Dumbell Shoulder Press?

[alih92]

I've seen various ways of doing these, most people say you DON'T come all the way down and don't go all the way up but rather try to bring the weights as close as possible to each other.


Pretty much you DON'T lockout?
I've even seen Jay Cutler doing them like this...or are you supposed to lockout?

 

[Nitrox]

Locking out takes most of the tension off the muscle. Not-locking out makes the set a little harder so you won't rep as much with a given weight. It might also be a little easier on the joints since they don't have to hold all the weight directly.

Not going all the way down, IMO, is a good thing. In my experience bottoming out on shoulder press IS hard on my shoulder joints. If you want a larger range of motion, something like the 'Arnold' press is probably a better choice.

 

[lonewolf0420]

I found the way Yates does them in this video to be very effective at keeping the stress on the shoulders: http://mdtv.musculardevelopment.com/lifestyles/2010-md-spring-seminar/2670-gaspari-nutrition-presents-the-md-seminar-dorian-yates-delts-training.html

Come down as slow as you feel the shoulder stretch. Bring the weight up and over your head, meeting just above your head.

 

[CJPopovich]

I do them a variety of ways. I assume you mean seated.

I generally always tap my shoulders with them, and as for the lockout, I have had success both ways, locking each rep out fully as well as taking them close to lockout. I can tell you right now, time under tension be damned, taking each rep all the way to lockout is significantly harder, especially if high reps are done and you do them strict standing.

Doing them standing strict will have a profound effect on how they feel and what they do for you. You don't have the back support to assist the initial accelleration off the shoulders, so you have to keep your core tight, and press slow enough to remain in control of the dumbbells. This is a very humbling experience for most people who are used to doing them seated.

I wrote a quick article on high rep strict standing dumbbell work, let me know if you're interested and I'll post it.

 

[crux]

I found the way Yates does them in this video to be very effective at keeping the stress on the shoulders:

Come down as slow as you feel the shoulder stretch. Bring the weight up and over your head, meeting just above your head.

Good video. Hard to argue with Dorian Yates' success. I'm tired of watching guys in the gym bring the weight down only the top of their heads and then pressing up. The delts are barely engaged at the top.

 

[Torobestia]

Come down as slow as you feel the shoulder stretch. Bring the weight up and over your head, meeting just above your head.

Uh, it can be pretty dangerous to have the weights meet that close at the top. You're risking pinching your trap doing that. At most I would do what DY suggested, but any closer than that and you're asking for trouble. Even worse if you're trying to clink the weights together, dont care if they're 100+s. But if you're not saying to actually touch the weights and I simply misunderstood, then my bad.

 

[CaponeCEO]

Always bring the dumbells all the way down. Bring them up just slightly lower then locking out, but bring them in towards each other as you reach the right height. Don't click the weights together and don't go straight up and lock. I would never advocate for using heavy weight, until you have worked your way up to them, but once you get heavier the motion should be a little easier.