The sitting press can be a great way to isolate the muscle groups needed to be hit while minimizing spinal extension, which will result in great shoulder usage and less leverage to move the lift (often leaning back into hyperextension of the spine). It is generally done in a military bench rack while seated but can be done standing as well. Named after Strongman Zydrunas Savickas (Big Z). Due to the sitting press often allowing for increased emphasis on the shoulders (as the lifter does not need to stabilize the core as much as in the standing), the sitting press can often be a good way to isolate the pressing muscles to develop muscle hypertrophy. Studies show that when comparing the dumbbell shoulder press vs Arnold press that the medial deltoid is activated to a greater extent in the Arnold press. Lifting anything up overhead is a great way to develop core strength, however when doing from a standing position one can really maximize core stability. Military presses are a type of overhead press performed with a barbell or Smith machine. Seated dumbbell vs. standing barbell - muscle activation was 7% greater for the standing barbell press. Dumbbell vs. Barbells for Military Presses | Livestrong.com The views expressed on this site may come from individual contributors and do not necessarily reflect the view of BarBend or any other organization. Back shoulder (posterior deltoid) EMG results. Seated barbell vs. standing barbell - muscle activation was 25% greater for the standing barbell press. Increasing upper body strength, mass, and overhead performance shouldn’t be a mystery. Push Press vs. The Standing Dumbbell Shoulder Press (Military Press), Sitting vs Standing Dumbbell Shoulder Press. The bottom line is that both exercises should be used in the big picture. It is a basic weight training workout that requires one to hold a barbell and take it overhead in such a manner that the arms are stretched all the way up. The answer to mastering it? In general that is the rule of thumb when comparing dumbbell exercises with their barbell alternatives. Both pressing movements hit the shoulders, however the sitting press may be a more direct approach as it requires slightly less core stability and strength (often a contributor to weakness and failure in the standing press). With this one exercise, you will work all three muscles in your shoulder … Why or why not? This exercise is a variation of the dumbbell shoulder press that was made popular by bodybuilding legend, Arnold Schwarzenegger. BarBend is the Official Media Partner of USA Weightlifting. When looking at the dumbbell shoulder press, some questions came up regarding which variation (sitting or standing) was best, and why. Below are two articles you need to read if you are at all concerned about getting strong and healthy. Seeing that strongman and weightlifting require a lifter to be standing and press/move heavy objects overhead, it’s safe to say that the standing version would have the most application to the specific sport movement, core stability, and overhead mechanics needed to succeed. You often see this kind of technique in strongman and power lifting competitions. This means greater amount of stabilizer muscles are recruited to perform the exercise correctly. Both moves are great exercises but for the purposes of slaying those middle delts the edge goes to the dumbell military press. Military vs standard Overhead Press is a personal preference, switch them up if you get bored. They both complement one another in a great overall shoulder development. In the event a lifter has issues with their lower body and lumbar spine, the standing press may aggravate the movement especially at heavier loads/higher volume as fatigue sets in and often leads to sloppier repetitions.