No Back Support Dumbbell Arnold Press

How to do the No Back Support Dumbbell Arnold Press

1. 1Sit on a bench with back support and hold a dumbbell in each hand at shoulder level, palms facing your body and elbows bent.
2. 2Press the dumbbells upward until your arms are fully extended and your palms are facing forward.
3. 3Rotate your wrists as you lift, so that your palms end up facing forward at the top of the movement.
4. 4Pause for a moment at the top, then slowly lower the dumbbells back to the starting position.
5. 5Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Tip: Squeeze the bar hard and keep the wrists straight over the elbows through the whole rep.

Muscles worked

Common mistakes

• Elbows flaring wide — on horizontal presses keep the elbows at roughly 45 degrees from the torso; pressing overhead, keep them under the weight instead.
• Losing the shoulder blade position — on bench-style presses set the shoulder blades back and down and keep them there; overhead, let the shoulder blades rotate up naturally with the arms.
• Bouncing or rushing the bottom — control the bar down and pause for a beat before driving up, especially on decline and close grip variations.
• Not committing to a variation — Bradford presses, skull presses and the like are hybrids; pick a fixed range and stick with it for the whole set.

Where it fits in a workout

Presses are the main movement in a push session and should go first or second. Superset them with a row or pulldown for a push and pull pair.

How many sets, how heavy and how hard: see what the ACSM position stands support.

Variations and alternatives

When to talk to someone

• Chest discomfort, feeling faint or lightheaded, or trouble breathing during or after exercise can be signs of a heart attack. In the US, call 911 right away; elsewhere, call your local emergency number.
• Heart, metabolic or kidney disease, or symptoms like these when you are active: talk to your doctor before you start or step up training.
• Pregnant: ask your obstetric care provider which exercise suits you.

More exercises

• All shoulders exercises
• All dumbbell exercises
• Dumbbell shoulders exercises
• Decline Wide Grip Barbell Bench Press
• Barbell Bradford Press
• Seated Barbell Bradford Press
• Decline Barbell Close Grip to Skull Press
• Single Arm Barbell Floor Press
• Barbell Floor Press with Leg Twist

Sources

1. ACSM position stand on exercise quantity and quality (Garber et al., 2011)
2. ACSM preparticipation health screening (Riebe et al., 2015)
3. ACOG Committee Opinion No. 804 on exercise in pregnancy (2020)
4. CDC: About Heart Attack Symptoms, Risk, and Recovery (2024)

Sources checked on October 17, 2026. Full citations are in the exercise library.