Larry Scott - Inventor of The Scott Press
When it comes to thinking about the great bodybuilders from the golden era and earlier names like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Frank Zane, Franko Columbo and Serge Nubret come to mind.
One bodybuilder that these guys looked up to who is rarely discussed today is Larry Scott, winner of the first ever Mr Olympia title in 1965.
Larry had an impressive physique however he did have lagging shoulders, Vince Gironda (who was training Larry Scott at the time) invented the Scott Press together, a dumbbell based shoulder exercise much like the Dumbbell Arnold Press you see many guys perform in the gym today, however the Scott Press has a smaller range of motion and is extremely efficient at hitting all three heads of the deltoids.
How To Perform The Scott Press Correctly
Grab a pair of dumbbell and either stand upright or sit down on a flat bench (standing up increases core activation).
Lift the dumbbells up to the height of your shoulders while proceeding to lean in 15 degrees.
Grasp the dumbbells with your pinky finger pressed up hard against the outer weight of the dumbbell while slightly tilting the dumbbells.
Begin to press the dumbbell from just below ear height to just below locking out at the top of the repetition - ensure tension is maintained on the shoulders for the entire duration.
Lower the dumbbells back down to ear height and repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Here is a video of Larry Scott teaching the Scott Press to a client...
My Tips & Experience Performing The Scott Press
The Scott Press is a fantastic exercise to add to your shoulder workout, particularly if you're having trouble getting them to grow... however that said the Scott Press can be a disaster if implemented into your regime incorrectly. Here are my tips on tricks on when and how to use the Scott Press to get the best bang for your buck.
Focus On Light Weight With High Reps
There are a heap of shoulder exercises we can lift heavy on, i.e. the military press and dumbbell shoulder press - when it comes to the Scott Press leave your ego at home at focus on light weight for 15+ reps per set.
The risk of injury is too high when going heavy and all out with the Scott Press - keep it controlled and light while focusing on time under tension - that is how you'll use the Scott Press to build mammoth shoulders.
Dont Ever Lock Out
The key to the Scott Press is the small range of motion we're working in, never lock out at the top of each repetition as you'll be taking the load off the targeted muscle.
Use The Scott Press For Pre-Fatigue Training
Pre-fatigue training is a great method not only for overcoming plateaus in the gym, but also as a means of mixing up your training and keeping it interesting.
The issue with pre-fatigue training is most guys in the gym opt for a poor exercise to use as their pre-fatigue exercise. If you want to pre-fatigue for your military press or heavy dumbbell shoulder press opt for the Scott Press as your exercise of choice as opposed to an exercise like the dumbbell front raise.
"SJ, why does it matter which exercise we pre-fatigue with? As they're both shoulder exercises"
The dumbbell front raise targets the anterior (front) deltoid, while the Scott Press target all three heads of the deltoid (anterior, posterior & medial).
When pre-fatiguing we ideally want to fatigue the shoulder as a whole, not just one third of it, thus making both the Scott Press and the Arnold Press fantastic choices for shoulder pre-fatigue training.