Shoulders · Leverage Machine
Leverage Machine Shoulder Press
How to do the leverage machine shoulder press, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Leverage Machine
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Logged as
- Weighted reps
- Movement
- Vertical Press
- Mechanic
- Compound
See it in motion
How to do it
Adjust the seat so the handles start around chin/ear level. Brace your ribs down, press the handles overhead in a smooth arc, and stop just short of locking out hard. Lower slowly until you feel a stretch in the shoulders, then repeat.
- 1Front/side delts driving the press, triceps finishing the lockout. You should feel stable through the trunk with a clean overhead path.
Common mistakes
- Overarching the low back, flaring the ribs, or bouncing out of the bottom. Don't let the elbows drift too far behind you.
Muscles worked
The leverage machine shoulder 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 leverage machine shoulder press for you and tracks it every session.
The AI builds your whole program, drops the right lifts into each workout, and adjusts your weights as you get stronger. Free on iOS and Android.
More shoulders exercises
- How to do the arnold press
- How to do the barbell overhead press
- How to do the cable face pull
- How to do the cable lateral raise
- How to do the dumbbell front raise
- How to do the dumbbell lateral raise
Last reviewed April 2026.