Raising the barbell while standing up, which muscles work. Standing press: technique, tips. Standing press - diagram

- This is another basic exercise for training the shoulders, it is very similar to the military press, but, unlike it, in this exercise the athlete lowers the barbell not to the chest, but behind the head. Precisely because the amplitude of the movement does not allow for “cheating”, the exercise more specifically emphasizes the load in the deltoids, but does not allow you to lift as much weight as the military press. But the standing press is less traumatic and better suited for developing muscle volume.

The standing press is not a strength exercise, but something between a seated press and a military press. On the one hand, it’s no longer possible to throw a barbell, but many muscle groups are still involved. In other words, if the military press is designed to develop muscle strength, the seated press is for pumping, then the standing press is best suited for volumetric strength training, which most effectively grows muscle mass. If you want to pump up your shoulders, do standing presses!

Work of muscles and joints

The standing press mainly loads the anterior bundle of the deltoid muscles, but due to the amplitude of the movement, the middle bundle also receives load. In addition, sufficient force also has to be applied to the triceps; the abs work as a stabilizer, along with the long back muscles. Even the legs get a good workout simply due to the fact that the exercise is performed while standing.

The standing press, just like the military press, loads the joints, it is especially dangerous for the spine, so in this exercise it is vital to follow the technique. Actually, all standing exercises should be performed only by experienced athletes, whose long back muscles and abs are already sufficiently developed and can keep the body straight, relieving the load from the spine. For those who have back problems, it is best to limit yourself to the seated press.

Standing press - diagram

1) Stand under the barbell with your legs scissored as if you were doing a barbell squat, then place the barbell on the trapeze and stand with it.
2) Moving away from the racks, place your legs back into a scissors position and push the barbell up.
3) Without spreading your elbows to the side, lower the barbell down to ear level, while slowly inhaling air.
4) With a powerful push, lift the barbell up, exhaling as you do so.
5) Throughout the entire movement, the knees are slightly bent and the back is straight, slightly arched back.

Standing Press - Notes

1) The grip width should not be too wide, but not too narrow, so that the elbows point forward throughout the entire amplitude.
2) Your head should not be lifted up, just look forward so as not to interfere with the barbell at the lowest point.
3) The shoulder blades should be slightly compressed so that the latissimus dorsi muscle does not steal part of the load.
4) If your arms have not recovered, then you must first fatigue your shoulders with isolating exercises so that they get tired before your arms.
5) When you lift the barbell for the first rep from the trapezium, it is better to use the help of a partner so as not to injure your shoulders, since in this position the weight of the barbell will be pulled by the joints.

Anatomy

The deltoid muscle of the shoulder girdle consists of three bundles: anterior, middle and posterior. The front bundle is the strongest and therefore, when performing a strength exercise such as a military press, it receives the main load. The standing press allows you to isolate your shoulders from other muscle groups, which forces you to reduce the weight of the barbell, but the middle bundle also receives load.

Because the standing press is performed with less training weight, there is less wear and tear on the joints and the spine is at less risk of injury. On the other hand, the shoulders are in a less comfortable position, which compensates for the lower working weight and the lack of “cheating”, which allows you to work the deltoid muscles with more emphasis.

The military standing press is a subtype of basic exercise that helps to maximally load the deltoids, shoulders and develop strength. Thanks to the powerful load, it helps to increase the bench press. Let's find out what the army version is, what muscles are involved, technique, benefits and interesting facts.

What muscles work?

The main load falls on the shoulders. The exercise pumps up the front deltoids more powerfully. At the same time, the rear and middle deltas are actively involved in the work, although they receive less load.

Military style work involves the trapezius and pectoral muscles. Squeezing the bar upward engages the triceps. Using a wide grip on the bar reduces the load on the triceps. Narrow grip style – increases.

The world record in the military bench press is 235 kg.

The classic grip is slightly wider than shoulder width. As a result, the body core will be stabilized.

The wide range of effectiveness of the military press for the development of an aesthetic body core requires the use of additional exercises. It is impossible to get impressive shoulders by working exclusively on the front deltoids. It is prudent to rock three bundles together. This one is suitable, it will force the middle delta to come out. You will have bulging, pumped up arms. To do this, take into account the following varieties:

• Army style.

