Intermediate

Scott Press

Made famous by bodybuilder Larry Scott, this press begins with the elbows out and forearms rotated back, then drives the dumbbells overhead without ever relaxing the shoulders. Because the delts stay loaded from the stretched bottom to the top, it delivers a deep burn with surprisingly light weight. Use it as a high-rep shoulder builder late in a session when you want maximum time under tension.

Equipment
Dumbbell
Body part
Shoulder
Type
Strength
Browse by movement
Vertical Press
Muscles worked
Target
Deltoid Middle, Deltoid Anterior
Secondary
Trapezius Upper
Tertiary
Deltoid Posterior, Triceps Brachii Lateral Head

How to do it

  1. 1

    Sit or stand tall holding a dumbbell in each hand at shoulder height with elbows flared out to the sides.

  2. 2

    Rotate your forearms back so your knuckles point behind you and the delts are stretched.

  3. 3

    Press the dumbbells up and slightly forward, rotating the forearms as you drive overhead.

  4. 4

    Stop just short of lockout to keep tension on the shoulders, not the elbows.

  5. 5

    Reverse the path back to the flared, rotated start position and repeat without pausing to rest.

Tips

  • Keep the elbows high and wide throughout so the middle delt stays in the lead.
  • Use light dumbbells; the constant tension makes this far harder than it looks.
  • Do not lock out hard at the top or dump the load onto your triceps and joints.

Variations

Common mistakes

  • The rotation at the bottom gets skipped and the dumbbells are pressed from an ordinary shoulder-height start, which removes the stretched position the whole movement was built around.
  • The elbows drop in toward the ribs as fatigue builds, so the front delt takes charge and what is left is a slightly awkward dumbbell press.
  • The wrists bend back under the dumbbells during the rotated start, putting the load behind the joint in the one position where the shoulder is already at full stretch.
  • The bottom position gets forced deeper than the shoulder wants to go; the rotation should stop where the delts feel loaded and the joint still feels fine.
  • Momentum arrives quietly. After ten continuous reps the torso starts rocking to launch each one, and the answer is a slower tempo rather than a bigger swing.

Frequently asked

How many sets and reps of the Scott press should you do when you are new to the exercise?
Three sets of 15 to 20 with a pair of dumbbells that feel almost silly on the first rep, because the constant tension does the work here rather than the load. Put it at the end of a shoulder session as a finisher. Progress by slowing the return and adding reps; most people never need more than 8 to 10 kg, and a jump in weight usually brings back the rocking you were trying to remove.
What can I use instead of dumbbells for the Scott press?
Cables from two low pulleys give an even smoother version of the same constant tension. A resistance band stood on with both feet works at home, and its rising resistance suits a movement that never locks out anyway. Two full water bottles or a pair of loaded shopping bags are genuinely enough to start with, which tells you how light this lift really is.
What is the Scott press good for?
It is a size-building tool: the delts stay loaded from a stretched bottom to a deliberately short top, so a small weight buys a lot of time under tension, and it works well as a finisher after heavier pressing. It is a poor main shoulder exercise, because you cannot load it enough to build much strength, and it is the wrong movement if the rotated start pinches; a standard dumbbell press through a full range gives most of the same muscle without that position.

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