Shoulders
Hammer Strength Shoulder Press
The Hammer Strength Shoulder Press is a strength exercise on a machine for your shoulders. Share of the load in the Zulta muscle model: front delts 34%, side delts 17% and triceps (lateral head) 11%.
How to do it
- Load equal plates on both sides and set the seat so the handles start just above shoulder height.
- Sit with your back flat against the pad and your feet flat on the floor.
- Grab the handles with the elbows bent and slightly in front of the body.
- Press the handles up until the arms are nearly straight overhead.
- Lower them slowly until the hands are back at shoulder height.
Tips
- Each arm moves on its own lever, so push both sides evenly.
- Keep your head against the pad and look straight ahead.
Common mistakes
- Arching the lower back off the pad.
- Letting the plates bounce at the bottom.
- Setting the seat so low that the start is too deep for the shoulders.
Muscles worked by the Hammer Strength Shoulder Press
Share per muscle in the Zulta muscle model. The model spreads the load of one rep over 40 muscles, based on EMG and biomechanics research.
Fixed path, little stabilising. Pressing overhead is shoulder flexion and abduction with elbow extension: the front delt leads, the lateral delt and triceps assist, and the upper traps and serratus rotate the shoulder blade up.
Hammer Strength Shoulder Press alternatives
Same equipment
Different equipment
No equipment
Make it harder
Similar exercises
Frequently asked questions
What muscles does the Hammer Strength Shoulder Press work?
Mainly the front delts. The side delts, triceps (lateral head), triceps (long head) and triceps (medial head) assist.
Is the Hammer Strength Shoulder Press good for beginners?
Yes. The Hammer Strength Shoulder Press is rated beginner in the Zulta library: the technique is easy to learn with a light weight.
What is a good alternative to the Hammer Strength Shoulder Press?
For example the Plate Loaded Shoulder Press, Smith Machine Overhead Press and Machine Overhead Press Seated. They train mostly the same muscles, some with different equipment.
How do you make the Hammer Strength Shoulder Press harder?
Add weight or reps, or move on to the Overhead Press and Arnold Press.
Sources
- Saeterbakken and Fimland 2013, JSCR 27(7):1824-1831 (standing, seated, barbell, dumbbell)
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