It is appropriate to include the military press after the main chest workout. Then swings, machines and bar rows to the neck. Your deltoid muscles are fully pumped. It is inappropriate to use huge weights on deltoids.

Military bench press: execution technique

After information about which muscles are effectively loaded while standing, let’s consider the technical component. Knowing the secrets will allow you to take the right steps to get into athletic shape quickly.

Warm-up

We begin mastering the technique with a warm-up. Well-warmed joints and muscles will protect you from stretch marks, dislocations or severe fractures.

Weight fixation

An important nuance that experienced athletes often forget about. Before starting the press, try to check the fixed weight with the levers. Rational weight selection will increase delta hypertrophy.

Approach to the projectile

We take the barbell in our hands and at the same time look a little upward. We take one step back with each foot. We become comfortable. We place our feet shoulder-width apart, and our toes point to the sides. Bend your legs at the knees. The back should be in one position - flat. Bend your lower back slightly. You cannot bend back or forward - this is a chance of getting a serious spinal injury.

Now we place the bar on the chest. It should lightly touch the upper chest.

Working with the fingerboard

Take a deep breath, tense your body from the very bottom. Hold your breath a little and press the barbell above your head. At the level of the mouth we begin to exhale air. It is not necessary to straighten your arms at the elbows. It is better to keep them in a slightly bent position.

At the top, pause for a second to feel the tension in your deltoids. Return to the starting point. Touch your chest and do more reps.

We do it as many times as necessary. We lower the barbell to the chest and place it on the platform racks.

Errors during execution:

1. You cannot jerk the barbell;
2. Push randomly along a different trajectory, removing the stability of the body.

The military bench press with a barbell is one of the powerful exercises for the back and lower back. To stabilize the body and spine, it is better to wear a weightlifting leather belt. It will help to properly fix the spine, and the internal pressure outward will not bother you.

Military dumbbell press

This option involves regular dumbbells. Which is better to choose? Everything depends on you. The strategy can be based on changing the bar with dumbbells every two weeks. Two styles specifically target the anterior deltoid, so do it for variety.

Dumbbells are better for beginners. For athletes with straight shoulders, it is advisable to supplement delt training with dumbbells. Athletes whose shoulders have become curved or convex primarily work with the bar. Please note that the recommendation is conditional. It is not supported by research. Every rule has an exception, so use what you like.

Other types of execution

Vary the activity, including options:

• behind the head and immediately on the chest;
• to the top of the head - half the trajectory.

The seated military press will allow you to concentrate on pumping up your shoulders. You don't have to worry about stabilizing your body.

Other subtypes of execution are more necessary for variety of training. Any option is effective if done correctly. Different methods are suitable for other exercises and will help you get relief and beautiful volume of deltas.

What should I replace it with?

The military standing press is a basic exercise for working out the relief and increasing strength indicators. At the same time, many people are interested in what to replace it with? It happens that the exercise needs to be changed. Building mass on the shoulders depends on a set of combinations with other vertical and horizontal training. It cannot be completely replaced.

Table

Let's summarize. The army version is aimed at almost one group. Combined with isolation exercises, the upper body responds significantly. It is difficult to replace it in terms of efficiency, so you will have to learn how to work with it. It is very valuable and often underestimated by many athletes. In the hall you can see that many people’s shoulders are lagging behind.

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Or military press– a heavy basic exercise, one of the best for the development of deltoid muscles, popular in all strength sports, including powerlifting. This exercise is considered one of the best for training the shoulder girdle, and since the deltoids are involved in the bench press, a competitive movement in powerlifting, training the shoulders is one of the components of success in the bench press.

The standing barbell press in powerlifting is often used as an auxiliary exercise to improve bench press results. In the 20th century, the military press was a mandatory Olympic movement in weightlifting competitions, but due to the high number of injuries it was removed from there, we can conclude that this exercise should be performed very carefully, observing all technical aspects.

