10 Best Dumbbell Arnold Press Alternatives for Shoulder Strength

The Dumbbell Arnold Press turns your palms from facing you to facing forward as you press, and that rotation is the first thing to drop when it feels awkward under load or when your setup is different. The closest swap is the Dumbbell Shoulder Press, which uses the same dumbbells and the same overhead push without the rotating grip. If a barbell is what you have, the Barbell Shoulder Press takes that same push onto a bar.

Original Exercise: Dumbbell Arnold Press

Dumbbell Arnold Press
Primary Muscle
Delts
Equipment
Dumbbell
Difficulty
Intermediate
Type
Compound
Secondary Muscles: Triceps, Upper Chest
How to Perform Dumbbell Arnold Press
  1. Sit on a bench with back support and hold a dumbbell in each hand at shoulder level, palms facing your body and elbows bent.
  2. Press the dumbbells upward until your arms are fully extended and your palms are facing forward.
  3. Rotate your wrists as you lift, so that your palms are facing forward at the top of the movement.
  4. Pause for a moment at the top, then slowly lower the dumbbells back to the starting position.
  5. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Ranked Dumbbell Arnold Press Alternatives

Best Match
Dumbbell Shoulder Press

1. Dumbbell Shoulder Press

99.9% Match
Delts Dumbbell Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. While holding a dumbbell in each hand, sit on a military press bench or utility bench that has back support. Place the dumbbells upright on top of your thighs.
  2. Now raise the dumbbells to shoulder height one at a time using your thighs to help propel them up into position.
  3. Make sure to rotate your wrists so that the palms of your hands are facing forward. This is your starting position.
  4. Now, exhale and push the dumbbells upward until they touch at the top.
  5. Then, after a brief pause at the top contracted position, slowly lower the weights back down to the starting position while inhaling.
Dumbbell W-press

2. Dumbbell W-press

99.9% Match
Delts Dumbbell Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Sit on a bench with a dumbbell in each hand, palms facing forward.
  2. Raise the dumbbells to shoulder height, elbows bent and palms facing forward.
  3. Press the dumbbells upward until your arms are fully extended overhead.
  4. Lower the dumbbells back to shoulder height.
  5. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Standing Dumbbell Press

3. Standing Dumbbell Press

99.9% Match
Delts Dumbbell Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Standing with your feet shoulder width apart, take a dumbbell in each hand. Raise the dumbbells to head height, the elbows out and about 90 degrees. This will be your starting position.
  2. Maintaining strict technique with no leg drive or leaning back, extend through the elbow to raise the weights together directly above your head.
  3. Pause, and slowly return the weight to the starting position.
Kettlebell Two Arm Military Press

4. Kettlebell Two Arm Military Press

99.9% Match
Delts Kettlebell Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding a kettlebell in each hand at shoulder level with your palms facing forward.
  2. Engage your core and press the kettlebells overhead, fully extending your arms.
  3. Pause for a moment at the top, then slowly lower the kettlebells back to the starting position.
  4. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Dumbbell Cuban Press V. 2

5. Dumbbell Cuban Press V. 2

99.4% Match
Delts Dumbbell Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding a dumbbell in each hand at shoulder height with your palms facing down.
  2. Keeping your core engaged and your back straight, press the dumbbells straight up overhead until your arms are fully extended.
  3. Rotate your wrists so that your palms are facing forward.
  4. Lower the dumbbells back down to shoulder height, rotating your wrists back to the starting position.
  5. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Standing Palms-In Dumbbell Press

6. Standing Palms-In Dumbbell Press

99.4% Match
Delts Dumbbell Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Start by having a dumbbell in each hand with your arm fully extended to the side using a neutral grip. Your feet should be shoulder width apart from each other. Now slowly lift the dumbbells up until you create a 90 degree angle with your arms. Note: Your forearms should be perpendicular to the floor. This the starting position.
  2. Continue to maintain a neutral grip throughout the entire exercise. Slowly lift the dumbbells up until your arms are fully extended.
  3. While inhaling lower the weights down until your arm is at a 90 degree angle again.
  4. Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.
Dumbbell Scott Press

