Seated Barbell Shoulder Press

The shoulder press is an exercise that works all three heads of the deltoid (but not to the same extent). This is the deltoid-shaped muscle responsible for raising the upper arm.

The pectoralis major assists in raising the arms. This is especially true of the fibers that run from the clavicle to the upper arm, also known as the upper chest.

In addition to the deltoid itself, various muscles around the shoulder joint are recruited to stabilize it. These include smaller stabilizing muscles such as the four rotator cuff muscles, as well as the larger trapezius and deeper muscles that pull the shoulder joint backward and upward.

In the arms, the triceps play an active role by extending the arms, while the biceps have a stabilizing role in keeping the forearms in the right position. The muscles in the forearms then stabilize the wrist joint to control the barbell.

Core muscles such as the abdominal muscles and muscles along the spine keep the torso upright. Depending on the execution (standing, seated with or without a backrest), their involvement may be greater or lesser. In this execution, the core muscles do not have to work as hard as in the seated execution. Because the upper body is held more stably, the shoulders also have to perform less stabilizing work.

Seated barbell shoulder press execution

Focus on your elbows and push them straight upward until your arms are almost extended.

Lower your arms back down in a controlled manner until your hands are level with your ears. The bar then remains just above the crossbars.

Repeat.

Seated barbell shoulder press

Muscles involved:

Shoulder joint:

Deltoid
Rotator cuff (subscapularis, supraspinatus, infraspinatus and the

teres minor)

Trapezius
Rhomboid
Levator scapulae

Arms

Triceps
Biceps
Forearm muscles

Abdomen:

Rectus abdominis (straight abdominal muscle)
External oblique (external oblique abdominal muscle)
Internal oblique (internal oblique abdominal muscle)
Transversus abdominis (transverse abdominal muscle, 'corset muscle')

Lower back and spine:

Erector spinae
Lumbar multifidus
Quadratus lumborum

Seated barbell shoulder press preparation

Place a bench with an upright backrest in the squat rack.
Prepare a barbell on the crossbars of the squat rack, on which it can roll freely backward and forward. When seated, the barbell should be slightly below shoulder level.
Sit down and pull the barbell toward you.
Place your hands parallel on the bar. Position them approximately so that your forearms are perpendicular to the bar. Check the markings to ensure that you are centered and that your hands are evenly spaced.

Seated barbell shoulder press technique

The barbell shoulder press is also sometimes called the overhead press and occasionally the military press. However, all three do not mean the same thing.

An overhead press is simply an exercise in which you press something overhead. The barbell shoulder press is therefore a form of overhead press.

The military press is the name of an exercise that is almost never performed anymore. The name is now often incorrectly given to the exercise that is actually the barbell shoulder press.

Some people see the military press as the barbell shoulder press, but with an adjustment. In the military press you would have to keep the legs and upper body still, whereas with the overhead press you would be allowed to engage from the hips to create momentum. This is incorrect, although the misunderstanding is understandable.

The real military press was originally performed with the heels of the feet together. As if standing at attention, hence the name. This is a more difficult stance to remain stable in than having your feet hip- or shoulder-width apart. This therefore requires more attention and work from the core muscles and stabilizing muscles around the shoulder joint.

Moreover, this narrow stance makes it considerably more difficult to generate force from the legs. This therefore quickly results in a barbell shoulder press performed with much stricter form than when the feet are positioned wider. This does not mean that the militairy press is stricter form with the same stance; it is a different stance that enforces stricter form.

The three heads of the deltoid

The deltoid-shaped shoulder muscle pulls on the upper arms from three directions. During the shoulder press, all three of these 'heads' of the shoulder muscle are engaged. However, it is mainly the anterior head (pars clavicularis) that performs the most work, followed by the lateral head (pars acromiaca). The posterior head (pars spinalis) is engaged considerably less.

The shoulder press can be performed in various ways that can shift the load between the heads, but not by much. In most cases, the front of the shoulder produces three times as much effort as the side, which in turn produces on average three times as much effort as the rear.

In front of or behind the head?

The behind neck press is rather controversial, with strong supporters and opponents. Due to a lack of data, this discussion will not be settled (yet). There is only one study that conducted EMG measurements on one person to measure muscle tension during both variations.

That study shows that there is little difference in peak tension between performing the barbell press in front of the head or behind the head. In terms of average tension, however, the behind-the-neck execution would be 'the winner'. All heads show higher average tension, but the difference is greatest in the middle and rear heads.

Opponents then discuss the increased risk of injury. The shoulders have to be externally rotated more, which may place too much stress on some of the smaller stabilizing muscles of the rotator cuff. However, research on this is lacking.

At most, this exercise can therefore be cautioned against in cases of existing shoulder complaints or limited mobility of the shoulder joint. Because of the higher difficulty level, you could also prefer the barbell shoulder press .

Seated or standing?

Research has shown that during the standing execution of the shoulder press , the shoulders (all three heads) produce greater effort. The researchers point to the additional need for stabilization when the exercise is performed standing. This would mean that the standing execution is 'more effective' at engaging the shoulder muscles.

Another possibility, however, is that people often cheat during the seated execution. The standing execution forces you to stand upright so that you do not fall backward. This limits the possible contribution of the chest muscles. On a bench with a backrest, the backrest is often adjusted too far back. The person then slides the buttocks somewhat forward, causing even more leaning backward. The shoulders then have to produce less effort because the chest, especially the upper chest, can contribute more.

Dumbbells or barbells?

In the same study, the shoulder press with dumbbells was found in all cases to work the shoulders (all three heads) harder than the execution with a barbell in front of the head. Here too, the greater need for stabilization was mentioned as a possible cause.

Besides the shoulder muscles having to perform more stabilizing work with dumbbells, the exercise's range of motion is also greater. At the top of the movement, the hands can move toward each other with dumbbells, at the point where the barbell execution has reached its endpoint.

At a glance