Shoulders · Dumbbell
Dumbbell Standing Arnold Press
How to do the dumbbell standing 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
Stand tall holding a dumbbell at each shoulder with your palms facing you. As you press the weights overhead, rotate your palms to face forward at the top, then reverse the rotation as you lower back to the start. Standing forces your core and legs to stabilize the load.
- 1Your front and side delts working through the press and rotation
- 2Your core and glutes braced to keep you upright
- 3A smooth palm rotation as the weights travel overhead
Common mistakes
- Arching your lower back to push the weights up
- Letting your wrists bend back under the load
- Rushing the rotation instead of controlling the transition
Muscles worked
The dumbbell standing arnold press mainly works the front delts, triceps, and side delts, with the forearms, upper chest, upper traps, upper abs, and lower abs assisting.
- Front DeltsPrimary
- TricepsPrimary
- Side DeltsPrimary
- ForearmsSupport
- Upper ChestSupport
- Upper TrapsSupport
- Upper AbsSupport
- Lower AbsSupport
- Lower BackMinor
- Lower TrapsMinor
- ObliquesMinor
- QuadsMinor
- GlutesMinor
Kovo programs the dumbbell standing 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.