The cuban press shoulder exercise, strengthens the external rotation of your rotator cuff, and increases your anterior deltoids. It can be performed either standing or seated, or for best results, rest your back and elbows against a solid wall.

START

keep the arms bent at 90 degrees throughout

MIDDLE

lift the weights by rotating the shoulders

FINISH

You will not need to use a heavy weight in order to get the benefits from this exercise, the key is maintaining a strict technique.

Commence the exercise with your arms bent to 90 degrees, having your elbows at shoulder height, palms facing behind you. Smoothly lift the weights by rotating your shoulders, so that your forearms become parallel to the floor, palms facing downwards.

Keeping your arm position fixed, continue the rotation with your arms, so that your forearms are now vertical, hands in line with your ears, whilst maintaining a 90 degree bend in your arms.

Hold in the upper phase for 2 - 3 seconds and then repeat for desired amount of reps, taking care to keep your head up throughout the movement.

Because of the fixed motion, this exercise will cause a massive build up of lactic acid within your shoulder muscles, as such it's worth stretching between sets and also worth giving yourself a little longer with your rest, compared to normal shoulder exercises.

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