Although it's called a hammer shoulder press, there's no hammer in this exercise. The word "hammer" is used in reference to your hand grip. Instead of using a conventional grip with your palms facing forward, your palms face each other as if you were swinging a hammer. This exercise makes a good variation if you're looking to switch up your current shoulder workouts.
Multi-Joint Exercise
Multi-joint exercises involve two or more joint movements and two or more muscles are worked. A hammer shoulder press causes you to bend your elbow and shoulder joints. This in turn works the deltoids, trapezius and triceps muscles.
The deltoids have an anterior, medial and posterior head. Most of the emphasis goes to the anterior and medial deltoids with hammer shoulder presses. The trapezius is a large muscle that runs across the collar bones. The upper fibers see the most action. The triceps, which sit on the back of the upper arms, contain a long, medial and lateral head. These muscles contract to decelerate the weight.
Resistance Used
Due to your hand position, you have to use dumbbells or a weight machine with the hammer press. A barbell only allows you to point your hands forward. Weight machines have two grip options -- one with your palms facing forward and one with your palms in a hammer grip. The resistance is adjusted by sliding a pin into a weight stack. Dumbbells range in weight from 1 to over 100 pounds, so you have plenty of resistances to chose from.
Technique
Proper technique is important to avoid injury and see gains with the hammer press. Start the exercise in a standing position; your feet about shoulder-width apart; and the dumbbells held right above your shoulders with your palms facing each other. Keeping your back straight and abs tight, push the weights straight overhead until your arms are fully extended. Hold this position for a second, slowly lower the weights and repeat.
Variation
The hammer shoulder press doesn't need to be done from a standing position. The machine exercise is actually performed seated. If you want to use dumbbells from a seated position, sit on a weight bench or workout chair. This prevents bad form by taking away the possibility that you'll arch your back. You also have the option of doing the hammer shoulder press in an alternating fashion, or you can include a biceps hammer curl to make it a combination exercise. Start this exercise with the dumbbells held down at your sides with your palms facing each other. Keeping your upper arms still, bend your elbows to move the weights up to chest height, then push them straight above your head.
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