10 Best Dumbbell Push Press Alternatives for Overhead Power

The Dumbbell Push Press pairs a short leg dip with an explosive drive that sends both dumbbells overhead. Swap to the Double Kettlebell Push Press and you keep that dip and drive: clean two kettlebells to your shoulders, dip, then reverse hard to lock them out above your head. With only one kettlebell, the One-arm Kettlebell Push Press moves that same drive to one side at a time.

Original Exercise: Dumbbell Push Press

Dumbbell Push Press
Primary Muscle
Delts
Equipment
Dumbbell
Difficulty
Intermediate
Type
Compound
Secondary Muscles: Triceps, Core
How to Perform Dumbbell Push Press
  1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding a dumbbell in each hand at shoulder level.
  2. Bend your knees slightly and dip your body down, then explosively extend your legs and press the dumbbells overhead.
  3. Lock out your arms at the top of the movement, then lower the dumbbells back to shoulder level.
  4. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Ranked Dumbbell Push Press Alternatives

Best Match
Double Kettlebell Push Press

1. Double Kettlebell Push Press

99.4% Match
Delts Kettlebell Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Clean two kettlebells to your shoulders.
  2. Squat down a few inches and reverse the motion rapidly. Use the momentum from the legs to drive the kettlebells overhead.
  3. Once the kettlebells are locked out, lower the kettlebells to your shoulders and repeat.
Ez Barbell Anti Gravity Press

2. Ez Barbell Anti Gravity Press

95.4% Match
Delts Ez-barbell Advanced Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Start by standing with your feet shoulder-width apart and holding the ez barbell with an overhand grip.
  2. Raise the barbell to shoulder height, keeping your elbows slightly bent and your palms facing forward.
  3. Press the barbell overhead, extending your arms fully.
  4. Lower the barbell back to shoulder height and repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Bradford/Rocky Presses

3. Bradford/Rocky Presses

95.2% Match
Delts Barbell Advanced Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Sit on a Military Press Bench with a bar at shoulder level with a pronated grip (palms facing forward). Tip: Your grip should be wider than shoulder width and it should create a 90-degree angle between the forearm and the upper arm as the barbell goes down. This is your starting position.
  2. Once you pick up the barbell with the correct grip, lift the bar up over your head by locking your arms.
  3. Now lower the bar down to the back of the head slowly as you inhale.
  4. Lift the bar back up to the starting position as you exhale.
  5. Lower the bar down to the starting position slowly as you inhale. This is one repetition.
Clean And Press

4. Clean And Press

95.1% Match
Delts Barbell Advanced Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Assume a shoulder-width stance, with knees inside the arms. Now while keeping the back flat, bend at the knees and hips so that you can grab the bar with the arms fully extended and a pronated grip that is slightly wider than shoulder width. Point the elbows out to sides. The bar should be close to the shins. Position the shoulders over or slightly ahead of the bar. Establish a flat back posture. This will be your starting position.
  2. Begin to pull the bar by extending the knees. Move your hips forward and raise the shoulders at the same rate while keeping the angle of the back constant; continue to lift the bar straight up while keeping it close to your body.
  3. As the bar passes the knee, extend at the ankles, knees, and hips forcefully, similar to a jumping motion. As you do so, continue to guide the bar with your hands, shrugging your shoulders and using the momentum from your movement to pull the bar as high as possible. The bar should travel close to your body, and you should keep your elbows out.
  4. At maximum elevation, your feet should clear the floor and you should start to pull yourself under the bar. The mechanics of this could change slightly, depending on the weight used. You should descend into a squatting position as you pull yourself under the bar.
  5. As the bar hits terminal height, rotate your elbows around and under the bar. Rack the bar across the front of the shoulders while keeping the torso erect and flexing the hips and knees to absorb the weight of the bar.
Push Press

5. Push Press

92% Match
Delts Barbell Intermediate Isolation
Standing Two-Arm Overhead Throw

6. Standing Two-Arm Overhead Throw

92% Match
Delts Medicine-ball Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart holding a medicine ball in both hands. To begin, reach the medicine ball deep behind your head as you bend the knees slightly and lean back.
  2. Violently throw the ball forward, flexing at the hip and using your whole body to complete the movement.
  3. The medicine ball can be thrown to a partner or to a wall, receiving it as it bounces back.
One-Arm Kettlebell Para Press

