If you want shoulders that aren’t just big and strong for heavy overhead pressing, but also healthy and mobile through a full range of motion, the Cuban press deserves a spot in your programme.
It’s part delt-builder, part trap-burner, and part rotator cuff-strengthener. Done properly, it teaches your shoulders to move like they’re meant to: with stability, control and strength through upright pulling and rotation – not just pressing overhead.
What the Cuban Press Does
The Cuban press is a sequence made up of an upright row, followed by external rotation, and finishing with a press; then all of the way back down again. Usually performed with light dumbbells.
You start with a high-elbows pull to around chest height, rotate the forearms up (‘turning the dumbbells over’ ready to press), then drive them overhead.
Done well, it hits your delts and upper back, but it also trains the smaller stabilisers of the shoulder – the muscles that keep the joint safe when you’re pressing, pulling, throwing, or just trying not to aggravate that ‘dodgy’ shoulder you’ve ignored since 2015
Primary Muscles Worked
- Rotator cuff (especially external rotators)
- Posterior delts
- Mid–lower traps
Secondary Muscles
- Mid delts
- Rhomboids
- Triceps (in the press)
- Forearm and grip muscles
Cuban Press Benefits
1/ Builds Shoulders That Last
Big pressing numbers are great… but those numbers won’t last if you don’t take care of your shoulder integrity.
What to read next
The Cuban press trains control through rotation, which is where plenty of shoulder issues start. It’s not a magic fix, but it’s a clever way to give your shoulders the capacity to handle more pressing, more pulling and more volume over time.
2/ Sneaky Upper-Back Work
Most people chasing bigger pressing muscles forget that more than just your delts come into play.
The Cuban press encourages the exact stuff most us tend to skip: mobile shoulder blades, responsive traps and controlled rotator cuff activation
The Cuban press helps to build strength in heavier presses by cleaning up the supporting scaffolding you might otherwise ignore.
3/ Cleans Up Your Overhead Position
If your overhead press turns into a rib flare and a neck crane, you’re not alone.
Cuban presses cue a more ‘stacked’ position by forcing you to move slowly and deliberately through the transition, which can help to improve how you finish overhead work in other lifts.
4/ It’s the Perfect Warm-Up… Or Finisher
It’s light and technical, so as a warm-up it switches on the right muscles before heavy presses. As a finisher, it adds high-quality shoulder volume without you having to go heavy – perfect for lifting while fatigued without risking injury.
How to Do the Cuban Press
Use light dumbbells here, guys – this is like surgical strength work, so think ‘scalpel’ not ‘sledgehammer’.
- Stand tall, ribs down, glutes on
- Start with dumbbells hanging at your sides
- Pull up to chest height with elbows high, pointing to the back of the room
- Rotate the forearms up so the dumbbells move into a strong position either side of your head
- Press overhead smoothly – squeeze your glutes and switch on your core to avoiding flared ribs
- Reverse under control back to the start
3 Common Mistakes
- Going too heavy: it stops being restorative work and becomes a messy press.
- Rushing the rotation: working the transition is the meat of this movement, make the most of it.
- Turning it into a backbend: keep the mechanics strict and rib cage stacked, this isn’t a test of strength, it’s a test of structure.
