Front delts exercise
Shoulder Press (Machine)How to do it, with form in numbers
- Main muscles
- Front delts
- Also works
- Side delts, Triceps
- Equipment
- Machine
- Level
- Beginner
How to do it
How do you do the Shoulder Press?
- Set the seat so the handles sit just above your shoulders.
- Sit with your back and head on the pad, feet flat.
- Grip the handles palms forward, elbows slightly in front of your body.
- Press up until your arms are almost straight, then lower slowly.
Cues
- Back stays on the pad
- Elbows slightly forward
- Lower slowly, stack never rests
Common mistakes
- Seat set too low: handles start too deep; raise the seat.
- Arching your back as you press: brace your abs.
- Letting the weights crash down: lower slowly under control.
Form in detail
What does good form look like?
Starting position
A plate-loaded or selectorised seated shoulder press. Seat pad about 46 cm high, adjustable; back pad fixed, upright (about 80–90° from the floor). Two lever arms pivot behind the seat, each with a horizontal handle beside the head, so the user presses up and slightly in; the weight stack or plates sit behind the back pad. Adjust the seat so the handles start at shoulder height or just above (ACE). Sit with the back, shoulders and head on the pad, the natural low-back curve kept (not pressed flat, not arched). Feet flat on the floor or foot rests, about hip- to shoulder-width apart, knees about 90°. Full pronated grip (palms forward, thumbs round), hands just outside the shoulders (not wide: ExRx says a wide grip cuts the range), wrists straight.
The movement
The handles follow the machine's fixed arc: up and slightly in on the way up, back down the same arc. The elbows keep their 30°-forward angle and return to the 4 and 8 o'clock position. Back, head and hips stay on the pads; the low back does not arch away from the pad as the arms rise. Feet stay planted. The lever arms and the weight stack move together with the hands.
End position
(turnaround point): elbows extended to about 170–175°, not locked. Handles above the shoulders, arms close to vertical and beside the head. A brief pause.
Tempo
About 2 s up, a 0.3 s pause at the top, about 2.5 s down (ACE: pull the handles down with the lats, do not just let them drop), about 0.2 s at the bottom without resting the stack.
Form in numbers
What are the angles and distances?
| Measure | Target | Good range | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elbow flexion at the bottom | 90° | 80–110° | |
| Elbows forward of the frontal plane | 30° | 20–40° | |
| Handle height at the bottom | just above the shoulder | shoulder to ear level | |
| Elbow at the top | 172° | 165–178°, no lock | |
| Back pad angle | 85° | 80–90° | |
| Weight stack gap at the bottom | 3 cm | 1–5 cm, never resting |
The targets our 3D demo was built to, from the references below. Bodies differ, so treat the ranges as a guide for your own build.
For coaches
Use this demo in your clients’ programs
The Shoulder Press is in Trainaq’s exercise library. Add it to a workout, and your client sees this demo in the free Trainaq app above the sets they log.
Sources