Muscles worked during the standing press

The main load during the military press falls on the front and middle deltoid muscles; the rear deltoids, triceps, upper pectoral muscles and upper back are also involved in the exercise. As you can see, there are many muscles working that are also used when bench pressing, so we recommend that all strength athletes include the standing press in their training program.

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Since the standing barbell press puts a lot of stress on your back, you can bench press the barbell while sitting, so you will be able to better concentrate on working your deltoids.

Safety while standing barbell press in powerlifting

As you already understand, the military press puts a lot of stress on your back, so it is better to wear an athletic belt while performing it. It is very important to follow the technique of performing the exercise, since the shoulder joint, due to its enormous mobility, is often subject to injury.

The standing overhead bench press is also popular among athletes, as it allows you to lift more compared to the chest press. This exercise is not recommended for use in powerlifting because it forces the shoulder joint to move unnaturally and thereby exposes it to damage. When pressing overhead, athletes can twist a joint and lose months, or even years, as the recovery process will take a long time. Use the standard military press in your workouts, although the working weights are smaller, you will protect yourself from shoulder injuries and will work with increased amplitude.

Technique for performing a standing barbell press on video

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The military press is a regular bench press. And the army one is a standing shoulder press, also known as a chest press, or a standing barbell press. The exercise is basic, used not only in bodybuilding, but also in the training of weightlifters and powerlifters. Quite popular, but considered controversial; many athletes believe that it is the cause of spinal injuries, hernias and protrusions. When done correctly, this is not the case. On the contrary, the movement teaches how to stabilize the spine under load, and is very useful for anyone who wants to find a balance between the development of physical qualities and the beauty of the body.

The movement is carried out by the triceps, the anterior and middle heads of the deltoid muscles and partly the posterior deltoid. The muscles of the legs, buttocks, and core work as stabilizers. It is a mistake to think that the military press is an exercise that involves the calf muscles. It is a technical fault if the lifter pushes the weight upward with their legs. If performed correctly, the result will be a shwung; if performed incorrectly, it will be a mediocre imitation.

Some articles actually claim that this movement helps pump up your breasts. In fact, the pecs contract, acting as a shoulder stabilizer, and gradually stretch as the lifter lifts the bar behind his head. But the load cannot be considered sufficient for their hypertrophy. Significant confusion has also arisen because many authors of articles confuse the military-style bench press with the army one. A military-style press is usually called a bench press without supporting your legs, and a military-style press is a standing press.

It is not possible to turn off the stabilizers while standing. Therefore, it is better to leave ideas about performing this movement in Smith without implementation. The Smith machine is a fixed barbell with a trajectory that is exclusively suitable for seated overhead presses, not chest presses. Some machines simulate an elliptical path to make pressing movements more natural, but not every shoulder can work in this exact path. Therefore, it is better not to use the Smith machine option.

Turning off stabilizers from work in basic exercises is a very irrational exercise. Athletes make a base in order to develop all the muscles of the body and activate neuromuscular connections, and not in order to later think about how exactly to adapt it so that the base is not a base.

To begin with, this movement did not come from the training of US Navy SEALs, as is commonly written everywhere in RuNet, but as a traditional element of training weightlifters. The SEALs really do it, since a good military press will help both throw a bag onto a support and pull out a wounded comrade if something happens. But it is impossible to say for sure who “invented” the exercise. Lifting weights overhead was known to the ancient Greeks, judging by the frescoes, and has always been considered a good developmental exercise.

The military press allows you to develop not so much the strength of the shoulders and triceps themselves, but rather the synergy in the movement of the legs, body, and arms. In addition, it allows you to increase the strength of the entire upper body precisely due to stabilization. It also serves as an excellent special-preparatory movement for a good half of bench press exercises, and partly for strength-speed exercises, such as clean and jerks.

All this has led to the high popularity of the exercise in modern times. In fact, it was not powerlifting or bodybuilding that “infected” the masses with this movement, but CrossFit. When many people came to CrossFit boxes in order to become as cool as those guys in the video, they discovered that they lacked not only strength indicators, but also endurance, as well as banal amplitude in the joints. The military press helps you develop all the necessary movements in CrossFit, from throwing medicine balls from the chest to weightlifting clean and jerks. It also serves to stabilize the shoulder joint in movements performed on the bar.

