: In what way is the Arnold press different from a standard dumbbell press? I mean effectually - I understand the functional difference. What different GAIN do I receive from Arnold presses?

Vote Up Vote Down   0 Reactions

Login to give Reaction!

The way I feel it is that Arnold presses take more time per rep, meaning that your front shoulders feel more stress during the movement as it takes longer.

Perhaps your middle shoulder parts (outer parts) benefit more from arnold presses as you have this twisting motion when lifting the weights. You don't have that when doing standard dumbbell press.

Vote Up Vote Down   0 Reactions

Login to give Reaction!

Arnold Press

Higher range of motion
Engages deltoids more
Potentially adds too much strain to rotator

Standard Press

Lift heavier weights
Less complicated

The two exercises are similar enough that you can use them interchangeably if you so desired. Personally, I stick to the standard press and only occasionally use the arnold press to break up the redundancy; even then, I am considering taking arnold press totally out of the lineup because of the strain it puts on my rotators (your mileage may vary).