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Exercises

Arnold press alternatives: shoulder presses without the twist

Published October 23, 2026

The best Arnold press alternative is the regular dumbbell shoulder press: same dumbbells, same muscles, and without the twist you can press heavier. If you liked the Arnold's palms-in start, the neutral-grip dumbbell press keeps it all the way up; if the rotation bothers your shoulder, the landmine press keeps your arm in front of you. At home, a kettlebell press turns your palm as it rises, and pike push-ups work with no equipment.

What a Arnold press alternative has to replace

The Arnold press trains your front delts and triceps, with your side delts helping as your elbows open out. It starts with your palms facing you, like the top of a curl, and turns them forward as you press, so your front delts work through a longer range than in a regular press. The turn also means you use less weight.

A replacement keeps the overhead press and, ideally, the deep palms-in bottom position.

How to do the Arnold press

Dumbbells: the closest swaps

Keep the dumbbells and change only the grip or the turn. The regular press goes heavier, the neutral grip keeps the palms-in start.

Closest swap, heavier

Dumbbell Shoulder Press

Shoulders

The regular dumbbell press trains the same muscles with no rotation, so you can use a heavier pair and add weight more often. Sit against an upright bench and lower to ear height.

How to do it

  1. Set a bench upright or one notch back from vertical, sit with your feet flat, and rest a dumbbell on each thigh.
  2. Kick one knee up at a time to bring the dumbbells to shoulder height, then set your back against the pad.
  3. Turn your elbows slightly forward so they sit a little in front of your torso, palms facing forward or angled in.
  4. Drive both weights overhead on a slight inward arc until your elbows are straight, keeping your ribs down and your back on the pad.
  5. Lower slowly until the dumbbells are around ear height or a bit below, then press again.

Cues

  • Ribs down, back on the pad
  • Elbows a little forward
  • Press up and slightly in

Common mistakes

  • Arching your lower back off the pad to finish reps: that turns it into an incline press, so lighten the weight and keep your ribs stacked over your hips.
  • Flaring the elbows straight out at shoulder height: bring them a little forward so the shoulder joint stays comfortable at the bottom.
  • Stopping each rep well above your ears: lower to around ear height so the delts work through a full range.
Build a session with Dumbbell Shoulder Press

Keeps the palms-in position

Neutral-Grip Dumbbell Shoulder Press

Shoulders

Palms face each other the whole way, close to the Arnold's start, and your elbows stay forward. A good pick if the turn is the part you dislike.

How to do it

  1. Sit against an upright bench with a dumbbell at each shoulder, palms turned in.
  2. Keep your elbows pointing slightly forward rather than straight out to the side.
  3. Press up to straight elbows.
  4. Lower under control to the starting point beside your shoulders.

Cues

  • Palms in
  • Elbows forward
  • Stack wrists over elbows

Common mistakes

  • Letting the dumbbells drift wide at the top: keep them right above your shoulders.
  • Rushing the bottom: the hardest part of the rep is the first few inches out of it.
Build a session with Neutral-Grip Dumbbell Shoulder Press

One arm at a time

Single-Arm Dumbbell Shoulder Press

Shoulders

Pressing one dumbbell at a time trains each side alone, seated with your back on the pad. You can keep a small Arnold-style turn on each rep.

How to do it

  1. Sit on an upright bench with your back on the pad and one dumbbell at shoulder height.
  2. Rest your free hand on your thigh and plant your feet.
  3. Press the dumbbell straight up to a locked elbow.
  4. Lower it to the shoulder, finish the set, then switch arms.

Cues

  • Stay level
  • Back on the pad
  • Even reps both sides

Common mistakes

  • Leaning toward the free side to get the weight up: if your torso tilts, the dumbbell is too heavy.
  • Arching off the backrest: keep your ribs down and your back on the pad.
  • Doing more reps on the strong side: match the weaker arm's count.
Build a session with Single-Arm Dumbbell Shoulder Press

Keeps a rotation

Dumbbell Cuban Press

Shoulders

Elbows up, forearms rotate up, then press: a light movement that trains the back of your shoulder along with the press. It replaces the Arnold's twist, not its load.

How to do it

  1. Stand with a light dumbbell in each hand resting on your thighs.
  2. Pull your elbows up and out to shoulder height, with your forearms hanging down.
  3. Rotate your forearms up until they point at the ceiling, keeping your elbows where they are.
  4. Press the dumbbells overhead, then reverse each step back to the start.