The military press was also respected by old school bodybuilders. Most of them trained in one way or another with coaches who came from Soviet weightlifting. In this form, lifting weights overhead is a basic movement.

The benefits of the exercise do not end with its applied significance for various disciplines. Being basic, it involves most of the muscles of the upper body. This allows the athlete to effectively build muscle mass and activate neuromuscular connections, as a result, the gain will actually happen faster than if you do only isolation in the gym.

In addition to the shoulders, the movement works great on the triceps. It allows you to change the shape of your hands. Therefore, the military bench press is often given to girls who want to quickly tone their arms, no matter how paradoxical it may sound.

With the correct technique, movement serves as an excellent prevention of problems arising due to insufficiently active blood circulation in the cervical-collar area. A number of sources mention that the military bench press is a prevention of trapezius hypertonicity in security forces and headaches associated with muscle spasms.

Important: all the benefits of the military press are revealed only when performing the exercise with the correct technique

For beginners, the movement has two serious disadvantages:

1. Possibility of injury due to technical violations;
2. Risk of falling

Some athletes simply do not have time to “unhook” their hands from the apparatus and therefore fall back along with the barbell. This usually happens if the weight taken is too heavy. For novice athletes, movement carries many dangers, especially if a person cannot adequately assess training volume. We are not talking about injuries and falls. Many athletes really want to build up their shoulders faster, so they do a monstrous amount of work on them. This causes inflammation in soft tissues and pain.

They say that the reason is the military press itself, and they forbid doing it. But in fact, the reason is the abundance of different presses, and insufficient time and resources of the body for recovery.

A beginner whose strength is not yet sufficient to adequately stabilize the lower back in an exercise may also experience a back injury. Usually this is a vertebral displacement, protrusion or hernia. It is impossible to assume that this movement alone is the cause. In practice, there are many more reasons, and one of them is weakness of the anterior abdominal wall. Until the abs become stronger, it is recommended to wear an athletic belt. But this is not a panacea. The skill of keeping your back neutral will still have to be developed, no matter how much you would like to exercise safely all your life using only a belt.

Hand injuries are common due to improper technique. Many people do not place the bar in the middle of the palm, and do not provide even pressure, but simply try to redistribute the weight so that it is comfortable to lift. This is not always optimal for the wrists. Wrist bandages partly solve the problem of such athletes.

This is a technically difficult exercise. Before performing it, you need a full joint warm-up, and you just need to activate the entire shoulder girdle. During the warm-up, you need to perform several series of circular rotations forward and backward.

The movement is performed as follows:

1. you need to set the racks to a height that is suitable for a front squat. The bar should rest freely on the chest;
2. the grip is shoulder-width apart, the athlete grabs the barbell from both sides, the grip is quite tight, then the chest is brought under the bar and the athlete extends his legs, removing the barbell from the racks;
3. moving away from the racks looks like a classic squat. After this, the athlete tightens his abs, stabilizes his lower back, rests his feet on the platform, and in one movement along an elliptical path presses the barbell upward;
4. the correct trajectory of the projectile is upward in an arc behind the head, and not straight ahead;
5. lowering also occurs smoothly;
6. touching the chest in each movement is required only if the athlete works without pain or discomfort. Lowering itself is not a necessary element of the exercise.

After completing the approach, the barbell returns to the racks.

Wrong trajectory

Some people manage to make this movement into a parody of the bench press. They press straight up at the highest point, pushing the barbell away from the body. This turns out to be a rather traumatic variation for the shoulders, which, as the weight increases, also becomes a cause of falls. Another trajectory error is placing the barbell sharply behind the head; this option is not acceptable because it contributes to unnatural overload of the cervical spine. The third trajectory error is the “nose press,” that is, performing the exercise at half the amplitude.

A hodgepodge of styles and exercises

Some athletes confuse this movement with the barbell overhead press due to technique. They do not press their forearms to the body, but do all the work by pushing the weight away from themselves and moving it behind the head. In this case, the elbows are spread to the sides, and the shoulders at the start are parallel to the floor. Everything would be fine if this particular initial position did not cause subacromial syndrome. Using this technique is fraught with joint pain.

