BB Shoulder Press vs. BB Behind The Neck Press

[All_Swoled_Up]

Is one variation better than the other? Any need to switch between them to mix it up a little or are they more or less the same movement with the same results?

[Skull Crusher]

Behind-the-neck presses work the rear delts, whereas the basic BB press works the front delts.

I personally do both in my shoulder routine. I wouldn't say that one is better than the other, so mixing it up is probably your best bet.

Just FYI, you'll probably hear people bashing the behind-the-neck presses because they're dangerous, which is not true as long as you maintain good form, and start off with low weight.

[LSU1]

Originally Posted by Skull Crusher

Behind-the-neck presses work the rear delts, whereas the basic BB press works the front delts.

let me correct you here

the btn press works the front delts as well as the medial delts to a degree

front presses are not efficient in targeting the medial delts and basically develop the front delts and triceps

i prefer btn press for my OH press variation. for me, they are greatly superior to developing full capped delts

[Skull Crusher]

Originally Posted by LSU1

let me correct you here

the btn press works the front delts as well as the medial delts to a degree

front presses are not efficient in targeting the medial delts and basically develop the front delts and triceps

i prefer btn press for my OH press variation. for me, they are greatly superior to developing full capped delts

That's being a bit too literal.

I was referring to primary stress, not secondary stress. Thought that was pretty obvious. Kinda like when someone says the bench press is a great exercise for the chest, you wouldn't (unless you were nit-picking) say "No, No, you're wrong. It works triceps too."

[jf1]

btn presses are mostly for front and some side delts...
pretty much same for front presses.

to isolate delts btn, for me do a better job;
btn forces you to keep better form...there is no arching of the back or leaning backwards as in the front press! for that reason alone i think btn presses are better!

[LSU1]

Originally Posted by Skull Crusher

Behind-the-neck presses work the rear delts, whereas the basic BB press works the front delts.

Originally Posted by Skull Crusher

That's being a bit too literal.

I was referring to primary stress, not secondary stress. Thought that was pretty obvious. Kinda like when someone says the bench press is a great exercise for the chest, you wouldn't (unless you were nit-picking) say "No, No, you're wrong. It works triceps too."

actually, what i quoted above is what im talking about

btn press does not work the rear delts to a noticeable degree

btn press is different than front press in that it places more emphasis on the medial delt.

*that* was the purpose of my post

[DiamondDelts]

I don't know. Behind the neck press has good striking ability but bb shoulder press has a mean ground and pound. Could go either way.

[Determ1ned]

Originally Posted by DiamondDelts

I don't know. Behind the neck press has good striking ability but bb shoulder press has a mean ground and pound. Could go either way.

So in other words, you would suggest both?

[DiamondDelts]

Originally Posted by LT1PnyKlr

So in other words, you would suggest both?

It's always best to be well rounded.

[Determ1ned]

Speaking of BB shoulder presses. My gym uses Hammer Strength equipment and this is what the free weight shoulder press rack looks like....
http://us.commercial.lifefitness.com...cmilitarybench . I personally dont like how its setup. With the bar on the back rack, its too far behind you and feels awkward reaching back so far to lift the weight up and the front rack is too far in front of you. Unless you have a spotter this shoulder press rack makes it difficult imo.

[DiamondDelts]

Originally Posted by LT1PnyKlr

Speaking of BB shoulder presses. My gym uses Hammer Strength equipment and this is what the free weight shoulder press rack looks like....
http://us.commercial.lifefitness.com...cmilitarybench . I personally dont like how its setup. With the bar on the back rack, its too far behind you and feels awkward reaching back so far to lift the weight up and the front rack is too far in front of you. Unless you have a spotter this shoulder press rack makes it difficult imo.

Ewww.................

