Arnold Press

Muscles worked by the Arnold Press

Primary

Front DeltsAnterior DeltoidSide DeltsLateral Deltoid

Secondary

SerratusSerratus AnteriorTrapsTrapeziusTricepsTriceps Brachii

Also called: front deltoid, anterior delt, front delt, anterior deltoid, side deltoid, lateral delt.

Equipment

Dumbbell

Also called: db, dumbell, hex dumbbell, rubber dumbbell, hand weight.

How to do the Arnold Press

1. Hold a pair of dumbbells at shoulder height with palms facing you.
2. Press the dumbbells overhead while rotating your palms to face forward.
3. Fully extend your arms at the top without locking the elbows.
4. Reverse the motion and rotate back to the start.
5. Repeat for the desired number of reps.

Form tips

• Time the palm rotation evenly throughout the press, not all at once.
• Avoid arching your lower back as the weight goes overhead.
• Use a lighter load than a standard press to control the rotation.

At a glance

Arnold Press in German & Spanish

Descriptions, instructions and tips ship in all three languages in the JSON.

Related exercises

• Barbell Overhead Press
• Behind the Neck Press
• Bodyweight Overhead Press
• Double Kettlebell Overhead Press
• Dumbbell Shoulder Press
• Machine Shoulder Press
• Push Press
• Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press

Exercise data (JSON)

The record below is exactly what exercises.json ships for this exercise — names, descriptions, instructions and tips in English, German and Spanish.

{
  "id": "arnold-press",
  "name_en": "Arnold Press",
  "name_de": "Arnold Press",
  "name_es": "Press Arnold",
  "description_en": "An overhead press variation rotating the palms from facing the body to facing forward, working the front and side deltoids.",
  "description_de": "Eine Schulterdrückvariante mit Kurzhanteln, bei der die Handflächen während des Drückens von innen nach vorn rotieren.",
  "description_es": "Un press de hombros con mancuernas que rota las palmas durante el ascenso, dirigido al deltoides anterior y lateral.",
  "category": "strength",
  "force_type": "push",
  "mechanic": "compound",
  "difficulty": "intermediate",
  "equipment": "dumbbell",
  "body_part": "shoulders",
  "primary_muscles": [
    "anterior_deltoid",
    "lateral_deltoid"
  ],
  "secondary_muscles": [
    "serratus_anterior",
    "trapezius",
    "triceps_brachii"
  ],
  "goals": [
    "hypertrophy",
    "strength"
  ],
  "tags": [
    "knee_safe",
    "lower_back_safe",
    "no_axial_load"
  ],
  "variation_group": "overhead-press",
  "is_unilateral": false,
  "is_bodyweight": false,
  "instructions_en": [
    "Hold a pair of dumbbells at shoulder height with palms facing you.",
    "Press the dumbbells overhead while rotating your palms to face forward.",
    "Fully extend your arms at the top without locking the elbows.",
    "Reverse the motion and rotate back to the start.",
    "Repeat for the desired number of reps."
  ],
  "instructions_de": [
    "Halte ein Paar Kurzhanteln auf Schulterhöhe mit zur dir zeigenden Handflächen.",
    "Drücke die Kurzhanteln nach oben und drehe dabei die Handflächen nach vorne.",
    "Strecke die Arme oben vollständig aus, ohne die Ellbogen zu überstrecken.",
    "Kehre die Bewegung um und drehe zurück zur Ausgangsposition.",
    "Wiederhole die gewünschte Anzahl von Wiederholungen."
  ],
  "instructions_es": [
    "Sostén un par de mancuernas a la altura de los hombros con las palmas mirando hacia ti.",
    "Empuja las mancuernas sobre la cabeza mientras rotas las palmas hacia adelante.",
    "Extiende los brazos por completo en la parte superior sin bloquear los codos.",
    "Invierte el movimiento y rota de vuelta a la posición inicial.",
    "Repite el número de repeticiones deseado."
  ],
  "tips_en": [
    "Time the palm rotation evenly throughout the press, not all at once.",
    "Avoid arching your lower back as the weight goes overhead.",
    "Use a lighter load than a standard press to control the rotation."
  ],
  "tips_de": [
    "Spanne den Rumpf an, um ein Hohlkreuz zu vermeiden.",
    "Verteile die Rotation gleichmäßig über den gesamten Weg nach oben.",
    "Senke die Hanteln kontrolliert ab, ohne die Spannung zu verlieren."
  ],
  "tips_es": [
    "Evita arquear la zona lumbar al empujar hacia arriba.",
    "Mantén las muñecas firmes y alineadas con los antebrazos.",
    "Controla la bajada en lugar de dejar caer el peso."
  ],
  "met": 6.0,
  "images": {
    "flat": {
      "start": "images/flat/arnold-press-start.webp",
      "peak": "images/flat/arnold-press-peak.webp"
    }
  }
}

Fetch just this exercise

const { exercises } = await fetch(
  "https://exercise-dataset.com/exercises.json"
).then(r => r.json());
const ex = exercises.find(e => e.id === "arnold-press");

Free for personal and commercial in-app use with attribution (“Exercise data by RepDB”) — see the license and ready-made attribution snippets. Redistributing the data as a dataset or API is not permitted.