Big ego

Huge weights lifted up look cool. But then treating inflammation of the ligaments and muscle tears is not at all as great. Working weights should be increased only when the movement technique allows them to be increased. Everything else is still superfluous.

Engaging your legs, back, and core

Some athletes, instead of bench presses, perform a half-push, a push-up, anything to push the weight with their legs. If you can’t squeeze the barbell smoothly with your hands, you should simply reduce the weight of the weight. It is not necessary to work with the help of the body and legs.

Heel-to-toe rolls

Many people find it difficult to hold weight without losing balance during exercise. Such people should try to carefully maintain their balance by placing their weight in the middle of the arch of the foot. If this doesn’t work out and all you can do is roll, you should switch to a seated press and simultaneously work on developing the muscles of your legs and core.

Excessive training volume

This is common for all beginners. It seems to them that the program is for hacks, and they train less than everyone else in the gym. So the person begins to perform all the approaches that, in principle, he can perform. The volume increases significantly, but the intensity stops growing. The athlete experiences pain in his ligaments and joints, he does not get stronger, and his training simply becomes another attempt to overcome himself. Over time, cumulative injuries appear, and the person refuses to exercise.

Lack of mobility in joints

Sometimes they write that movement cannot be performed only with arthrosis and osteochondrosis, but the problem is that a completely healthy person may be unable to make a movement of exactly this amplitude due to “office posture,” that is, weakness of the back muscles when the trapezius and pectoral muscles are overloaded. Over time, as your back strengthens, you will be able to lift weights overhead more effectively. Until this point, it is recommended to work with dumbbells.

The military press is a heavy compound exercise. But the norm for an amateur is to lift about half of his weight in this movement; there is no need to force events. If a person cannot lift more weight without pain, progress must be taken gradually, and be sure to actively engage in injury prevention.

The exercise should be included in your training on a regular basis, but it is better not to train your shoulders more than 2 times a week if you are a beginner, and try not to overload them even if you are an experienced athlete. It makes sense to perform either a heavy bench press or a heavy standing press, rather than constantly doing both heavy. Try to work efficiently, and you will always be able to train effectively.

The standing barbell press is one of the most popular, known for decades. Exercise is one of the most effective and simplest ways to achieve the correct athletic figure, since only powerful exercises make it possible to fully achieve ideal body proportions. Besides, what if strong and muscular shoulders can help a man stand out among his friends and acquaintances.

However, not many even experienced athletes can perform this exercise perfectly, because only reliable knowledge of how to correctly lift a barbell while standing will help not only achieve excellent results, but also avoid serious injuries to the shoulder girdle.

Therefore, today we will reveal all the secrets of the correct technique for performing the military press, and also look at the tricks of performing it correctly.

Description and benefits of the exercise

Today, the military press is quite common among both beginners and professional athletes, as it is included in the list of basic strength exercises. This means that during the training process, in addition to the main muscles, the load is distributed across several muscle groups at once.

As a result of the complex effect on the body, a general strengthening of all shoulder muscles is achieved, and additional strengthening also occurs.

Did you know?To this day, the Soviet weightlifter Vasily Alekseev is considered the record holder in the army bench press. The athlete set a world record for the maximum weight of a projectile with a figure of 236.5 kg.

According to the world legend, this exercise as an independent exercise originated far overseas, where the bench press is still called “Military press”. The American military has long been looking for a universal exercise that will help its soldiers maintain ideal shape.

Over the course of a long search, a set of movements and a projectile were selected, with the help of which it was possible to achieve the necessary training process, as a result of which the soldiers were able to develop all the necessary muscles to perform combat missions.

Today, lifting the barbell overhead with a load on the shoulders has become so popular that many professional athletes have developed their own techniques for performing it, and in addition, a lot of its variations have arisen.
Therefore, in modern sports, the bench press is used both as a basic exercise and as an exercise with a localized effect on a specific joint or muscle.

In addition, many athletes decided to simplify the military press a little, so it is performed in a sitting position, and the barbell that is familiar to everyone is replaced with regular ones.