Cues

  • Elbows, rotate, press
  • Light dumbbells
  • Smooth through each step

Common mistakes

  • Using shrug weights: start with the lightest dumbbells you have.
  • Letting the elbows drop as you rotate: keep them at shoulder height until the press.
Build a session with Dumbbell Cuban Press

Kettlebell, machine and barbell

No dumbbells, or want more load: a kettlebell keeps a turn, the machine and barbell move the most weight.

Kettlebell swap with a turn

Kettlebell Overhead Press

Shoulders

The bell starts with your palm facing in and turns forward as it passes your head, a built-in version of the Arnold's rotation. One arm, standing.

How to do it

  1. Hold the bell in the rack at your shoulder, resting on the back of your forearm, palm facing in, elbow tucked to your ribs.
  2. Brace your trunk and let your free arm hang by your side.
  3. Press straight up, rotating your palm to face forward as the bell passes your head, until your arm locks out beside your ear.
  4. Lower under control back to the rack. Finish all reps, then switch arms.

Cues

  • Wrist straight, knuckles to the ceiling
  • Ribs down, don't lean back
  • Lock out beside your ear, not in front of it

Common mistakes

  • Bending the wrist back under the bell: grip the handle deep in the palm, not in the fingers.
  • Dipping your legs to start the press: that is a push press. Keep your knees locked and count only strict reps.
Build a session with Kettlebell Overhead Press

Machine swap

Machine Shoulder Press

Shoulders

The backrest and fixed path let you push your shoulders close to failure without balance. Use it for higher reps after a heavy dumbbell press.

How to do it

  1. Set the seat so the handles start at about shoulder height.
  2. Sit with your back flat against the pad, feet planted, and grip the handles.
  3. Press up until your arms are nearly straight overhead.
  4. Lower the handles back to shoulder height under control and press again.

Cues

  • Back stays on the pad
  • Press up, not forward
  • Control the way down

Common mistakes

  • Arching hard off the backrest to finish a rep: lighten the stack and keep your ribs down.
  • Cutting the rep short at the top: finish each press with your arms almost fully straight.
  • Letting the stack rest between reps: stop the handles just above it so your shoulders stay loaded.
Build a session with Machine Shoulder Press

Barbell swap

Barbell Overhead Press

Shoulders

Both arms on one bar lets you press the most weight. It needs a rack and more shoulder range than the Arnold press.

How to do it

  1. Set the bar in a rack at collarbone height and grip it just outside your shoulders, wrists stacked over your elbows.
  2. Unrack it onto your upper chest, take one step back and set your feet about hip width apart.
  3. Squeeze your glutes, brace your abs so your ribs stay down, and take a big breath.
  4. Press straight up, pulling your chin back so the bar clears your face.
  5. Once the bar passes your forehead, push your head through until the bar sits over the middle of your foot with your arms locked.
  6. Lower it along the same line to your upper chest and re-brace before the next rep.

Cues

  • Glutes tight, ribs down
  • Chin back, bar straight up
  • Head through at the top

Common mistakes

  • Leaning back to finish reps, which turns the lift into an incline press: lower the weight until your torso stays vertical for the whole set.
  • Pressing the bar forward around your face: pull your chin back and keep the bar close enough to brush your nose.
  • Stopping short of lockout: finish every rep with the bar over your mid-foot and your arms straight, or the rep doesn't count in your log.
Build a session with Barbell Overhead Press

When the twist bothers your shoulder

The landmine press keeps your arm in front of your body with no rotation at all.

Best for a sore shoulder

Landmine Press

Shoulders

The bar pivots from the floor, so you press up and forward with both hands and no twist. It keeps your arm out of the fully overhead position as well.

How to do it

  1. Wedge one end of an empty barbell into a landmine or a corner, and load the free end with plates.
  2. Stand facing the loaded end, feet about shoulder width, and lift the end of the bar to your upper chest.
  3. Wrap both hands around the sleeve end, elbows under the bar and close to your ribs.
  4. Squeeze your glutes and keep your ribs down, then press the bar up and forward along its arc until your arms are straight.
  5. Let your shoulder blades reach forward at the top, then lower under control until the bar is back at your chest.

Cues

  • Both hands on the sleeve
  • Press where the bar wants to go
  • Ribs down, glutes tight

Common mistakes

  • Leaning back to finish the rep: if your chest tips back as the set goes on, take a plate off and keep your ribs stacked over your hips.
  • Pushing straight up against the arc: the bar is fixed at the floor, so aim up and forward and let it travel its own path.
  • Elbows flaring out wide: keep them under the bar so the press stays in line with your shoulders.
Build a session with Landmine Press

At home: band and bodyweight

A band for one-arm presses, or your bodyweight with your hips raised.

Band swap

Band Overhead Press

Shoulders

Stand on one end and press one arm at a time. Hardest at the top, so it suits high reps at home or while traveling.

