standing military press

[keasbey]

Behind the head to about the ears or in front of the head to about the chin?
is one better then the other? i feel the in front of the head is probably the choice lift for when the weights get high seeing as u might wanna be about to get out of the way fast if sh!t hits the fan. but what do you guys do?

 

[waldowade]

definitely front of the head, not necessarily down to the chin unless you're using dumbells...behind the head is unnatural and could put improper strain on your shoulders

barbell front of the head to about nose level is good

 

[tk7209]

To the fornt for sure. I'd go as far as feels comfortable and natural. I go to about chin level.

 

[safety4lyfe]

when i do military press i go down to my chest...too far?

 

[flex229]

yes.

when i do military press i go down to my chest...too far?

 

[GUARDIAN]

definitely front of the head, not necessarily down to the chin unless you're using dumbells...behind the head is unnatural and could put improper strain on your shoulders

barbell front of the head to about nose level is good

I dont agree with this. If this were the case we wouldnt be able to do it

It certainly has its risk but so do squats, deadlifts, bench press, etc.

If you use proper form u will be fine.

On both front and behind the neck varieties I go down until my triceps are parallel to the floor.

 

[oso0960]

yes.

i disagree. I touch my chest every time and my shoulders have no problems whatsoever for the past 2 years. I believe if it doesn't hurt to go down to the chest then why wouldn't you do that? Full ROM is always better than less ROM as long as it doesn't hurt, just don't flare your elbows out. Think about how many people on bench don't go all the way down for the same reason, yet all the top strength coaches advocate barely touching the chest. Even powerlifting comps you have to touch chest. I remember reading about shoulder anatomy on t-nation with something about 3 types of shoulder bone formations (i think). that might have alot to do with how far you can go down painlessly.

Edit: also use a narrower grip than regular benching. i use a grip almost as close as CGBP

 

[chazk]

touching the chest is ok for some and for others not ok.

muscle is like a spring coil alot of guys come down to the chest to get the spring back up effect.
(the muscle coils up as a spring would and wants to push back out to its orginal shape
just as a person doing jump squats can see when they go all the way down their body wants to shoot back up)

If you do MP and come down till you arms are out at a 90degree and try to launch back up you will see you can not do as much weight .
(the spring coil effect is lost)


doing MP behind the neck can be risky if done INCORRECT it can put strain on the rotator cuff muscles that line the top of the scapula.But thats only if someone uses to much weight and the weight shift back to far from behind the body making the scapulara muscles to over tighten to keep the scapula in place

 

[waldowade]

I dont agree with this. If this were the case we wouldnt be able to do it

It certainly has its risk but so do squats, deadlifts, bench press, etc.

If you use proper form u will be fine.

On both front and behind the neck varieties I go down until my triceps are parallel to the floor.

So are behind the neck presses alright if you just go down to parallel? I enjoy these but when I saw they can be bad for your shoulders I stopped doing them.

 

[GUARDIAN]

So are behind the neck presses alright if you just go down to parallel? I enjoy these but when I saw they can be bad for your shoulders I stopped doing them.

One of the main reasons I only go to parallel is keep constant tension on the delts. I notice when I go lower I tend to let them bottom out and rest which would put your shoulders in a very vicarious position for injury. I think behind the neck presses are one of the most misunderstood exercises as well as behind the neck pulldowns. Being careful is the key. Many successful pro's use behind the neck presses. They really target the side delts and build up that cap giving the desired v-taper. As long as you make sure you warm up thoroughly, practice good form, and do slow controlled powerful reps in the 8-12 range you should be fine. Also make sure you follow a tight line down the back of your neck, almost grazing your hair as your pass your head.

I dont recommend these for someone who has had a rotator cuff injury. I also do my standing military press first before my behind the necks. This warms up the shoulder really well and pre-exhausts them so you cant use a ton of weight.

 

[safety4lyfe]

Yah i would love to do behind MP but cant due to AC joint tare..oh well. it somewhat hurt my delts for a bit touching my chest but just grindin through it and evertyhing seems to be perfect.

 

[Scotsman]

Standing I bring them down to my chest. Seated I only bring down to about chin level. I always press in front now, I feel it works better, I used to do all my pressing behind the neck.

Cheers,
Scotsman

 

[silverskyline]

Behind the head to about the ears or in front of the head to about the chin?
is one better then the other? i feel the in front of the head is probably the choice lift for when the weights get high seeing as u might wanna be about to get out of the way fast if sh!t hits the fan. but what do you guys do?

BEHIND THE HEAD FOR TRAPS AND DELTS

INFRONT FOR SHOULDERS AND PECS