As a result, it was possible to spread the exercise not only among visitors to professional gyms, but also among adherents of modest home sports corners.

What muscles are pumped?

The soldier's press as a complex exercise is aimed at engaging the main muscle groups of the human upper body. When performed correctly, it is possible to achieve uniform development of the muscles of the shoulder girdle, as well as the back muscles.

Let's take a closer look at what muscles are involved in this exercise, since most young athletes may not know what muscles work during the standing military press.

Basic

The main muscles involved in the exercise are:

• anterior head of the delta: located in front and partially located at the top of the shoulder joint;
• middle head of the delta: located in the upper part of the shoulder joint;
• supraspinatus: a muscle located in the upper back, attached to the humerus and covered by the delta and trapezius.

Additional

The assistant muscles of the main musculature are:

• trapezius: a large muscle that is located in the middle of the upper half of the back;
• : concentrated at the top of the hand on the back of it;
• levator scapulae muscle: located on the back of the neck and covered by the trapezius;
• upper part of the pectoralis major muscle: located in the upper part of the chest;
• coracobrachialis muscle: located on the inside of the upper arm and attached to the extreme part of the shoulder blade;
• serratus anterior muscle: located above the ribs and covers their lateral part;
• stabilizer muscles: among them are the upper part of the muscles of the thighs, buttocks, and abdominal muscles (help to keep the body in a horizontal position during the exercise).

How and how many times to do it

The correct technique for performing any strength exercise is the key to high results and the absence of injuries, this also applies to the military bench press. In addition, this type of exercise is quite dangerous, primarily due to the complete horizontal position of the body.

Did you know?The standing chest press is considered one of the most traumatic exercises. That is why, in 1972, this exercise was excluded from the competition program of the International Weightlifting Federation, since in pursuit of weight many athletes received serious health problems.

Therefore, both beginners and experienced athletes quite often injure the lumbar region and shoulder joints, which leads to a grueling and long recovery period.

Correct technique

The exercise should be done at the beginning of your workout. This is due to the fact that its implementation requires a huge amount of energy, therefore, in order to pump up the muscles efficiently, it is necessary to start when the body is alert and full of strength. You need to start doing the bench press carefully. To do this, it is necessary to stretch not only the whole body, but also perform a thorough, targeted warm-up of the shoulder girdle. This will help not only achieve proper body load, but also protect muscles from spasms, sprains and other injuries.

After warming up, you need to prepare the apparatus. To do this, choose a convenient length of the bar, hang a certain amount of weight on it (depending on the sports form and the goals of the exercise).

When the bar is assembled, carefully check the reliability of all fastenings, the technical condition of the projectile and secure it to the racks. Next, go to the barbell and grab it firmly, your hands should be slightly wider than your shoulders.

To do this, you can use the tips on the fingerboard in the form of special notches. The grip of the hands should be 3-4 cm wider on each side than the total width of the notches. The body should be in a comfortable position.

Important!The standing barbell press must be performed using a standard barbell; a short biceps bar is not suitable for this. Otherwise, the exercise may result in serious injury.

Once in this position, place your feet shoulder-width apart, parallel to each other, and bend your knees slightly. Also, the correct position should be at the back.
To do this, it must be leveled, and the lower back must be slightly bent forward, while the head and neck must also be fixed and directed forward.

Before you start lifting, you need to take a deep breath, tense your muscles as much as possible, and then you can lift the barbell above your head.

In this case, the bar should pass as close as possible to the chin and nose, but at the maximum distance at which it will be impossible to injure these parts of the body.

Important!When performing a military press, your elbows should be slightly bent at the top of the bar, otherwise you may injure them or even lose control of the barbell.

The barbell press should be done while exhaling with a slight bend forward. After reaching the maximum upper point, you need to fix the position of the body for 1-2 seconds, after which the projectile can be lowered to the lowest position. You need to lower the bar with the weight smoothly and softly, without jerking, otherwise injury to the thoracic part of the body cannot be avoided, and you must take a deep breath. After performing a certain number of repetitions, the barbell must be returned to its original position, after which it can be carefully returned to the racks.

