Are behind the back shoulder presses bad for you?

[Morpheus]

I was doing my back workout at the gym today and hoping to finish before the high school students got their for sport. I was too late. While working out I noticed a female trainer they must have hired going around telling them how to use each machine & do specific exercises. I overhead them and some of the information was useful like putting your legs up with doing bench press so you don't arch your back. While I was doing dead lifts, I heard her talking about shoulder presses and not to do them behind your neck or back cause it's bad for ya. I couldn't care less about what she said cause I was getting pissed off by the students clowning around while I was doing my dead lifts.

Is this right about behind the neck shoulder exercises being bad for ya? What about Military Presses as well?

[txstud]

i've heard that as well...although i cant remember the specific reason stated.

here's why i dont like them:

1. its hard on my shoulder joints and does not feel natural
2. i tend to scrape the back of my head with the bar sometimes
3. I'm not 100% sure if this is totally accurate, but i've heard that doing it to the front is just as beneficial.

[Retardo-pex]

I believe they can be bad if you have shoulder or maybe even neck problem but when I'm seated, they feel better and more natural for me. When I'm standing though, I think fronts are more comfortable, maybe only because I used to get a quick rest at the bottom though.

[SLY]

They can cause rotator cuff problems on some people, especially if sloppy form is used.

[Fresch]

There are many threads answering this question in great depth...try the search function.

In short, they have a high potential risk for injury!

[PGHPump]

I believe it was last month's Muscular development that had a shoulder article written by a guy who was a big advocate of the behind the neck shoulder presses. I dont have the issue here to refer back to, but he did have some valid reason for doing them. He was also in favor of standing as opposed to seated. Personally I dont do them, I get enough shoulder pain as it is.

[Fresch]

Originally posted by soc
I believe it was last month's Muscular development that had a shoulder article written by a guy who was a big advocate of the behind the neck shoulder presses. I dont have the issue here to refer back to, but he did have some valid reason for doing them. He was also in favor of standing as opposed to seated. Personally I dont do them, I get enough shoulder pain as it is.

I believe then that that would prove beyond any doubt that BTN presses are not the go!

[Dorian]

in my opinion they are too stressful for the shoulders and I do not advocate to do them. There are many other alternatives to use.

[ILLINOISE]

i noticed when i was doing behind the neck presses, that they would hurt when i did any bench presing, after a week of stopping behind the neck presses, the pain in shoulders went away, its been about 3 months since and my shoulders are feeling really good, i think they are really bad for u, at first they dont seem that bad but after awhile the wear and tear u put your shoulders through will cause problems

[ILLINOISE]

my shoulders would hurt when doing bench pressing i mean

[D&G]

If there is even the slightest risk in BTN presses why would you do them - there are totally safe alternatives which are just as effective!

[HIT is best]

Originally posted by D&G
If there is even the slightest risk in BTN presses why would you do them - there are totally safe alternatives which are just as effective!

Bump on this.

Peace

[stealthology]

What are some safer alternatives?

[Lencho]

I overhead them and some of the information was useful like putting your legs up with doing bench press so you don't arch your back.

lol, this is dumber than "BTN presses will kill you."



I love BTN push presses and think that everybody should do them.

[Beachman]

What are some safer alternatives?

Ummm... over head presses in front of your face.

+ 8 year old thread

[Lencho]

+ 8 year old thread

Oh shi... I didn't even notice that.

[Blizzard589]

BTN Push Presses FTW!

[Tyrbolift]

Ummm... over head presses in front of your face.

+ 8 year old thread

Oh shi... I didn't even notice that.

OP's last post was in 2007. Maybe he had to quit bbing cause he screwed up his shoulders.

[Kyuss420]

I was doing my back workout at the gym today and hoping to finish before the high school students got their for sport. I was too late. While working out I noticed a female trainer they must have hired going around telling them how to use each machine & do specific exercises. I overhead them and some of the information was useful like putting your legs up with doing bench press so you don't arch your back. While I was doing dead lifts, I heard her talking about shoulder presses and not to do them behind your neck or back cause it's bad for ya. I couldn't care less about what she said cause I was getting pissed off by the students clowning around while I was doing my dead lifts.

Is this right about behind the neck shoulder exercises being bad for ya? What about Military Presses as well?

can someone clear this up for me? i always though you had to keep your feet flat on the floor so you can dig your heels into the ground when you go to bench, yet i see people doin the whole feet up on the bench because they dont want an arch. yet its okay to have a small arch in your lower back, enough to fit a hand under or so.

[dynomitedice]

OVerhead presses are not good for you at all. First of all, the motion of pressing something over our heads is not a natural movement, making your risk of injury very high. Secondly, the most common misconception about shoulders is that, becasue there are three heads, that you have to do 15-18 sets on shoulder day. You may see growth out of this, but your not seeing maximum growth. The reason for this is that shoulders are used in every bench pressing exercise (front delts) and in every pull up and rowing exercise (rear delts) that you do throughout the week, so alot of people do too much with their shoulders and restrict growth. Im not saying to neglect shoulders completely but lower the sets you do on shoulder day (8-10 sets) for a few weeks and concentrate on the mid delts a little more when you do so and dont be surprised if you seee some nice gains.

[dynomitedice]

keep your feet planted on the floor and absolutely drive them through the ground when you lift. try standing stratght up facing a wall and put your hands on hte wall and press yourself away from it, then do the dame thing but this time squat down so your knees have a nice bend to them and keep your feet planted on the floor. you will see the power difference with the knees bent. Its pretty much how keeping your knees bent and feet planted on hte floor during a bench press works.

[Bantropic]

I was doing my back workout at the gym today and hoping to finish before the high school students got their for sport. I was too late. While working out I noticed a female trainer they must have hired going around telling them how to use each machine & do specific exercises. I overhead them and some of the information was useful like putting your legs up with doing bench press so you don't arch your back. While I was doing dead lifts, I heard her talking about shoulder presses and not to do them behind your neck or back cause it's bad for ya. I couldn't care less about what she said cause I was getting pissed off by the students clowning around while I was doing my dead lifts.

Is this right about behind the neck shoulder exercises being bad for ya? What about Military Presses as well?

I have not read any other responses in this thread - so I apologise if this is repeating information.

However.

Simplistically; pushing movements and pulling movements require the contraction of different muscles, which impact the shoulder joint differently.

In other words. While 'lat pulldowns' behind the neck are not advisable (pulling movement); you are more than welcome to perform behind the neck presses (pressing movement), providing you have adequate shoulder flexibility. It's a common progression and exercise performed by weightlifters during their training programs.

[Bantropic]

I overhead them and some of the information was useful like putting your legs up with doing bench press so you don't arch your back.

I disagree completely.

This is not a useful piece of information to people who are new to the gym. An excessive arch of the back, or lifting of the glutes during a bench press simply shows poor technique, and an inadequate understanding of the movement. A new person to bench presses needs as much stability as possible; where placing your feet on the bench itself creates instability.