Dumbbell Push Press

How to Perform the Dumbbell Push Press

Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, holding a dumbbell in each hand at shoulder height with palms facing each other.
Brace your core and maintain an upright torso throughout the movement.
Dip down by bending your knees slightly to about a quarter squat depth, keeping your torso vertical.
Explosively drive through your legs, extending your hips and knees to generate upward momentum.
Use the momentum from the leg drive to press the dumbbells overhead, fully extending your arms at the top.
Lock out the dumbbells directly over your shoulders with your biceps close to your ears.
Lower the dumbbells back to shoulder height under control and reset your stance before the next rep.

Pressing without using leg drive

Initiate the movement with a controlled knee dip and explosive hip extension to generate momentum before pressing.

Leaning too far back during the press

Keep your core tight and ribs down throughout the lift, pressing the dumbbells straight overhead rather than in front.

Dipping too deep on the knee bend

Only dip to about a quarter squat depth. Going deeper wastes energy and reduces the explosive transfer to the press.

✓Develops overhead pressing strength with heavier loads than strict pressing allows.
✓Builds explosive power through the coordination of lower and upper body.
✓Improves full-body coordination and athletic performance.

●Start with a weight you can strict press for a few reps to learn the timing of the leg drive.
●Focus on a quick, snappy dip-and-drive rather than a slow squat.
●Keep your wrists stacked directly over your elbows during the press for optimal force transfer.

Strength

4-5 sets of 3-5 reps at 80-90% 1RM

Hypertrophy

3-4 sets of 8-12 reps at 65-75% 1RM

Endurance

2-3 sets of 15-20 reps at 50-60% 1RM

Join 2,000,000+ lifters tracking their workouts with Stronger. Available on iOS and Android.