During the exercise, movements should be smooth but clear, without the slightest deviation from the ideal amplitude. In this case, the body should be in a comfortable position and not experience pain.

Number of approaches and repetitions

The number of repetitions and approaches of the standing barbell press with a load on the shoulders directly depends on what goal is set before the exercise and what you plan to achieve after performing it for a long time.

Also in this matter, it is worth taking into account the level of sports training of the athlete, since a person’s overall training experience can quite significantly level out the indicators. But in order to make the information easier to understand, we present average data.
As is known from the general rules for organizing the training process, in order to achieve maximum strength indicators, it is necessary to select weights that will allow you to perform up to 5 repetitions per approach.

Increasing the number of repetitions in the range from 6 to 10 will make it possible for the athlete to develop maximum endurance and good strength training, and increasing the repetitions to 15 will help achieve ideal body contour and burn the maximum amount of excess fat deposits.

The number of approaches is strictly determined based on the level of training. Beginners with a total of up to 1 year of uninterrupted experience in the gym are not recommended to perform more than 3-4 sets of the exercise, as this can end very badly for their general condition.

Important!If you are starting to perform the exercise for the first time, it is not recommended to load your body with huge weights. Try to perform no more than 3 sets with an amplitude of 10-15 repetitions at first; this will help effectively prepare your body for working with serious weight in the future.

Experienced athletes can increase this figure. If you have been involved in sports for a long time, then for the standing barbell press you can perform about 4-6 approaches for .

Contraindications

The exercise has a huge number of contraindications, since during its implementation there is a serious load on the body. Therefore, the military press is intended for absolutely healthy athletes with a high or average level of physical fitness.

The exercise, first of all, is contraindicated for any pathologies of the spine and joints (especially the shoulder), since the main load of the projectile falls on these parts of the body.

• heart failure;
• coarctation of the aorta;
• aneurysm;
• mitral valve prolapse;
• cardiomyopathy;
• valve insufficiency with regurgitation.

Due to the fact that exercises with a barbell are quite common and popular, today there are a lot of recommendations and descriptions, which, according to their authors, are an inviolable truth.

Unfortunately, most of them were created by amateur athletes who are not fully aware of all the processes occurring in the body during strength training.

In addition, since each person’s body has individual characteristics, often the recommendations of an individual athlete do not bring much effect to others.

Therefore, we analyzed all existing comments regarding the military press only from professional athletes, which we will share a little below.

Common Newbie Mistakes

Often, when performing the military press, both beginners and experienced athletes make the same mistakes.

Among them, the most common are:

• insufficient warm-up of the shoulder girdle, resulting in complex problems;
• traumatic position of the body, in which the natural “S-shaped” shape of the spine is disrupted;
• incorrect position of the projectile at the top point (excessive tilt back or forward);
• jerky movements of the athlete during exercise, especially with heavy weights;
• uneven weight transfer of the projectile during the sports process.

Important!When working with heavy weights, it is necessary to use a special wide sports belt, since only in this case is it possible to give the lower back the correct position and avoid serious injuries.

Nuances and tricks for implementation

Each athlete has his own secrets that make the standing press not only more effective, but also less dangerous.
Today we have carefully analyzed all the intricacies of this exercise and reduced all the most common recommendations to a few clear points:

• It is strictly forbidden to relax the back muscles, otherwise the athlete may lose balance and control over the apparatus;
• to give additional stability to the position of the body, it is necessary to slightly move one of the legs forward;
• To perform the military press you need to use durable and comfortable shoes. For these purposes, weightlifting weights or sports shoes with smooth and dense soles are best suited;
• lunges or lowering are prohibited, as otherwise the muscles of the shoulder joint will not receive the necessary load;
• The standing press is best combined with general training to develop the shoulders and arms, this will help to get the greatest effect from the exercises;
• If you are afraid to do this exercise, you can replace the military press by training on a Smith machine.

Overall, the military press is one of the best exercises for achieving strong and defined shoulder and back muscles.

However, it must be carried out strictly observing all the rules and the order of the stages.

Therefore, if you are not confident in your physical fitness, pay attention to simpler exercises, this will help seriously prepare your body for the standing press and avoid injuries to the spine and joints.