Muscles Worked: Front & Middle Deltoids
Spotter Required: Yes
Minimum Equipment required: 6ft or 7ft Standard barbell
The Best Equipment to Use: 6ft or 7ft Olympic barbell
Warming up: To warm up, perform 1 set of 15 – 20 repetitions of the exercise with minimal weight.
How often should I perform this exercise: The press behind neck is a great exercise to target the front and middle deltoids, I personally rotate this weekly with barbell shoulder presses.
When should I perform this exercise: Because it’s a pressing movement (meaning it uses a lot of energy) it should be performed at the start of your shoulder workout.
How to do the exercise: Seated on an upright or flat bench hold the barbell behind your neck with palms facing forward. Your grip should be the same as if you were performing bench press, making sure your arms are at 45 degrees at the start. Keep your head looking forward and begin to press the bar up as high as possible, when you get the top do not lock your arms out, hold for ½ a second at the top and then lower the weight down to the start position.
At the start position make sure the bar is just below your ears, do not go any lower than this or allow the barbell to rest on your shoulders. Remember you will also feel your triceps working at the same time because all pressing movements involve the triceps.
Mentality: Focus is essential with any pressing movement, and press behind neck can feel weird if you haven’t done it before. Just make sure you keep your head facing forward throughout and if you can, look in a mirror to help maintain proper technique.
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