7. One-Arm Kettlebell Para Press

91.4% Match
Delts Kettlebell Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Clean a kettlebell to your shoulder. Clean the kettlebell to your shoulder by extending through the legs and hips as you pull the kettlebell towards your shoulder. Rotate your wrist as you do so, so that the palm faces forward. This will be your starting position.
  2. Hold the kettlebell with the elbow out to the side, and press it up and out until it is locked out overhead.
  3. Lower the kettlebell back to your shoulder under control and repeat. Make sure to contract your lat, butt, and stomach forcefully for added stability and strength.
One-Arm Kettlebell Push Press

8. One-Arm Kettlebell Push Press

91.4% Match
Delts Kettlebell Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Hold a kettlebell by the handle. Clean the kettlebell to your shoulder by extending through the legs and hips as you pull the kettlebell towards your shoulder. Rotate your wrist as you do so, so that the palm faces forward. This will be your starting position.
  2. Dip your body by bending the knees, keeping your torso upright.
  3. Immediately reverse direction, driving through the heels, in essence jumping to create momentum. As you do so, press the kettlebell overhead to lockout by extending the arms, using your body's momentum to move the weight. Lower the weight to perform the next repetition.
Push Press - Behind The Neck

9. Push Press - Behind The Neck

90.7% Match
Delts Barbell Advanced Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Standing with the weight racked on the back of the shoulders, begin with the dip. With your feet directly under your hips, flex the knees without moving the hips backward. Go down only slightly, and reverse direction as powerfully as possible. Drive through the heels create as much speed and force as possible, moving the bar in a vertical path.
  2. Using the momentum generated, finish pressing the weight overhead be extending through the arms.
  3. Return to the starting position, using your legs to absorb the impact.
Dumbbell Cuban Press V. 2

10. Dumbbell Cuban Press V. 2

90% 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.

Why You Might Need a Dumbbell Push Press Alternative

You reach for a swap when the dumbbells are taken, your gym only stocks kettlebells or a barbell, or you train at home with kettlebells instead of a full dumbbell run. The Dumbbell Push Press needs a pair of dumbbells and room to dip and drive, so a swap has to match that same effort. Kettlebells stand in cleanly: both the Double Kettlebell Push Press and the One-arm Kettlebell Push Press start with a clean to the shoulder, then dip and drive the weight overhead. A barbell or EZ bar lets both hands share one load instead, while the Standing Two-arm Overhead Throw is a different effort altogether: you take a medicine ball behind your head, lean back, then throw it forward at a wall or a partner, so it trains explosive work without ever pressing a weight overhead.

How to Choose the Right Substitute

The Double Kettlebell Push Press is closest: clean to your shoulders, dip and drive send the weight overhead. With one kettlebell, the One-arm Kettlebell Push Press moves the drive to one side, while a barbell lets you load more weight. Bradford/rocky Presses swaps in a seated bar press that lowers behind your head between reps instead of a leg-driven lockout, so save it until you already press overhead confidently, while the EZ Barbell Anti Gravity Press is a strict standing press with no leg drive, so it trains the lockout without the dip. If you want a throw rather than a press, the Standing Two-arm Overhead Throw has you lean back with a medicine ball behind your head and hurl it forward into a wall or to a partner; it is explosive, but it is not a Push Press.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I do the Dumbbell Push Press at home?

Yes, with a pair of dumbbells, since the lift needs nothing else; with only kettlebells, you can still do the lift. The Double Kettlebell Push Press keeps the same dip and leg drive, just cleaning two kettlebells to your shoulders first. The Dumbbell Cuban Press keeps your dumbbells, but it is a strict press with a wrist turn at the top and no leg dip, training the lockout rather than the drive.

Which alternative uses the same movement as the Dumbbell Push Press?

The Double Kettlebell Push Press is the nearest of these. You clean two kettlebells to your shoulders, dip your knees, then reverse hard to send them overhead, the same rhythm the dumbbell version trains, just with a different tool in your hands. The One-arm Kettlebell Push Press keeps that same clean-dip-drive but moves it to one side, which also asks more of your core.

Which alternative works one arm at a time?

The One-arm Kettlebell Push Press dips and drives a single kettlebell overhead per side, the same leg-driven motion as the two-handed versions. The One-arm Kettlebell Para Press also loads one side, but you hold the elbow out and press the kettlebell up and out with no leg dip, so it is a strict single-arm press rather than a driven one. Either way, your core has to stop you leaning toward the working side.

Which alternative asks for the most overhead experience?

Clean And Press asks the most: you pull the bar off the floor into a full clean before you ever press it overhead, so add it once you already own the lockout. Bradford/rocky Presses also takes practice, since you press the bar up, then lower it behind your head under control before pressing again. Start with the Double Kettlebell Push Press or the One-arm Kettlebell Push Press instead, since both keep the same dip-and-drive rhythm as the Dumbbell Push Press.

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