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The names military press and shoulder press are often confused or used interchangeably. Here we delve into the military press and its original execution.
Different names for the same exercise.
While writing the descriptions for the exercises in the online coaching app, a few things surfaced that deserve explanation in a separate article. Moreover, I often encountered different names for (apparently) the same exercise. This sometimes raised the question of whether the same thing was being referred to by different names or if it was truly a different exercise altogether.
When I was working on the descriptions for shoulder exercises, I came across such a topic. The same exercise is referred to in daily use by three different names. The
shoulder press is called the
overhead press or
military press by some.
The first two names are usually used correctly. However, with the name
military press, almost everyone has the wrong exercise (execution) in mind.
Overhead press, shoulder press, or military press?
The
overhead press is essentially the same as the
shoulder press. The term
overhead press often refers specifically to the execution with a barbell, while the
shoulder press also includes the execution with dumbbells. Strictly speaking, both are the same, so in both cases, you should be clear about which execution you mean. For example, you would say the
barbell overhead press or
dumbbell shoulder press, for completeness.
The
military press is also a form of
shoulder press, but a very specific one. However, over the years, almost everyone has forgotten this original execution.
Military press
Most people who refer to the
military press actually mean the
standing barbell shoulder press. Some specifically refer to a strict execution of the exercise. Both are incorrect, although historically, the mistake about the strict execution is understandable.
The true
military press owes its name to the position of the legs and back. The legs are placed together with the heels touching. The back remains perfectly straight during the execution. It’s as if you’re in the military posture. This particular execution is almost never seen in practice anymore. In fact, I couldn’t find a single photo of the real military press online. The true military press is like a dinosaur.
“Smuggle proof”
You can see the
military press as a ‘smuggle proof’ execution of the
shoulder press. The military press is a more difficult stance to maintain stability compared to when your feet are at hip or shoulder width apart. Combined with the perfectly straight back, it makes ‘smuggling’ during the press execution much more difficult.
Firstly, it’s more difficult to initiate the movement from the legs and hips to get the weight moving before the chest, shoulders, and arms take over. The role of the chest is also smaller because you have to keep your back straight. When you make your back hollow, the pectoralis major can play a more active role (especially the upper fibers). With the original military press, a greater isolation of the shoulders and triceps is thus enforced.
Furthermore, the narrower stance of the legs may require more stabilizing work from the shoulder muscles. In a previous article on the effectiveness of the standing and seated execution of the
shoulder press, we showed research that indicated the standing execution as the winner. According to EMG measurements, the standing execution resulted in higher activation of the shoulder muscles. The researchers attributed this to the higher need for stabilization (compared to sitting with the back supported by a backrest). If you were to extrapolate that, purely hypothetically, you might expect higher activation when standing in such a very narrow stance compared to standing as stable as possible.
Historical Military Press
With various exercise executions, you always have to consider what your goal is. Do you want to isolate a specific muscle, or even heads of a muscle? For example, to focus all your energy on building bigger shoulders. Or do you just want to press as much weight as possible? In the former case, the (original) military press is an interesting variation on your normal
standing barbell shoulder press. In the latter case, you want to place your legs as stable as possible and keep the back more hollow. In that case, you want as many other muscles as possible to help in the movement and take advantage of momentum.
That’s why the
military press disappeared from weightlifting, where it was the required form at the beginning of the last century. John Fair wrote a nice article about this [1]. The original military press was supposed to be performed for the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam with:
- The heels together
- The back perfectly straight
- As little involvement of other muscle groups as possible other than shoulders and arms.
A very strict form, precisely as a counterpart to the more dynamic
snatch, clean, and
jerk (also in the app). However, there was no strict enforcement of these rules. Participants quickly began to smuggle to lift as much weight as possible.
They leaned further back and spread their feet farther apart (image right). They also started performing the exercise dynamically. This made it an explosive execution, and part of the added value compared to the
snatch, clean, and
jerk disappeared. The heavily leaning back made it also not the safest exercise.
For the 1972 Olympics in Munich, the (by then unrecognizable) military press was therefore scrapped.
Confusion about the military press
For exercises in the online coaching app, I tried to be as correct and consistent as possible in the naming. As mentioned, there are several exercises that are referred to by different names. There are also many names that are used in practice for completely different exercises. So, there is sometimes considerable confusion when it comes to the names of exercises and their corresponding execution.
The
military press was the only one of the hundreds of exercises where a wrong explanation (or naming) of the exercise turned out to be more the rule than the exception.
In most cases, the name
military press is used for the
standing barbell shoulder press. If you search on YouTube under the term ‘military press,’ you get all sorts of videos with feet just standing at hip or shoulder width apart. I even saw a seated execution passing by, which is even further from the real exercise.
As far as people are aware that the
military press is a specific execution of the
shoulder press, there are many wrong interpretations of how that execution should be.
So, if your training buddy says to you, “Come on, let’s do the
military press,” perform it for fun as originally intended. I’m almost certain that before your third repetition, you’ll be asked what you’re doing.
Sources
- https://www.startingstrength.com/article/the_tragic_death_of_the_military_press
