Standing Cuban Press

step by step guide:

1. Stand with a weight in each hand with your arms down at your side.

2. Pull your elbows up to make a “scarecrow” type position with your upper arms parallel to the ground and your hands down.

3. Rotate your upper arms until your hands are pointed up to the sky. You should be in a “the field-goal was good” type position at this point.

4. Press the plates up over your head, and then reverse the motion. Lower your arms to the field-goal position, rotate down to the scarecrow position, and then let your arms drop all the way down to your side.

Common mistakes:

1. Dropping your elbows as you rotate from scarecrow to field-goal position. The purpose of this exercise is to train all the muscles in the shoulder girdle including the rotator cuff. If you drop your elbows, you take the tension off of the rotator cuff. Keep those elbows up!