How to do it

  1. Stand on one end of a handled band with your right foot and hold the handle at your right shoulder.
  2. Brace your stomach and squeeze your glutes.
  3. Press the handle straight up until your arm is nearly straight.
  4. Lower it slowly to your shoulder. Do all reps, then switch.

Cues

  • Ribs down
  • Press straight up
  • Shoulder finishes by your ear

Common mistakes

  • Leaning away from the working arm: brace harder or use a lighter band.
  • Pressing out in front: end with your arm over your shoulder, not your toes.
Build a session with Band Overhead Press

Best swap with no equipment

Pike Push-Up

Shoulders

Hips high and head toward the floor makes your bodyweight a shoulder press. Raise your feet on a step as you get stronger.

How to do it

  1. Start in a push-up position with your hands a bit wider than your shoulders and fingers spread.
  2. Walk your feet toward your hands and raise your hips until your body forms an upside-down V, with your weight leaning over your hands.
  3. Bend your elbows and lower the top of your head toward a point a few inches in front of your hands, so your head and hands form a triangle.
  4. Bend your elbows out to the sides and stop when your head lightly touches the floor or just above it.
  5. Press the floor away and straighten your arms, pushing your hips back up to the V.

Cues

  • Hips stay high
  • Head forward of hands
  • Push the floor away

Common mistakes

  • Letting the hips drop as you lower: that turns it back into a regular push-up; keep the hips stacked over your shoulders as much as you can.
  • Lowering your head straight between your hands: aim slightly forward so your forearms stay close to vertical.
  • Cutting the range short: lower until your head is near the floor, using a yoga block or book as a target if you need one.
Build a session with Pike Push-Up

To pair with them

The sessions below add side and rear delt work alongside the press.

Side delts, to pair

Dumbbell Lateral Raise

Shoulders

The Arnold's open elbows gave your side delts some work. A raise after your press covers them directly.

How to do it

  1. Pick light dumbbells you can raise for 12 clean reps, and stand with your feet hip width apart, the weights hanging by your thighs.
  2. Lean your chest forward a few degrees, pull your shoulders down away from your ears and soften your elbows.
  3. Sweep the weights out and slightly forward, leading with your elbows, until your upper arms are level with your shoulders.
  4. Hold that top position for a beat, then take two to three seconds to lower until the dumbbells are a hand's width from your thighs.
  5. Start the next rep from there without resting at the bottom or bouncing out of it.

Cues

  • Elbows lead, hands follow
  • Shoulders down, neck long
  • Push the weights out, not up

Common mistakes

  • Shrugging the weight up: if your shoulders rise toward your ears, drop to lighter dumbbells and stop each rep where your upper arm is level.
  • Swinging the torso to start each rep: brace, stand still and keep the first inch of the lift as slow as the rest.
  • Bending the elbows more and more as the set goes on: set the bend on rep one and keep it, or the lever shortens and the set gets easier without you noticing.
Build a session with Dumbbell Lateral Raise

Rear delts, to pair

Face Pull

Shoulders, Upper Back

Balances the pressing with the back of your shoulder.

How to do it

  1. Set the pulley at or just above head height and attach a rope. Grab it with your thumbs pointing back toward you.
  2. Step back until your arms are straight and the stack lifts, then stagger your feet or sit on a bench so you can lean back slightly without swaying.
  3. Pull the middle of the rope toward your forehead by driving your elbows out and back, keeping them at shoulder height or higher.
  4. As the rope reaches your face, pull the ends apart and rotate your hands back until your fists sit beside your ears, like a double-biceps pose.
  5. Hold that position for a beat, then let your arms straighten under control until your shoulder blades slide forward again.

Cues

  • Elbows high, hands finish behind them
  • Pull the rope apart, not just back
  • Reach forward at the start of every rep

Common mistakes

  • Loading it like a row and leaning back to move the stack: drop the weight until you can hold the end position for a second without your torso rocking.
  • Letting the elbows drop below your shoulders: the pull turns into a row and your lats and biceps take the work. Raise the pulley or lighten the load.
  • Stopping when the rope touches your face: the outward rotation at the end is what the face pull adds, so finish with your fists beside your ears.
Build a session with Face Pull

Rear delts with dumbbells, to pair

Dumbbell Rear Delt Fly

Shoulders

The face pull's job with a pair of light dumbbells.

