The Ultimate Strength & Size Builder - Behind the Neck Press

Behind the Neck Presses have been wrongly accused of being bad for the shoulders. The reality is, if you have a shoulder problem, this exercise will let you know. It is a test or indicator of shoulder health and not necessarily the cause of shoulder problems or pain.

If you can perform one with no pain, no limited range of motion and an even left / right extension of the bar, you are good to go. Keep them in your program for about 3 weeks, then switch to another overhead movement. Cycle them in and out throughout the year. An increase in the behind the neck press will carry over to your bench press and other upper body strength movements.

Form:

  1. Seated with natural arch in the lower back
  2. Feet ultra wide, press heels through floor
  3. Set pins of rack at around arm pit height when seated
  4. Start the movement from the traps
  5. Press up without major strain on the neck, but you will have to move the head forward slightly
  6. Lock out at the top and shrug shoulders into sockets ( slight scapulae retraction) - this will help strengthen stabilizers also.
  7. 3 to 4 second lowering of bar back to traps.

Ideally, for maximum strength and size don't get into double digit reps. I like doing these as a primary mover at the beginning of an upper strength workout (A1) as a substitute for bench press or immediately after bench press (B1) in the 4 to 6 sets of 2 to 4 reps or as an assistance movement towards the end of an upper body workout in the 3 to 5 sets of 4 to 7 rep range.

Some addition notes to consider:

  • Overhead pressing carries over positively into the bench press but the opposite is not necessarily true.
  • The weight for 1RM behind the neck press from a seated position should represent 66% of the weight used for 1RM in the close grip bench press (from a dead stop on the traps position).

 

If these cause pain in the shoulder, best to get a practitioner to do some structural balance or muscle tests on your (ART, sports chiro, reputable strength trainer for example) and see what the root cause of the pain is. Because it is NOT because Behind the Neck Press is bad for you. A primary cause of shoulder pain is exactly the opposite - not enough overhead pressing in the program.

Press & Grow!

  

References: Charles Poliquin & Bill Starr

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