equipment

Dumbbell, Bench

sets

3

reps

10-12

rest

60 sec

1. Sit on a bench with back support, or stand tall.
2. Hold a single dumbbell with both hands, cupping the top end.
3. Press it overhead until your arms are extended.
4. Tuck your elbows in so they point forward, not out to the sides.
5. Brace your midsection and keep your ribs down.

1. Lower the dumbbell behind your head by bending your elbows.
2. Keep your upper arms still and pointing upward.
3. Continue until you feel a stretch in your triceps.
4. Extend your elbows to press the dumbbell back overhead.
5. Stop just short of a hard lockout, then repeat.

Inhale as you lower the dumbbell behind your head, exhale as you press it back up.

• Keep your elbows pointing forward and close together.
• Keep your upper arms vertical throughout.
• Control the lowering phase — this is a stretched position under load.
• Keep your ribs down instead of arching the lower back.
• Start light until the overhead position feels stable.

• Letting the elbows flare out wide.
• Arching the lower back to press the weight up.
• Letting the upper arms drop forward as the set goes on.
• Dropping quickly into the bottom stretch.
• Choosing a dumbbell too heavy to control behind the head.

From arms extended overhead down to a comfortable triceps stretch behind the head. Let control, not maximum depth, set the bottom.