Standing Barbell Press Behind Neck

Shoulders · Barbell

How to do it

Unrack the bar and rest it **on your upper back**, with a grip slightly wider than your shoulders. Standing, abs braced, press up to locked elbows and lower to the back of your neck under control. It works the side delt more than the front press because the elbows stay flared. **It demands real shoulder mobility**: if you have to poke your neck forward to clear the bar, this is not your exercise. The classic mistake is going all the way down chasing range.

Variants

The drawing shows one way of doing it, and the technique above describes that one. Almost every exercise has variants — standing or seated, the grip, the bench angle — and is still the same exercise: if you do it another way, write it in the exercise note and you will have it every time you train it.

Also works: Triceps

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