You’re probably used to seeing people grab a pair of dumbbells for their overhead work. It’s the standard. It’s safe. It’s... kinda boring, honestly. But if you walk into a gym and see someone wrestling with a seven-foot Olympic bar using just one hand, you’re looking at a different level of stability training. The single arm barbell press is one of those old-school movements that looks like a circus trick but feels like a full-body car wreck if you don't respect the physics involved.
It’s hard.
The leverage is totally different than a dumbbell. With a dumbbell, the weight is concentrated right in your palm. With a barbell, you’ve got three and a half feet of steel sticking out on either side, just waiting to tilt and rip your wrist out of alignment. That's the secret sauce. Because the bar is so long, your rotators and your core have to work overtime just to keep the thing level. It’s a shoulder exercise that’s secretly a massive oblique workout.
The Physics of Why the Single Arm Barbell Press Works
Most people think of "pressing" as a way to grow the delts. Sure, that happens. But the single arm barbell press introduces something called "rotational torque." Since the bar is so long, any slight tremor in your hand is magnified. If the front of the bar drops an inch, the back end swings up, and suddenly your nervous system is screaming. This forced stability is why coaches like Dan John or the late Charles Poliquin often leaned into "odd object" or "unbalanced" lifting. It builds "functional strength," a term that’s been marketed to death, but in this context, it actually means your joints won't fall apart when life throws you an off-center load.
Think about carrying a heavy suitcase or a bag of mulch. Life isn't balanced.
When you press a barbell with one hand, your body has to fight "lateral flexion." That’s the fancy way of saying the weight wants to bend you sideways like a blade of grass in the wind. To stay upright, your opposite side obliques and your quadratus lumborum (QL) have to fire like crazy. You’ll feel this in your abs way before you feel it in your shoulders if you’re doing it right. It’s a total-body bracing clinic.
The Setup: Don't Kill Your Wrists
I’ve seen people try to just grab the bar in the middle and hoist. Don’t do that. You’ll probably fail immediately or, worse, tweak a tendon.
First, you need to find the exact center of gravity. Most Olympic bars have a smooth center section and knurling (the grippy part) on the sides. You have to find the "sweet spot" where the bar sits level. Even then, you’ll probably need to adjust your grip by millimeters once the bar is off the rack. Speaking of the rack: set the J-hooks to shoulder height. Don't try to "clean" a single-arm barbell from the floor unless you’re an elite-level strongman or just really enjoy hospital food.
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- Approach the bar sideways.
- Grip it with a "crush grip." You want your knuckles facing the ceiling.
- Brace your core like someone is about to punch you in the gut.
- Step out. Breathe.
Now, the press itself isn't a straight line. If you try to press perfectly vertical, the bar might clip your head or your balance will shift too far back. You want a slight "arc." But honestly, the real work is just holding the damn thing still.
Why Your Core Hates the Single Arm Barbell Press
There’s a study often cited in biomechanics circles—though sometimes misinterpreted—regarding unilateral (one-sided) loading. When you load one side of the body, the "contralateral" muscles (the ones on the other side) have to produce massive amounts of force to keep the spine neutral. In a 2011 study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, researchers found that unilateral overhead pressing actually elicited higher core activation in certain areas than the traditional bilateral press.
Basically, your abs are the foundation. If the foundation is shaky, the bar isn't moving.
I’ve found that many lifters who have a "plateau" in their standard military press can break through it by spending a month on the single arm barbell press. Why? Because it fixes the "leaks" in their kinetic chain. If you have a weak point in your midsection or your scapular stabilizers, this lift will find it and expose it immediately. It’s an honest movement. You can’t cheat it with momentum because if you try to "jerk" the bar, the ends will start wobbling like a seesaw.
Common Mistakes That Will Break Your Spirit
The biggest mistake is the "Death Grip" vs. "Dead Wrist" dilemma. If you let your wrist flop back, the leverage of the bar will create a massive amount of strain on the carpal tunnel area. You need a neutral, strong wrist. Imagine you're punching the sky.
Another one? Ego.
Look, a standard Olympic bar is 45 pounds (20kg). For many people, just pressing the empty bar with one hand is an incredible challenge. Don’t be the person trying to slide a 25-pound plate onto the end of the bar during your first session. The sheer length of the bar makes 45 pounds feel like 80 pounds of dumbbell. It’s about the moment arm. The further the weight is from the pivot point (your hand), the heavier it feels.
