Machine shoulder press

What it is

A seated pressing machine that moves the handles overhead along a fixed path. Because the machine controls the bar path and the torso is supported, it lets you press close to failure without a spotter and without the balance demand of free weights.

Muscles worked

Primary: Shoulders (deltoids). Secondary: Triceps, Upper chest.

How to perform it

1. Set the seat so the handles start at about shoulder height, roughly level with your ears.
2. Sit with your back against the pad, feet flat on the floor, and brace your core with the ribs down.
3. Press the handles up until your arms are nearly straight, without shrugging towards your ears.
4. Lower under control back to shoulder height for a full stretch before the next rep.

Common form faults

• Seat set too low, so the press starts from an awkward, cramped position. Adjust before the first rep: handles level with the shoulders at the start, forearms roughly vertical.
• Arching off the pad to grind out extra reps. Keep the back against the pad and the ribs down; the machine exists to isolate the shoulders, not to become an incline press.
• Half reps in the top of the range. Lower all the way to shoulder height each rep. The bottom of the range is where the deltoids work hardest.

Programming

A shoulder accessory or main press in moderate to higher reps. It is at its best when training alone near failure, and as the second pressing movement of a session once fatigue would make free weights sloppy.