Behind the neck press vs Military press

[Shawdow]

Which is better?
I heard that BNP hits all 3 heads of the shoulder and military just the front, is this true?

[Meso_z]

Which is better?
I heard that BNP hits all 3 heads of the shoulder and military just the front, is this true?

hmmm, dont know if its true but i feel it too on all my delt heads.

Maybe its because of the 90degree angle or something. you push "I", while in front presses you push more like "/"

[mademan80]

i thought doing behind the neck puts on unnecessary strain on the shoulders and neck that could cause injury...the same with behind the neck pull downs?
 

[benchthis]

behind the neck push press a mans lift 

[leonp1981]

Most of the injuries from BNP come from too much weight or poor form.  When I use them, I do them at the end of my workout when the delts are already fatigued, using a lighter weight and stopping the bar around the level of my ears, any lower doesn't feel right.

On a side note, I've scrapped barbell presses for dumbells recently and feel much better for it.

[pumpster]

i thought doing behind the neck puts on unnecessary strain on the shoulders and neck that could cause injury...the same with behind the neck pull downs?
 

This is true, however you can still do the movements without problem by doing about 2/3 ROM, avoiding the bottom. This will avoid shoulder impingement, and is possibily an even better exercise than full ROM in terms of hitting the delts.

I heard that BNP hits all 3 heads of the shoulder and military just the front, is this true?

Ya I do think behind the necks emphasize the lateral head more, but they're both good. If you do the behind the necks use about 2/3 ROM while avoiding the bottom. Very effective and easy on the shoulder joints. I like the Smith machine sometimes, presses on that can be very effective.

Same with pulldowns or chins behind the neck; using partial ROM does feel different than going to the front and is worth including, using partial ROM.

Most of the injuries from BNP come from too much weight or poor form.  When I use them, I do them at the end of my workout when the delts are already fatigued, using a lighter weight and stopping the bar around the level of my ears, any lower doesn't feel right.

On a side note, I've scrapped barbell presses for dumbells recently and feel much better for it.

Makes total sense, for example doing them last. I would suggest doing extensions later in any tri workout for the same reason. And ya, BB presses are tough on the joints. I DO like smith presses using partial ROM, it can hit the muscle very effectively, allows training to failure better than free weights.

[elite_lifter]

BNP, bring bar to ear level.

[jpm101]

Problem with most men when it  comes to the PBN (press behind neck) is that they are just not flexible enough in the shoulder girdle for that style of overhead press. Compound that with using too much weight  at first, and a unneeded extra wide grip can cause discomfort and injury. Idea is to warm-up the shoulder girdle with light stretches and use just an empty exercise bar for a few light sets of 20 to 30 reps. Than start with moderate sets (working to heavy after 3 or 4 weeks, if you wish) and a grip where the elbows are around a 90 degree angle at the star of the press. Doing that warm-up have the bar touch the middle range of the traps. That is part of the stretch process.

Most guy's only lower the bar to a little below the ear level and never lockout. Most actual muscle involvement (TUT) is with-in that mid ROM range. That can go for most exercises; benches, chins, curls, etc... Still people who lower the bar to the mid to upper trap and halt just before overhead lockout. I being one of them.

The PBN hits the laterial head mostly, because of the elbows being out wide and  somewhat inline with the body. Anterior delts also get a fair share of work. The rear/posterior delt helps to hold stable the actually prsssing muscles of the laterial and front delt. The read delts are mostly a pulling muscle, not a pressing one.

Lateral raises, either SS'ed or Pre-Exhaused, work very well with the PBN. As do up-right rows. Good Luck.

[Emmortal]

Regardless of flexibility, the shoulder is abducted and hyper-externally rotated, this places the joint in an anatomically disadvantageous position. The supraspinatus tendon is being impinged by the humorous (upper arm bone) and acromium. Also, not everyone is flexible enough to keep a straight back and this places excess stress on the spine. Furthmore, you have to put your head down to bring the bar all the way down, and this reinforces a negative posture

[CalvinH]

Why just do 1.switch it up once in awhile.

[jpm101]

Emmortal offers an interesting quote. Reminds me of the first year in college when the prof told us about the major dangers of sneezing , with the high amount of negative internal pressure and potential rupture of blood vessels it put upon the body.  Not to mention serious brain damage due to sudden head/neck jerking motion. Bottom line, never sneeze or serious injury may follow.  Do not know if certain sections of graveyards have secret plots for victims of sneezing or not.

Emmortal quote does suggest a text book look at exercises preformed behind the neck. That being said, most any exercise will have a disadvantage for some folks.Not all exercises are meant for everyone. The Dl can be a prime example (could add squats and benches to that). Some should avoid it at all cost and others thrive on it.

As with the PBN, for people who are suited for it, it can add extra width and thickness to the whole shoulder girdle. And even strengthen that area quite well. A lot depends of each of our body leverage, joint placement, tendons, etc. Once a point of good flex/stretch is gained, if trouble or discomfort happens when doing the movement, than that exercise is not for you. Good Luck.


