Seated Alternating Dumbbell Shoulder Press

The alternating dumbbell shoulder press is a seated overhead press in which you drive one dumbbell up at a time while the other waits at shoulder height. Pressing one arm per rep cuts the load your spine has to brace against roughly in half, so lifters with cranky lower backs often tolerate it better than a strict barbell press. It also exposes side-to-side strength gaps: if your left arm slows down three reps before your right, you have found something a two-arm press was hiding. The unsupported side still works hard, because your trunk has to resist the sideways pull of the dumbbell waiting at your shoulder. Most lifters use about 70 percent of the weight they would press with both arms at once, and sets of eight to ten per side work well for hypertrophy. Keep the back of the bench upright and the feet planted throughout.