Behind-the-Neck Push Press
Starting behind the neck opens the chest and shifts the emphasis toward the middle deltoid while the leg dip lets you move heavier loads than a strict behind-the-neck press. It builds overhead power and is a staple assistance lift for weightlifters who catch jerks in that position. It demands excellent shoulder mobility, so reserve it for lifters with the range and control to keep the bar path safe.
- Equipment
- Barbell
- Body part
- Shoulder
- Type
- Strength
- Browse by muscle
- Deltoid Anterior, Deltoid Middle
- Browse by movement
- Vertical Press
- Target
- Deltoid Anterior, Deltoid Middle
- Secondary
- Triceps Brachii Long Head, Triceps Brachii Lateral Head, Triceps Brachii Medial Head, Trapezius Upper
- Tertiary
- Vastus Lateralis, Gluteus Maximus
How to do it
- 1
Set the bar across your upper traps behind your neck with a grip wider than shoulder width, feet hip-width.
- 2
Brace your abs and take a short breath, keeping your torso vertical.
- 3
Dip a few inches by bending the knees while keeping the chest tall.
- 4
Reverse hard and drive through the legs to launch the bar straight up off your shoulders.
- 5
Punch the arms to lockout overhead, then lower under control back behind the neck and reset.
Tips
- Only press behind the neck if you have the shoulder mobility to keep the bar path vertical without pain.
- Keep the dip shallow and vertical; a forward knee drift throws the bar out of the groove.
- Time the arm drive with the leg extension so the legs pass momentum smoothly into the press.
Variations
Common mistakes
- The bar comes down onto the neck rather than the shelf of muscle across the upper traps, and the bones there have nothing to cushion them; find that shelf before the set starts.
- Rather than moving the bar back, the head ducks forward to let it pass, which rounds the neck under load and leaves the bar travelling around you instead of straight up.
- A grip only shoulder-width wide forces the shoulders into deep rotation behind you; take a wider grip so the elbows can sit under the bar without straining the joint.
- The rack pins get set at your standing height, so a missed rep behind the neck has nowhere to go; set them at chest height and stay inside them for every working set.
- The tell that the position has run out is a bar that stalls at ear height on the way down and has to be steered the rest of the way. End the set there instead of grinding one more.
Frequently asked
- How many sets and reps of the behind-the-neck push press should you do when you are new to the exercise?
- This is not a beginner lift. Once you can hold a bar behind your neck with the elbows under it and no pinching in the shoulders, start with 4 sets of 3 using an empty or lightly loaded bar and film a set from the side. Keep reps at 3 to 5 and add weight in small steps over weeks, because a rep that fails behind you has no good escape.
- What should I do instead of the behind-the-neck push press if my shoulders are tight?
- Do the front-rack push press. It trains the same leg drive and lockout with a bar path you can bail out of and far less demand on shoulder rotation. If you want the middle-delt bias, a snatch-grip front push press or a seated neutral-grip dumbbell press gets you close. Build thoracic extension and overhead range before revisiting this version, and leave it alone entirely if you have a shoulder history.
- Why would anyone press behind the neck instead of in front?
- It is mainly a weightlifting assistance lift: it rehearses the overhead position of a jerk caught behind the head and biases the middle delt because the arms start wider. For a general lifter it offers little the front version does not, at more risk, so it is a poor choice unless you snatch or jerk. It is also wrong for anyone with limited overhead range, a sore shoulder, or nobody nearby while training heavy.
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