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- Mistake 1: Looking at the bar. Look straight ahead. If you look at the ends of the bar, you’ll get dizzy and lose your balance.
- Mistake 2: Tensing your neck. Try to keep some space between your ear and your shoulder.
- Mistake 3: Holding your breath. If you don't "sip" air and maintain intra-abdominal pressure, you're going to fold.
Variations for the Sanity-Minded
If the full 7-foot barbell is too much, or if your gym is crowded and you don't want to knock someone out with the end of your bar, you can try the "Landmine" version. You put one end of the bar in a corner or a landmine attachment. This stabilizes one end of the lever, making it a "half-stable" press. It’s a great "gateway drug" to the full single arm barbell press.
But honestly? The landmine press is a different animal. It’s more of an incline press. The true standing, free-floating barbell press is where the magic (and the pain) happens.
If you’re really struggling with balance, you can use a shorter "technique bar" or a "junior bar" if your gym has one. These are usually 5 to 6 feet long and weigh about 15 to 25 pounds. The shorter length reduces the leverage, making it slightly easier to control. It's not "cheating," it's just smart progression.
Integrating This Into Your Split
You don't need to do this every day. In fact, doing it more than once a week might be overkill for your nervous system. Your brain gets tired before your muscles do with this kind of stability work.
I usually recommend swapping your secondary shoulder movement for this. If Monday is your heavy overhead press day, maybe Thursday is your "stability" day where you perform 3 to 4 sets of 5 to 8 reps of the single arm barbell press. Don't go for high reps. Once you hit rep 10, your form usually turns into a disaster and the injury risk spikes. Keep the reps low and the quality high.
Focus on the "negative" too. Lowering the bar slowly is actually harder than pushing it up. Control the descent. Don't let the bar dictate where your hand goes; you tell the bar where to stay.
The Mental Game of Unbalanced Lifting
There is a psychological component to this lift that most people ignore. When you have a long piece of metal over your head that wants to tilt, you have to be "present." You can’t zone out and listen to a podcast. You have to be locked in.
This builds a type of coordination that carries over to sports like wrestling, BJJ, or even just high-level athletics. It’s about "proprioception"—your body’s ability to sense its position in space. By mastering the single arm barbell press, you’re teaching your brain how to manage chaos. That’s a skill that pays dividends far beyond the size of your lateral deltoids.
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It's also a great way to identify imbalances. Most people find one side is significantly "stupider" than the other. Not necessarily weaker, just less coordinated. Working through those imbalances is how you prevent long-term injury.
Actionable Steps for Your Next Workout
If you’re ready to try this, don't just jump in.
Start by finding a quiet corner of the gym. Grab a standard barbell.
- Warm up your rotators: Use a light band and do some external rotations. You’re going to need those small muscles firing.
- Find the center: Spend 30 seconds just holding the bar at shoulder height with one hand. Don't press it. Just hold it. Feel how it wobbles.
- The "Statue" Drill: Press the bar up and hold it at the top for 10 seconds. Keep your ribcage tucked down. Don't let your back arch.
- Set 1: 5 reps per side. Focus on a 3-second descent.
- Set 2-4: Add 2.5 to 5 lbs ONLY if you can keep the bar perfectly level. If it's tilting more than 5 degrees, you're done for the day.
This lift isn't about the weight on the bar. It’s about the control of the weight. You’ll find that even a few weeks of this makes a 50-pound dumbbell feel like a toy. That’s the power of training the stabilizers. You're building a chassis that can actually handle the engine you're trying to build. Stop chasing reps and start chasing stability. Your shoulders will thank you, and your core will finally have a reason to show up to work.
Stop thinking of it as a shoulder exercise. It’s a "don’t fall apart" exercise. That’s why it matters. Move slow, stay tight, and keep the bar level. That’s the whole game. No fancy machines required—just you, a long piece of steel, and a whole lot of focus.
The next time you're standing in front of the rack, skip the dumbbells. Grab the bar. It's going to be awkward, and you might feel a bit ridiculous at first, but that's usually where the real gains are hiding. Keep your eyes forward and your grip tight. This is how you actually get strong.