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Verywell / Ben Goldstein

For what might be the ultimate exercise for strong, stable shoulders, you can't go past the dumbbell overhead press. While performing the exercise in a seated position will help to stabilize the back, the standing overhead press will do a lot more to engage your core muscles and improve overall balance, which is really important for longevity and injury prevention.

While you may not be able to lift in a completely straight line, you should try to do so. When you do so, you'll notice one of the benefits of using dumbbells over barbells. There's no risk of smacking yourself in the chin with the bar as you push overhead.

There are a variety of starting positions and hand grips you can use for this exercise.﻿﻿