How to do a Hammerstrength Shoulder Press
Reviewed by Jim Parker, CPT, B.A. Kinesiology
About Hammerstrength Shoulder Press
Hammerstrength (Leverage) Machine (all forms)
Workouts with Hammerstrength Shoulder Press
Instructions for Proper Form
Hammerstrength Shoulder Press is a variation on the more standard shoulder press that utilizes a Hammerstrength machine. Like other shoulder presses, this is a compound exercise that primarily targets the shoulders. The use of the Hammerstrength Machine limits your range of motion, and adds stability to the movement. Both of these factors allow you to focus more on exertion and muscle activation, rather than stabilizing the movement itself.
- Sit upright in a hammerstrength shoulder press machine while squeezing your shoulder blades together and placing your heels firmly on the ground underneath your knees.
- The back pad should be contact with your head, shoulders, and butt at all times.
- Grab ahold of the handles with an overhand grip just outside shoulder-width apart.
- Keeping your core braced by breathing into your stomach and flexing the abdominal muscles, push through your palms to extend your elbows overhead.
- Once your arms are fully extended, return to the starting position.
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Hammerstrength Equipment
Sit back, and keep your shoulder blades against the pad. Hammerstrength equipment is designed to help you get into the correct position. If you’re sitting forward, and pulling your back off the pad, you may be compromising the effectiveness of the exercise, or modifying it to be a different variation entirely.
Leaning Back
Leaning back can help you lift a bit more weight, or finish off a difficult set. However, it also reduces the effectiveness of the exercise, and increases the risk of injury. Keep your back straight, core engaged, and gaze forward to help prevent this.
Weight & 1 Rep Max Calculator
Average Hammerstrength Shoulder Press standards by male, female, weight, age and height
Use this calculator to see Fitbod's possible first recommendations for you. This would be your starting line, based on more than 4.5 billion logged sets from 1.1 million users.
- beginner8reps35lbs1 Rep Max45lbs
- intermediate8reps40lbs50lbs
- advanced8reps50lbs65lbs
Enter your stats to calculate your Reps & Weight
Alternative Exercises to Hammerstrength Shoulder Press
1. Machine Shoulder Press
92.5 mSCORESWAPPED 4,095 TIMESis a variation on the more standard shoulder press that utilizes a machine. Like other shoulder presses, this is a compound exercise that primarily targets the shoulders. The use of the machine restricts your movements, and adds more stability. This allows you to focus more on exertion than stabilization. This is a great exercise for anyone looking to learn the basic movement, and develop the strength needed for other similar exercises or functional applications.
- Beginner
- Shoulders
- Shoulder Press Machine
2. Dumbbell Shoulder Press
99.5 mSCORESWAPPED 2,985 TIMESDumbbell Shoulder Press is a compound exercise that primarily targets the shoulders. The use of dumbbells allows for slightly more instability than with equipment like barbells. This can help you recruit and develop stabilizing muscles around the shoulders. In addition, by using dumbbells, you can help identify and address any strength imbalances between sides.
3. Cable Lateral Raise
97.7 mSCORESWAPPED 980 TIMESCable Lateral Raise is a variation on the more standard Dumbbell Shoulder Raise. Similar to the Dumbbell Shoulder Raise, this isolation exercise primarily targets the shoulders, and more specifically the medial deltoid (middle of the shoulder). By using a cable machine, you have more control over the direction your resistance is coming from, and can easily make adjustments. In addition, by isolating each side of the body, you can more easily identify and address strength imbalances between sides.
- Beginner
- Shoulders
- Hi-Lo Pulley Cable
4. Barbell Shoulder Press
97 mSCORESWAPPED 959 TIMESBarbell Shoulder Press is a compound exercise that primarily targets your shoulders. By using a barbell instead of other pieces of equipment, you can add more stability to the movement, which allows you to focus more on exertion rather than stability. This is one of the best exercises for developing vertical pressing strength.
5. Dumbbell Front Raise
98.6 mSCORESWAPPED 859 TIMESDumbbell Front Raise is an isolation exercise that primarily targets the shoulders, more specifically the anterior deltoid (front of the shoulder). This is a very common shoulder exercise, and can work well to isolate the shoulders to build strength and muscle mass. By using dumbbells, you can help identify and address any strength imbalances between sides.
6. Machine Lateral Raise
76.7 mSCORESWAPPED 813 TIMESMachine Lateral Raise is a variation on the more standard Shoulder Raise. Similar to Shoulder Raise, this is an isolation exercise that primarily targets your shoulders. The use of a machine adds more stability to the movement, as well as restricting your range of motion. Both of these lead to a more stable exercise allowing you to focus on exertion.
- Beginner
- Shoulders
- Shoulder Shrug Machine
7. Arnold Dumbbell Press
93.2 mSCORESWAPPED 628 TIMESArnold Dumbbell Press is a compound movement that primarily targets the shoulders. The difference between the Arnold Press and a standard Shoulder Press is that you bring the dumbbells in front of you at the bottom of the movement rather than stopping when they reach your shoulders. Bringing the dumbbells in front of you can be more a comfortable movement as well as improve muscle activation.
8. Cable Face Pull
96 mSCORESWAPPED 586 TIMESCable Face Pull is a compound exercise that primarily targets your shoulders, more specifically your posterior deltoids (back of the shoulder). By using a cable machine, you have more control over where the resistance is coming from, and can easily make adjustments by either moving towards or away from the cable machine, or by adjusting the height of the pulley.
- Intermediate
- Shoulders
- Hi-Lo Pulley Cable
9. Smith Machine Overhead Shoulder Press
72.3 mSCORESWAPPED 565 TIMESThis exercise is a variation on the more standard Shoulder Press. Similar to other Shoulder Press variations, this is a compound exercise that primarily targets your shoulders. The use of a Smich Machine adds significantly more stability to the exercise allowing you to focus on exertion rather than stability.
- Beginner
- Shoulders
- Smith Machine
10. Dumbbell Shoulder Raise
97.8 mSCORESWAPPED 504 TIMESDumbbell Shoulder Raise is an isolation exercise that primarily targets the shoulders, more specifically the medial deltoid (middle of the shoulder). This is a very common shoulder exercise and can work well for building muscle mass and strengthening the shoulders. By using dumbbells, you can help identify and address any strength imbalances between sides.