How to do it

  1. Sit on the end of a bench, feet together and planted, with a light dumbbell in each hand.
  2. Fold forward from the hips until your chest nearly touches your knees, and let the weights hang below your legs, palms turned in.
  3. Bend your elbows a little and lock that angle in for the whole set.
  4. Open your arms out and up in a wide arc, elbows leading, and stop when your upper arms line up with your back.
  5. Pause for a beat at the top, then take two to three seconds to bring them back down until your arms hang straight again.

Cues

  • Arms wide, like spreading wings
  • Reach for the walls, not the ceiling
  • Chest stays on your knees

Common mistakes

  • Sitting up as the weights rise: if your chest leaves your knees to finish the rep, drop to lighter dumbbells and stop where your upper arms reach your back.
  • Turning the fly into a row: if your elbows bend more and drift toward your ribs, your lats take over; keep the same small elbow bend from the first rep to the last.
  • Shrugging your shoulders toward your ears at the top: keep your neck long and think about reaching your hands toward the walls rather than the ceiling.
Build a session with Dumbbell Rear Delt Fly

Example sessions without the Arnold press

Session 1

Gym, want to press heavier

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets26 a week
  • Per workout~30 min
  • EquipmentDumbbells, Shoulder Press, Adjustable Cable

You train in a gym and want a press you can load further than the Arnold allows.

The regular dumbbell press takes the Arnold's place for heavier, lower-rep sets, the machine press adds higher-rep volume, and lateral raises and face pulls train the side and back of your shoulder. 13 working sets.

Shoulders
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Dumbbell Shoulder Press1 warm-up set first 4 × 6–10 2 2:30 min
Machine Shoulder Press 3 × 10–15 1 90 s
Dumbbell Lateral Raise 3 × 12–20 1 1 min
Face Pull 3 × 12–15 1 1 min
How to run it
Once or twice a week, at least two days apart.
How to progress
When every dumbbell press set reaches 10 reps at 2 reps in reserve, move up one pair. On the rest, reach the top of the range first, then add weight.
Open in the session builder

Session 2

The twist bothers your shoulder

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets22 a week
  • Per workout~25 min
  • EquipmentDumbbells, Landmine

The rotation in the Arnold press clicks or aches, but straight pressing is mostly fine.

The neutral-grip press keeps the palms-in position without any turn, the landmine press adds two-hand pressing on a forward arc, and rear delt flyes and a few light raises train the rest of the shoulder. 11 working sets.

Shoulders
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Neutral-Grip Dumbbell Shoulder Press1 warm-up set first 3 × 8–12 2 2 min
Landmine Press 3 × 8–12 2 90 s
Dumbbell Rear Delt Fly 3 × 15–20 1 1 min
Dumbbell Lateral Raise 2 × 12–20 2 1 min
How to run it
Once or twice a week. Stop each set a rep early if anything aches.
How to progress
Add reps until every set reaches the top of its range, then move up the smallest step.
Open in the session builder

Session 3

Home, one kettlebell and a band

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets20 a week
  • Per workout~25 min
  • EquipmentKettlebells, Resistance Bands

You train at home with a single kettlebell, a band and your bodyweight.

The kettlebell press keeps a turn as the bell passes your head, pike push-ups add bodyweight pressing, and a one-arm band press finishes with high reps. 10 working sets.

Shoulders
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Kettlebell Overhead Press1 warm-up set firstSets are per arm. 4 × 6–10 2 90 s
Pike Push-Up 3 × 8–15 1 75 s
Band Overhead PressSets are per arm. 3 × 15–20 1 45 s
How to run it
Twice a week. With one bell, finish all reps on your weaker arm first, then match them on the other.
How to progress
Add reps until each range is maxed out on every set. For a heavier kettlebell, start at the bottom of the range again; for pike push-ups, raise your feet onto a step.
Open in the session builder

Make it fit you

Questions

What is better, the Arnold press or the shoulder press?

Neither is better for everyone. The regular shoulder press lets you use more weight; the Arnold press works your front delts through a longer range with less weight. Pick the one you can progress on without pain.

What is the most effective shoulder press?

The one you can load heavier over time with good form. For most people that is a seated dumbbell press or a barbell overhead press.

What machine is equivalent to a dumbbell shoulder press?

The shoulder press machine, or a Smith machine with an upright bench. Both keep your back supported and take the balance out.

What are the different types of shoulder press?

Dumbbell, Arnold, neutral-grip, single-arm, barbell, seated barbell, landmine, kettlebell, machine and band presses, plus pike push-ups with no equipment.

What is an alternative to the push press?

A strict dumbbell or barbell shoulder press with a lighter weight. You lose the leg drive, so the shoulders do all the work.

What are the top 3 shoulder exercises?

A press, a lateral raise and a rear delt exercise such as the face pull. Together they train the front, side and back of the shoulder.