seated military press, behind the head or in front?

[bate18]

for shoulders i start with seated military press, and i always bring the bar down in front of my head. i see almost every one else do it behind the head, what do you suggest?

[amusclehead]

to the front

more chance of injury behind the neck if you've got poor shulder flexibility

[Douche_Nutz]

Bump, DO NOT do it behind the head. Horrible for your shoulders/rotator cuff.

[Steveo31]

just because everyone does it, doesn't mean it is right. take stop signs for example...

kudos for asking and not doing it wrong.

[Flipexed]

do them but do them right. if you are gonna load up and bang em out like crazy without good form coz the guy next to can do it that way then you are asking for trouble, don't workout like dumbass. they are an excellent way to build up your shoulders, just start out light, use good form and don't let the ego get in the way. i do presses to the front and back, started doing em to the back early last year and can now do my bodyweight x 6. i'm 200 pounds.

[Bignbuff]

In front!

Hope this helps buddy.

[A-rod]

By definition military press is done standing and to the front and bump to the guys , no behind neck .......

[ahadabans]

Originally posted by A-rod
By definition military press is done standing and to the front and bump to the guys , no behind neck .......

bump

[ripped_holla]

I do it sitting and in front - go down to about chin level and up to both arms straight.

[15yOmOnStEr]

If you go behind the neck it won't be considered military press any more it is behind the neck press. It is IMO the best mass builder for rear delts. There is not really any need for direct work to the front delts b/c they are pretty much directly hit on chest day(bench,incline,dips)

[ripped_holla]

Originally posted by 15yOmOnStEr
If you go behind the neck it won't be considered military press any more it is behind the neck press. It is IMO the best mass builder for rear delts. There is not really any need for direct work to the front delts b/c they are pretty much directly hit on chest day(bench,incline,dips)

I think military press hits the front delts. That's why it's listed under "anterior" deltoid, not "posterior".

http://www.exrx.net/Lists/ExList/ShouldWt.html

[15yOmOnStEr]

Wow that's weird...I'm pretty sure though that it hits the posterior primarily and than anterior secondarily. Just by how it feels though, not going by any one elses info.

[A-rod]

Originally posted by ripped_holla
I think military press hits the front delts. That's why it's listed under "anterior" deltoid, not "posterior".

http://www.exrx.net/Lists/ExList/ShouldWt.html

True ....

[bate18]

Originally posted by Flipexed
do them but do them right. if you are gonna load up and bang em out like crazy without good form coz the guy next to can do it that way then you are asking for trouble, don't workout like dumbass. they are an excellent way to build up your shoulders, just start out light, use good form and don't let the ego get in the way. i do presses to the front and back, started doing em to the back early last year and can now do my bodyweight x 6. i'm 200 pounds.

what the hell are you talking about? this had nothing to do with form or banging them out, i was simply asking behind or in front of the head

[amusclehead]

Originally posted by ripped_holla
I think military press hits the front delts. That's why it's listed under "anterior" deltoid, not "posterior".

http://www.exrx.net/Lists/ExList/ShouldWt.html

bizump

[15yOmOnStEr]

It's possible I could have been misinformed though, but I don't really see how they hit the anteriorr??

[EliteBSU]

most lifters have ****ty rear delts, so when they do BTN presses they cant completely control the weight and they royally f*cks their rotator cuffs.
so you can either
1. build your rear delts and do them
2. just do them to the front and try to keep your elbows back

Elite

[J.S.B.]

I've done both, and honestly I like behind the neck better, however, as the weight increased, my ROM behind the neck decreased. I stay to the front now, where I can keep a full ROM with a heavy load. It really does go back to flexability, and a safe bet for beginners is to stay to the front, or use dbs. IMO.

[zall]

all pressing movements involve mainly the anterior deltoid,
for better work on posterior and medial delts you gotta do lat raises

oh yeah as for the original Q mil press is performed in front,

[klarum]

do them but do them right. if you are gonna load up and bang em out like crazy without good form coz the guy next to can do it that way then you are asking for trouble, don't workout like dumbass. they are an excellent way to build up your shoulders, just start out light, use good form and don't let the ego get in the way. i do presses to the front and back, started doing em to the back early last year and can now do my bodyweight x 6. i'm 200 pounds.

You do seated shoulder presses with 6x your body weight... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHA! Good joke.

[Engineer_Guy]

You do seated shoulder presses with 6x your body weight... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHA! Good joke.

1. This thread is from 2004.
2. The guy you quoted clearly meant 6 reps at his BW, not 6 times his BW..

[jgreystoke]

Military Press = standing overhead press without any body English.

A century ago they did that totally upright with the heels together, like you were standing to attention(hence "military" press).

But that meant you were more concerned with maintaining balance than actually putting up a heavy barbell. So it was a waste of time(like squats on a busu ball today).

So the term came to mean a strict standing overhead press(stable foot placement, usually around hip to shoulder width), to distinguish it from:

1. Push press, with a leg drive to start the bar from the clavicles.

2. Jerk, with tremendous leg drive but no "press out" to finish.

3. Olympic press, with a lot of lean back and body English to start the bar up, another lay back to catch the bar, but no bending of the legs allowed.

A seated military press is a contradiction in terms, because it is not standing.

If you have the flexibility, then press behind the head/neck is a great movement. Of course you can do it seated.

Olympic lifters, who do overhead squats, full squat snatches, snatch balance exercises etc, have the flexibility to do presses behind the neck with no problems. They do them standing up, like God/Odin/Crom intended we should be man enough to do that.

If you don't have that kind of flexibility, then in front is recommended for your "seated press". Any reason why you don't do it standing? Just curious?

[schneppy07]

for shoulders i start with seated military press, and i always bring the bar down in front of my head. i see almost every one else do it behind the head, what do you suggest?

I will always do them in front.

To much room for injury behind your head.

[zakatak333]

used to do seated, behind the neck press

now i do standing, in front of the neck press