How to Work Deltoids With the Military Press Machine

Building the muscles of your body requires hard work. It also requires that you choose wisely the exercises to isolate and work the specific muscle groups. For the deltoid or shoulder muscles, the military press is one of the best exercises to work each of the three faces of the muscle. The design of the Smith machine is to provide a safety device while performing this exercise.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

1. Adjust the bar to the height just above the level of your shoulders. This will be the end point of the downward motion of the exercise. It is important to also adjust the bar stops on the machine so that the bar cannot descend below the shoulder by more than about six inches in case your muscles reach fatigue and you drop the bar.
2. Load the bar with the amount of weight you desire to lift. When loading the weight, be sure to use end stops to keep the weight from slipping off during the lift.
3. Position your body under the bar. You may have to sit if your height prevents you from standing under the bar and executing an over the head lift of the bar. If sitting, sit just behind the bar to allow you to maintain good posture and lift the bar over your head to full arm extension.
4. Lift the bar off the stops and unhook the bar so that it moves freely up and down. Lower the bar to a point that is level with your shoulders.
5. Press up with your arms to raise the bar above your head to the full extension point of your arms. It is important to not lock your arms and have a smooth fluid motion. Once you reach the full extension point, lower the bar back to the resting position level with your shoulders. When finished with your set of lifts re-hook the bar on the stops and clear your weights to the storage rack.

Tips & Warnings

• Begin your lifting session with a lower weight than the normal working weight to warm up the muscles and then finish your session with a weight above your normal workout weight.
• Alternate lifts that are still under the heading of military presses are to use dumbbells instead of a bar. Do these seated or standing but without the aid and safety of the Smith machine. Always use a spotter to assist you when using free weights that are at your limit of weight.