Shoulders · Dumbbell
Dumbbell Seated Reverse Arnold Press
How to do the dumbbell seated reverse arnold press, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Dumbbell
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Logged as
- Weighted reps
- Movement
- VerticalPush
- Mechanic
- Compound
How to do it
Sit on a bench with dumbbells held at shoulder height, palms facing forward. As you press up, rotate your palms to face you at the top, reversing the standard Arnold path. Lower the weights back to shoulder height while rotating the palms forward again, keeping your back tall against the bench.
- 1Your front and side delts driving the weights overhead
- 2A smooth palm rotation timed with the press
- 3Your core braced and back supported against the bench
Common mistakes
- Over-arching your lower back as you press up
- Letting your wrists collapse under the load
- Rushing the rotation instead of controlling the transition
Muscles worked
The dumbbell seated reverse arnold press mainly works the front delts, triceps, and side delts, with the forearms, upper chest, upper traps, and upper abs assisting.
- Front DeltsPrimary
- TricepsPrimary
- Side DeltsPrimary
- ForearmsSupport
- Upper ChestSupport
- Upper TrapsSupport
- Upper AbsSupport
- Lower TrapsMinor
- Lower AbsMinor
Kovo programs the dumbbell seated reverse arnold press for you and tracks it every session.
We build your whole program, drop the right lifts into each workout, and adjust your weights as you get stronger. Free on iOS and Android.
More shoulders exercises
- How to do the battle rope alternating waves
- How to do the arm circles
- How to do the arnold press
- How to do the resistance band front raise
- How to do the resistance band lateral raise
- How to do the resistance band overhead press
Last reviewed June 2026.