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Exercise library · Shoulders

Push press

Vertical press for the shoulders with a barbell.

How to do it

1 of 4

Bar on the front of your shoulders

  1. Starting position

    Stand with your feet hip-width apart, hold the bar across the front of your shoulders and grip it just outside them.

  2. The movement

    Bend your knees and hips slightly, drive your legs up and press the bar overhead, then lower it to your shoulders.

Most common mistake

Don't squat deeply or lean forward, keep your torso upright and use a short dip.

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Muscle group
Shoulders
Equipment
Barbell
Where
Gym
Logged as
Weight × reps

Muscles worked

The push press is an overhead press in which your legs get the bar moving. Your quads and glutes drive it up out of a short dip, then your shoulders and triceps finish the press to straight arms. Your trunk has to stay rigid, or the force from your legs fades before it reaches the bar. Your legs let you handle more than in a strict press, so your shoulders must hold and lower a heavier bar.

Common mistakes

  • Pressing too early. If you push with your arms while your legs are still straightening, the drive is lost. Let your legs finish and the bar leave your shoulders under its own speed, then press.
  • Not resting the bar on your shoulders. Held only in your hands, it sinks as your arms give way in the dip, wasting the leg drive. Let it sit on the front of your shoulders, elbows slightly in front of it.
  • Catching the bar on straight legs. A heavy bar landing on your shoulders sends a hard jolt through your body. Soften your knees as it comes down so your legs absorb it.

Variations and alternatives

  • The overhead press is the same press without help from your legs, when you want your shoulders and triceps to do everything.
  • The thruster starts with a full squat instead of a dip and taxes your fitness more.
  • The clean and jerk demands more technique: the bar is driven up and caught on straight arms in a split stance. Learn it with a light weight first.

Sets and reps

As an explosive lift, the push press works best with 3 to 5 reps over three to five sets, with at least two to three minutes' rest so every rep stays fast. Warm up with the empty bar and a few strict presses, as in the guide to warming up. How to choose your setup is covered in sets and reps.

Learn the rhythm with a light weight, then add weight in small steps in line with progressive overload, and only once every rep moves equally fast. If your shoulders or lower back hurt, rather than just feel heavy, stop the exercise and have it looked at by a doctor or physiotherapist.

Swap for

Taken, or missing the equipment? The same movement with something else.

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