Underrated Exercise…Single Arm Press

by Mitch Hauschildt, MA, ATC, CSCS

As I looked at the exercises that I prescribe for my patients and clients the other day, it occurred to me that one of the most underrated exercises that I use is the single arm press.  It is complex, dynamic and easy to progress and regress.  It is also easy to teach and can be done pretty much anywhere.

You may be asking yourself, “What’s the deal, it’s just a press.  Why is he so high on it?”  The answer is pretty simple…it checks a lot of boxes for improving how my patients and clients move and feel.  Below are the list of reasons that I like this exercise:

• It can be done anywhere.  Wherever you have a band or a cable machine, you can do this exercise.  Attach one end to a post or fixed object and you are good to train.
• It is a transverse plane movement.  As you know, I love rotational training and this is a staple for transverse plane training for me.  We have to know how to prevent poor rotation before we can create good rotation and this is a great anti-rotation movement.
• It teaches shoulder packing.  For one reason or another, this exercise seems to be a simple way of teaching shoulder packing and stability.  In this position, patients and clients have good success with learning to stabilize the glenohumeral joint, so teaching the shoulder how to stabilize and control an otherwise unstable joint is simple and effective.
• Loads can be varied greatly.  Depending on your goals or phase of training, you may want to vary the load from light to heavy or vice versa.  The load can be as light as your lightest band, or super heavy if you want to add a large load.  It all depends on your ability to stabilize and create force.
• Tempo can be easily changed.  This exercise can be slow and controlled if increasing time under tension is your goal or it can be very fast and explosive if you are looking to improve power.  You are only limited by your creativity.
• Postural positions can be easily adjusted to progress and regress the movement.  The single arm press can be performed in a variety of positions including short kneeling, tall kneeling, half kneeling, symmetrical stance, offset stance and single leg stance.  This allows you to layer complexity onto a simple exercise as they earn the right to move on while not going crazy trying to coach someone through a complex movement pattern.
• It teaches a power position.  Too many people don’t know how to appropriately create power with their upper body and much of the time it is simply because of positioning and posture.  Simple things like flexing or extending the wrist will change the feedback loop extensively for the brain, reducing output.  The single arm press is a great way to teach a neutral wrist, tight shoulder, neutral spine, stable trunk and so on.

I utilize a lot of exercises in my training programs, but the reality is that with just a few foundational movements such as this, one can get a lot of training accomplished.  Find your basic movements and run wild with them.  The single arm press is a simple, but underrated movement that I believe should be a large part of everyone’s training program.