# Shoulder exercise: the arnie!



## dingosteve (Apr 26, 2009)

now i dunno if my mate is jus pulling my leg but we were in works gym and he showed me this exercise he says is called the Arnie, now at first i was like yea right lol the arnie thought he was taking **** but we done 4 sets of em and they have really hit the spot. Take dumbbells hold to chest , palms face chest then raise up turning palm away from you.

They work pretty good i found, anyway , you heard of this?


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## GunnaGetBig (Dec 14, 2008)

It's called the Arnold Press. Never tried them but it's shoulders tonight so maybe.....


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## Heineken (Feb 6, 2009)

He's talking about the Arnold Press, I've tried them, didn't really like them tbh


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## 5urfinpaul (Apr 5, 2009)

dingosteve said:


> now i dunno if my mate is jus pulling my leg but we were in works gym and he showed me this exercise he says is called the Arnie, now at first i was like yea right lol the arnie thought he was taking **** but we done 4 sets of em and they have really hit the spot. Take dumbbells hold to chest , palms face chest then raise up turning palm away from you.
> 
> They work pretty good i found, anyway , you heard of this?


They are called "Arnold Press" (I think), I do them in my shoulder routine too!


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## solidcecil (Mar 8, 2012)

yeah iv never tried them but might have a go today. im guessing you cant go as heavy as normal db shoulder press.


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## IanStu (Apr 12, 2009)

I sorta do that but I don't hold the dumbells to my chest, I always rotate the weights as I raise them though...I find it a very effective movement!


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## 5urfinpaul (Apr 5, 2009)

solidcecil said:


> yeah iv never tried them but might have a go today. *im guessing you cant go as heavy as normal db shoulder press*.


No, you will have to reduce the weight a bit, it's alot harder than a normal shoulder press... I found out the hard way!! haha


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## dingosteve (Apr 26, 2009)

oh well maybe i should more faith in my mates !


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## solidcecil (Mar 8, 2012)

dingosteve said:


> oh well maybe i should more faith in my mates !


haha would still keep a eye out because i seen some people doing some fcuked up exersises that their mates have told them to do!:laugh:


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## BabyYoYo (Mar 7, 2008)

I love arnie presses! Really rate them as a shoulder exercise! I find I can go heavier on these than standard presses... god knows why!


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## UKWolverine (Apr 25, 2009)

Arnold Presses are great, supersetted with a shoulder blaster and you wont be able to lift your arms! Or perhaps I'm just still a bloody wimp


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## babyshins (Nov 10, 2008)

I occasionally use the arnold press following my heavy DB's to finnish the boulders off.

I don't feels that they should replace standard shouldr presses.


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## Goose (Jan 29, 2009)

What benefit do you guys find on the shoulders from doing the arnold press as opposed to the standard dumbell press?


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## dingosteve (Apr 26, 2009)

jus felt like a fuller delt workout for me, i normally do

4 sets of fronts

4 sets of later raises

now..4 sets of arnies

4 sets of military presses

by this point i want a new set of shoulders!

Try em out mate, i usually swap and change things and this was a nice change as to standard dumbell presses


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## Goose (Jan 29, 2009)

Hmm well I only do.

warm up

4 sets military press or db press - 15-12(warmup), 10, 6, 2-4, 8reps

4 sets lat raises and leave it at that - 10-12 reps

And their fcuked from that.


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## frowningbudda (Dec 16, 2008)

I love arnold presses, superset them with rear delt raises.

I started doing them after dislocating my shoulder as BB was out of the question.

I feel I get a better ROM outta them - just make sure to give a little sqeeze at the top of the motion


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## mbonheur (May 28, 2009)

dingosteve said:


> jus felt like a fuller delt workout for me, i normally do
> 
> 4 sets of fronts
> 
> ...


http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/DeltoidAnterior/DBArnoldPress.html

It's a good exercise, still I think 16 sets for shoulders is definately an overkill. I would reduce the number of sets, but do whatever feels good for you.


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## dingosteve (Apr 26, 2009)

mbonheur said:


> http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/DeltoidAnterior/DBArnoldPress.html
> 
> It's a good exercise, still I think 16 sets for shoulders is definately an overkill. I would reduce the number of sets, but do whatever feels good for you.


yea when i see it on screen does seem an awefull lot lol, prolly why they ache for a few good days, i tend to pick three exercises if im totally honest :whistling: !!!


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## stevep1941 (Apr 17, 2009)

I do the arnold press in my shoulder routine.

I do them after doing seated military barbell presses, and find after doing them my shoulders are blasted!!


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## pariah (May 8, 2008)

I do quite a punishing shoulder workout and always finish on the Arnold press. I find this movement to be quite tough at the end of the workout.


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## Tom1990 (Dec 21, 2008)

its good as even though its similar to standard DB shoulder press, you can get a bigger range of movement with arnold presses and target more muscles!


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## pariah (May 8, 2008)

However you cant go as heavy!


