Shoulder Workout- Dumbbell Military Shoulder Press

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Are your looking for a great shoulder exercise that is guaranteed to give you results? Then stop looking because that exercise is right here. What is this mysterious exercise? It's the dumbbell military shoulder press. Long title I know, but it's no joke. There are a couple of things your gonna need to know before you start it.


Warming up is key before you do any shoulder exercise. Go to a weight rack and grab two 10 lb plates. Then put four fingers in hole in the middle of the weight. Finish your grip by locking your thumb on the outside of the weight. Then start twirling you arms in circles. Do them front and backwards until you feel your rotator cuff and shoulder muscles losen up.  

For the execution you first need to locate a bench. Put it in the up right position so it looks like a chair. Then go to the weight rack and pick a weight thats right for you. Normally I start out with 45lb dumbbells, but if your a beginner I suggest starting small. You can always work up to a heavier weight, and it's a good policy to make sure that you don't get hurt. After you have chosen your weight go back to the bench, sit down, and put the weights on your knees. The next step is going to be to kick the weight up with your knees to the rest position next to your head. Then push up with both arms until they are fully extended. Down and back up. That is one repetition. As always do 3 sets of 10. 

Chest Workout Continued- Dumbbell Press

This exercise is a perfect change of pace. It can take the place of bench press in your routine since it is essentially working the same part of your chest. However, I like to put both the bench and dumbbell press in my workout.

Like the cable flys there isn't one solid bar. You are going to be using dumbbells hence the name. Each arm is going to be working independently form one another. Which is going to force your stabilizer muscles in your chest to start working. 

The execution is pretty simple. Get your weight off the rack. For beginners, like always, start off small. Sit on the bench and rest the weight on your knees. Now while your are laying down on the bench bring the weights with you. So by time your completely flat on your back your weight should be in the start position. Push up just like you are doing a bench press repetition. Be sure to push with equal force in each arm. All the way up and back down to your start position is one rep. Still do 3 sets of 10.

It is going to take a couple of tries to get your rhythm. So don't get discouraged if you don't get it right away.  

Chest Workout Continued- Cable Flys

Now we get to introduce one of my favorite exercises. The cable flys are a great change up from the pressing exercises that I have touched on.  There are a couple of things that make cable flys such a great part of your workout.

When your working out with the cables your muscles are constantly working through each rep. With other chest exercises you are only working one way, but with cables your muscles are working during the rest part of your repetition too.

On the cable machines there isn't one solid bar for flys. Instead there are two individual handles. When you take each handle off the rest position you are engaging all the little stabilizer muscles in your chest to keep those handles straight. Muscles that don't get much attention during the pressing exercises.

As far as the execution its pretty simple. There are going to be two weight racks on each side of the machine. You need to select a weight that you can do 10 times. The handles for this should be at the top of the rack, if there not you need to put them there, so put your hands in each handle. Lift the weight off the racks, and extend your arms forward till they touch each other in front of your chest. That is one repetition. As always do 3 sets of 10.

Remember that if you select 60 on one side you need to select 60 on the other to keep it even and prevent injuries.