Side Bar: seen a couple of guy's do jerk press behind the neck and others do set's of 3's with very heavy weight. Not for everyone of course, but for them excellent results follow.

[oldtimer1]

I have been doing press behind the neck presses for about 35 years without a problem. It is a flexiblity problem for many and yes inflexible shoulders from to much benching will increase the injury potential when doing PBN.  20 plus years ago you would always see a guy push the pbn off the resting point for squats.  Now it's all about weight used and doing half reps will allow you to do 225lb instead of the 150lbs. you should be using.


Doing a limited range of motion is all the rage now.  It always attributed to injury prevention when in reality it's ego driven because the shorter the range of motion the more weight you can use. Short stroke squats, leg presses, shoulder presses, various benches; and even tricep movements like dips will allow you to use a ton of weight to deceive yourself that you are really strong. Go to any gym and every member will use above 800lbs in the leg press.  99% will barely bend their legs with the back board almost upright so the knees will hit their chest with a slight leg bend.

[pumpster]

Doing a limited range of motion is all the rage now.  It always attributed to injury prevention when in reality it's ego driven because the shorter the range of motion the more weight you can use. Short stroke squats, leg presses, shoulder presses, various benches; and even tricep movements like dips will allow you to use a ton of weight to deceive yourself that you are really strong. Go to any gym and every member will use above 800lbs in the leg press.  99% will barely bend their legs with the back board almost upright so the knees will hit their chest with a slight leg bend.

Your interpretation is only part of it; it is good for the ego but it can also be more effective training to do partials and can also lead to great strength thru full ROM, which you neglected to realize all these years.

[mesmorph78]

dont do them....
funny thing is when i first started training i used to do them all the time...
just doest feel right

[BatistaSL]

Well...I feel They are great!!

Gives a hell of a tension than fronts. Love it.

[Geo]

studies show that bnp's can lead to unwanted teen pregnancies and drug addiction,and should be avoided at all costs !

[local hero]

i think there the best shoulder exersize for overall growth........but i wouldnt do them in a million yrs, u get damaged enough doin them to the front!

[pumpster]

i think there the best shoulder exersize for overall growth........but i wouldnt do them in a million yrs, u get damaged enough doin them to the front!

Partial ROMS won't cause problems, are effective. Smith machine also helps. The best lateral exercise along with side DB laterals.

[oldtimer1]

A full range of motion will make sure that the weakest link of the chain gets worked instead of only the strongest.  You are only as strong as your weakest link.  It also maintains and promotes flexibility which will aid in injury prevention.

 Half presses have their use but keep short stroking movements so you can handle weights you're not truly capable of lifting and your an injury waiting to happen.

[Reign Down]

I have had trouble with them causing small injuries, I used them frequently.

However changing to military press has not had any difference to me at all, I must admit I keep my training as basic as possible but like I said the change has made not one noticeable difference.............. ......................i still look like shit 

[JasonH]

I do behind neck presses nearly every shoulder workout - I can understand why people say you could get injured etc but with all gym exercises, your flexibility and strength will improve over time and you've just got to work at it. You don't really need extra heavy weights on the exercise and you can actually get away with lowering the weight slowly and performing half or three-quarter reps keeping the emphasis on the shoulder muscles at all times. At the top of the movement don't extend completely all the way up - keep the arms ever so slightly bent and again, this keeps the pressure on the delts. I know there's going to be some people here who disagree with this appraoch but I've been doing it for ages like this and not only does it help prevent injuries, my delts are probably one of my best bodyparts and I attribute their development to this style of training for delts.

[pumpster]

Ya the partial reps not only prevent injury, they keep constant tension on the delts, and the delts are one of the areas that seem to respond nicely to it. Keeping the weight moderate and not bouncing it also helps preserve the joints.

[webcake]

Some people can do them no problem, for others it can be very uncomfortable. Comes down to shoulder girdle flexibility. I can do them fairly comfortably, but that being said i still mostly do regular military presses to the front.

[jpm101]

Actually there is nothing written in stone that any type of partial reps prevent injury. That is misleading information. Partial reps can cause problems for people just as full ROM can.Those TUT reps do add a lot of stress to the muscle worked (and the joints), even with a moderate weight. And undo stress, for some, can invite injury. The joints are not just harmed by heavy weights, other factors are involved, but even a lighter weight can cause injury.

Been using heavy partial power rack training most of my life. Seen some very good results but have also seen injury to guy's who were just warming up for heavier sets. Never any guarantee that injury will never happen, either with full light Rom or moderate to heavy partials. Good Luck.

[MuscleMcMannus]

BNP's are AWESOME at bringing up your traps.  Nothing compares in my opinion.  The key is to keep your reps higher like around 12-15 and don't go too heavy.  Just because one execise is bad for someone else doesn't mean it's worthless for others.  We are all built differently.