How to do the Machine Shoulder Press
Step by step
- Set the seat so the handles sit around shoulder height and sit with your back on the pad.
- Grip the handles with palms facing forward.
- Brace against the backrest and press the handles straight up overhead.
- Stop just short of locking your elbows hard.
- Lower the handles back to shoulder height under control.
The thing people get wrong
Keep your back against the pad rather than arching off it to push heavier. Control the lowering instead of letting the stack drop.
Coaching cue
Keep your shoulders down away from your ears through the whole press.
Make it easier or harder
- Easier: Lighten the weight and press one arm at a time.
- Harder: Pause two seconds at the top of every rep.
Muscles worked
- Primary: Front delts, Triceps
- Secondary: Side delts
What to do instead
Same job, different movement — useful if you don't have the equipment or it doesn't feel right today.
Daily Coach builds this into a real weekly plan. It picks the exercises for your equipment and experience, swaps around injuries you tell it about, and tracks what you actually lifted.