your hands until they are facing forward.
- Continue lifting the dumbbells until your arms are extended above you in straight arm position.
- After a second pause at the top, begin to lower the dumbbells to the original position by rotating the palms of your hands towards you.
- Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.
Coaching cues
The two cues IronPack shows on this exercise's card mid-workout:
- Start palms facing you, rotate out as you press
- Full turn by the halfway point
Logging it
IronPack suggests working in the 8 to 12 rep range, progressing in 2 kg jumps when you own the top of the range. Records are tracked automatically at every rep count from 1 to 12. Check your estimated 1RM from any hard set.
Related exercises
- Overhead Press - front delts
- Seated DB Shoulder Press - front delts
- Machine Shoulder Press - front delts
- Smith Machine Shoulder Press - front delts
Track the arnold press properly
IronPack logs every set, tracks your records at every rep count, shows these form photos mid-workout, and turns the training into a card game you play with your mates.
Get IronPack free on the App StoreFree download, iPhone. Currently on the New Zealand App Store, wider rollout to follow.
Photos and steps: free-exercise-db (public domain). Cues, muscle weighting and logging guidance are IronPack's own app data. Last generated 2026-07-17.