[Machvayne]

Originally Posted by LT1PnyKlr

Speaking of BB shoulder presses. My gym uses Hammer Strength equipment and this is what the free weight shoulder press rack looks like....
http://us.commercial.lifefitness.com...cmilitarybench . I personally dont like how its setup. With the bar on the back rack, its too far behind you and feels awkward reaching back so far to lift the weight up and the front rack is too far in front of you. Unless you have a spotter this shoulder press rack makes it difficult imo.

I have the same one at my gym. And yes it is extremely awkward. The positioning is all off.

I'm usually a fan of HS equipment, but in this case I'm definitely not a fan!

[Determ1ned]

Originally Posted by Machvayne

I have the same one at my gym. And yes it is extremely awkward. The positioning is all off.

I'm usually a fan of HS equipment, but in this case I'm definitely not a fan!

This is the reason I use the Smith Machine if Im doing bb shoulder presses but usually I do them with db's.

[jked4life]

Originally Posted by LSU1

actually, what i quoted above is what im talking about

btn press does not work the rear delts to a noticeable degree

btn press is different than front press in that it places more emphasis on the medial delt.

*that* was the purpose of my post

Yes. I like the BTN press because it involves the medial delt. The front delts get a lot of work from other presses, especially on chest day. Doing a variation of shoulder presses is wise, but this is my favorite.

Originally Posted by LT1PnyKlr

This is the reason I use the Smith Machine if Im doing bb shoulder presses but usually I do them with db's.

This is the one exercise where I actually prefer the smith machine. Due to the awkwardness of this move, I like the smith.

[basshead444]

Originally Posted by Machvayne

I have the same one at my gym. And yes it is extremely awkward. The positioning is all off.

I'm usually a fan of HS equipment, but in this case I'm definitely not a fan!

I used to have one like that at mine too, till the bastards got rid of it for some ungoldly reason. Except mine had adjustable bars on the sides, so when i did presses id position the bars to about my chin level, put the bar on it, load up the plates, then press it from there, since i dont go down as far on BTN presses as I do regular

[boxtrot]

BTN does it for my side delts, deep dumbell bench press does it for my front delts, close grip bent over rows to the waist do it for my rear delts.

[HulkHagen]

I'm a noob to BB shoulder presses, so I'm sticking with the front ones for now until I feel more comfortable doing them, then I might switch it up to BTN presses sometimes.

I was using the Smith Machine for my BB presses up until a couple weeks ago. Now I rig up the squat rack and do seated BB presses in there, lol.

[Tyciol]

Make shoulder pressing ('in front of neck pressing' with a barbell, or just out to the sides with dumbbells) your main lift. It's safer, and you can go heavier on it, and you won't get injured as much.

If you want to press behind the neck now and then, that's fine, make sure you're flexible and use light weight. Much like behind the neck lat pulldowns and chins, it's more of a specialty exercise and a lot of people don't like it at all. I'm one to think "if you're strong in the proper form of exercise, using light weight in the improper isn't that bad if it doesn't hurt you". Maybe it conditions against injury or something.

Whether your work the anterior or medial delt has much more to do with how your elbows move. You don't need to put the bar behind your neck, just don't let your elbows go in front instead of to the sides.

BB shoulder presses are usually done with high weight and with less RoM, dumbbells are more suited to RoM because unlike barbells, your head never gets in the way and doesn't dictate where you go.

With my Leonardo Ninja Turtle Toy, he military presses only down until the barbell touches the top of his head. More realistically, you can just go in front of your head until it touches your collarbone. Basically keep your elbows back by tracing a line along your face with the barbell or something.

[SDFlip]

if doing them behind the neck is comfortable for you , go ahead and do it.
if you don't have the flexibility to do it, work on that or else you'll be missing out on a great shoulder exercise

[Determ1ned]

When I do BTN presses I never go beyond 90* and never experience any problems and this is coming from someone that has had shoulder pains in the past. However, I believe my shoulder pain comes from a pinched nerve in my back.

[SiKkBaSs]

If you are able to do both comfortably, do them. If not stick to front barbell presses. Or just do dumbbell presses which in my mind trumps both exercises.