7. Dumbbell Scott Press

96% Match
Delts Dumbbell Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Sit on a bench with a dumbbell in each hand, palms facing forward.
  2. Raise the dumbbells to shoulder height, with your elbows bent and palms facing forward.
  3. Press the dumbbells upward until your arms are fully extended.
  4. Pause for a moment at the top, then slowly lower the dumbbells back to the starting position.
  5. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Anti-Gravity Press

8. Anti-Gravity Press

96% Match
Delts Barbell Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Place a bar on the ground behind the head of an incline bench.
  2. Lay on the bench face down. With a pronated grip, pick the barbell up from the floor. Flex the elbows, performing a reverse curl to bring the bar near your chest. This will be your starting position.
  3. To begin, press the barbell out in front of your head by extending your elbows. Keep your arms parallel to the ground throughout the movement.
  4. Return to the starting position and repeat to complete the set.
Barbell Shoulder Press

9. Barbell Shoulder Press

96% Match
Delts Barbell Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Sit on a bench with back support in a squat rack. Position a barbell at a height that is just above your head. Grab the barbell with a pronated grip (palms facing forward).
  2. Once you pick up the barbell with the correct grip width, lift the bar up over your head by locking your arms. Hold at about shoulder level and slightly in front of your head. This is your starting position.
  3. Lower the bar down to the shoulders slowly as you inhale.
  4. Lift the bar back up to the starting position as you exhale.
  5. Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.
Barbell Standing Close Grip Military Press

10. Barbell Standing Close Grip Military Press

96% Match
Delts Barbell Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold the barbell with an overhand grip, hands slightly closer than shoulder-width apart.
  2. Lift the barbell to shoulder height, keeping your elbows close to your body.
  3. Press the barbell overhead, extending your arms fully.
  4. Lower the barbell back to shoulder height.
  5. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Why You Might Need a Dumbbell Arnold Press Alternative

The Dumbbell Arnold Press asks you to start with palms facing your body and turn to palms forward as you press, and that turn is the first thing to change when it feels awkward under load, when the bench is taken, or when a kettlebell or a barbell is what you actually have instead. Each of these presses still trains your delts and triceps through an overhead push. Some keep the same dumbbells and drop the twist, some swap in a kettlebell instead, and others load a barbell so you can add weight in smaller jumps than a pair of dumbbells allows. A few move the press from seated to standing, trading the back support for a lift you can do anywhere you can stand and hold weight overhead.

How to Choose the Right Substitute

If you already own dumbbells and just want to drop the rotating grip, the Dumbbell Shoulder Press and the Dumbbell Scott Press both press from the same seated position with a hand position that stays fixed the whole way up. A kettlebell in each hand does the same job through the Kettlebell Two Arm Military Press, and a loaded bar moves the same push into the Barbell Shoulder Press or the Barbell Standing Wide Military Press once you want more weight than a pair of dumbbells can offer. Standing rather than sitting changes the base you press from: the Standing Dumbbell Press and the Standing Palms-in Dumbbell Press ask your trunk to hold you steady without a bench behind you.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I do the Dumbbell Arnold Press without a bench?

Not as written, since the Dumbbell Arnold Press starts seated on a bench with back support, but two standing presses cover the same overhead push with the same dumbbells: the Standing Dumbbell Press holds your palms forward with elbows out, and the Standing Palms-in Dumbbell Press keeps a neutral grip the whole way, so you lose the back support and the rotating grip while keeping the press.

What can I use instead of dumbbells for this press?

A kettlebell or a barbell. The Kettlebell Two Arm Military Press holds a kettlebell in each hand for the same overhead push, and the Barbell Shoulder Press or the Barbell Standing Wide Military Press load a bar instead, which makes it easier to add small amounts of weight as you get stronger.

How do I press with a grip that does not rotate?

Pick a press that starts and finishes in the same hand position. The Dumbbell Shoulder Press and the Dumbbell Scott Press both keep your palms facing forward for the whole lift with the same dumbbells you already use for the Dumbbell Arnold Press, so nothing else about the setup changes.

Which alternative lets me add the most weight over time?

A barbell. The Barbell Shoulder Press and the Barbell Standing Wide Military Press let you load a bar with small plates instead of jumping between dumbbell pairs, so you can raise the weight in smaller steps once dumbbells stop being enough.

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