ABOVE-THE-NAPE PRESSES WITH SEATED DUMBBELLS

Above-the-nape presses with seated dumbbells: Execution

The starting position sees the athlete sitting on a bench inclined at about 75 °, with his back in his position of strength, legs apart and feet firmly resting on the ground behind the knees to favor the maintenance of the three natural curves of the back and to support the weight more effectively. The elbows are flexed, the wrists straight and the shoulders are not completely abducted in the transverse plane, but are adducted in the longitudinal plane and extrarotate so that the elbow, wrist and barbell are exactly aligned on all 3 The dumbbells are kept at the same height as the upper part of the sternum with a grip that can be prone or neutral; the latter is more correct and particularly recommended when the dumbbells are bulky, which therefore, if held with a prone grip, would force the " athlete to keep the elbows less flexed than it would take to have the forearms perpendicular to the ground with consequent unnecessary effort by the flexors of the elbow to hold the handlebars and reduction of the descent movement. The execution consists of pushing the dumbbells up on the vertical plane they were on before starting, thus trying to draw a straight line segment and not a curve. During the push, the shoulders flex in the sagittal plane and abduct in the longitudinal plane, while the elbows extend and the shoulder blades begin to rotate upward when the elbows are at or slightly higher than the shoulders. The execution ends with the complete extension of the elbows and just before the arms come to be perpendicular to the ground. It is also possible to perform this exercise in a unilateral version with consequent greater stimulation of the stabilizers of the spine. The execution of this exercise requires a good mobility of the shoulder if it is not kept completely abducted in the transversal plane, while a good mobility of the shoulder is necessary to keep it completely abducted in the transversal plane.