Seated Cable Shoulder Press
Trains the Shoulders.
- Equipment
- A cable station and an adjustable bench
- Mechanic
- Compound
- Force
- Push
- Level
- Beginner
How to do it
- Set an upright bench between two low pulleys and take a handle in each hand.
- Sit back against the pad with the handles at shoulder height, palms facing forward.
- Brace your stomach and keep your ribs down against the pad.
- Press both handles overhead until the arms are almost straight.
- Let the cables draw the handles back down to shoulder height under control.
- Keep the elbows under the hands throughout rather than letting them drift behind.
Common mistakes
- Placing the bench too far forward of the pulleys. The cable line should run up past the body; ahead of it the press becomes an incline press and pulls you off the bench.
- Letting the cables draw the elbows behind the torso at the bottom. Cables allow it where a dumbbell would already have stopped, and behind the torso is where the shoulder has least to offer.
- Arching off the pad. Seated, the arch has nowhere to go but the lower back, and there are no legs to brace with.
- Choosing seated to lift more. Seated removes the trunk's contribution, so the usable load is usually lower than standing — which is the point rather than a drawback.