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## GunnaGetBig (Dec 14, 2008)

Can't go as heavy....Less overload = less stimulation = less growth

Am I getting something wrong here?


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## dingosteve (Apr 26, 2009)

think the range of motion gives maybe some more muscle fibres to work so maybe that adds size


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## N2GB (May 23, 2008)

I like the Arnold press,i find it hits the spot so to speak..


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## mbonheur (May 28, 2009)

GunnaGetBig said:


> Can't go as heavy....Less overload = less stimulation = less growth
> 
> Am I getting something wrong here?


Compound vs Isolation -> You can go heavy on Shoulder Presses, Arnold Press, etc., but not on eg side laterals or front raises. For strength and mass, I would say compounds alone are sufficient, but a complete training plan should include isolation exercises. Why? Google it, opinions diverge to some extent.


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## vandangos (Feb 25, 2009)

great exercise hits most of the shoulder, done them instead of shoulder press for a while but now i alternate between the to.


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## plym30 (Jul 16, 2008)

GunnaGetBig said:


> Can't go as heavy....Less overload = less stimulation = less growth
> 
> Am I getting something wrong here?


By 'not as heavy', he means not as big a weight. The amount of overload (stress) placed on the muscle can still be perceived as 'heavy' - only the poundage will be less than with the standard press.

Eg. You can go heavy on a lat raise - but the total amount of weight is less than eg a 'light' bench press - therefore not as heavy.


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## GunnaGetBig (Dec 14, 2008)

plym30 said:


> By 'not as heavy', he means not as big a weight. The amount of overload (stress) placed on the muscle can still be perceived as 'heavy' - only the poundage will be less than with the standard press.
> 
> Eg. You can go heavy on a lat raise - but the total amount of weight is less than eg a 'light' bench press - therefore not as heavy.


So basically as long as the intensity is still the same over the same rep range then it is ok


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## plym30 (Jul 16, 2008)

GunnaGetBig said:


> So basically as long as the intensity is still the same over the same rep range then it is ok


Thats it mate. As heavy as you can on any exercise, with good form, to approach your required rep range and you cant go wrong

As suggested above, I would recommend mixing things up from week to week as the your overall shoulder strength will support you on other lifts (eg. Bench press)


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## fxleisure (Apr 15, 2008)

Arnold was quoted as saying he never actually used the 'Arnold Press' in his workouts. Can't remember what publication this was in, will have to dig it out so people don't think I'm taking the ****.

The Arnold Press was introduced as a publicity stunt at the time Arnie released his 'Encyclopedia of bodybuilding' book, mainly due to the notoriety Larry Scott received for the 'Scott curl' or more commonly known as the preacher curl.

As a personal choice, I have never used it as I feel the ROM thwarts my ability to press heavier weights, opposed the the traditional DB press.

Whose going to flame me first then haha


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## dingosteve (Apr 26, 2009)

fxleisure said:


> Arnold was quoted as saying he never actually used the 'Arnold Press' in his workouts. Can't remember what publication this was in, will have to dig it out so people don't think I'm taking the ****.
> 
> The Arnold Press was introduced as a publicity stunt at the time Arnie released his 'Encyclopedia of bodybuilding' book, mainly due to the notoriety Larry Scott received for the 'Scott curl' or more commonly known as the preacher curl.
> 
> ...


wont flame but il quote from his book!



68 Arnold: The Education of a Bodybuilder
​


aware of a weak point I went all out to eliminate it. For instance,

in the beginning everybody said, "Arnold has no calves. Compared

to his thighs or arms, his calves aren't developed at all."

One look in the mirror told me they were right. I had to have

better calves. I had to train my calves every day and twice as

hard as any other muscle. That's what I did. And a year later I

had calves. Then someone said to me, "Arnold, you don't have

enough deltoids." So I trained my deltoids really hard. I developed

my own exercise called the Arnold Press, a rotating exercise

designed to work directly on the deltoid, which we will get
​
into when we talk about training

just there read it in his book! :beer:


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## fxleisure (Apr 15, 2008)

Which book was that from Steve?

I know it was only in the last few years that he actually admitted to never using it in his workouts. Obviously there will be photos of him doing it for publicity sake, however I am sure it wasn't a core part of his workout. I need to find that article I mentioned.


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## pariah (May 8, 2008)

I think regardless of Arnold used it or not, this exercise is useful. Its a tough one for definite and I do feel at the end of a shoulder workout its ideal for that xtra punishment.


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## dingosteve (Apr 26, 2009)

the book is

Arnold: The Education of a Bodybuilder, page 68

i only posted it for the reason i saw it in the book i was reading whilst skimmin forum


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## Jungle (Mar 9, 2009)

I find with the Arnold Press it hits my rear delts more


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## Bale (Dec 16, 2008)

5urfinpaul said:


> No, you will have to reduce the weight a bit, it's alot harder than a normal shoulder press... I found out the hard way!! haha


haha same! very good to hit them shoulders non the least!


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