Barbell Behind The Neck Press

Training Details Barbell Behind The Neck Press

  • Primary Muscle
    Front Delt, Rear Delt, Middle Delt
  • Secondary Muscle
    Triceps, Inner Abs, Traps
  • Equipment
    Barbell
  • Level
    Average

Muscle groups and purpose of Barbell behind the Neck

Barbell presses behind the head mainly train the shoulders but also the upper back. You should perform the exercise with care and make sure that the technique is in place before you add on more weights. The exercise can be done sitting on a bench, but we recommend standing so that the core is activated. 

Performance

Lift the barbell with an overhand grip (your palms) from a stand (recommended) or directly from the floor. Use a grip slightly wider than shoulder width and place the bar behind your head. Make contact with the core  muscles so that the back does not sway more than necessary in the lift.

Push the barbell up slowly until the arms are outstretched and then slowly return to the starting position and repeat the exercise. Make sure you have contact with the muscles at all times and you do this at a slower pace.

Guide for Barbell Behind The Neck Press

  • The exercise can be performed in a Smith machine with a fixed barbell.
  • If you perform the exercise with a barbell and standing, you should think of a stable stance. To achieve this, you should slightly bend your knees and activate the torso.
  • If you choose to sit down, you can sit on a regular bench.
  • Do not let your shoulders move up towards your ears, keep them down.
  • Exhale on the way up and inhale on the way down

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Related Exercises

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Seated Leg Curl

Seated Cable Row

A good simple exercise for the back suits beginners, but even experienced strength-trainers should run Seated Cable Row since it gives good results. Your biceps will also have to work a little in the exercise, but we want to minimize this as much as we can; it is a back exercise. Because you perform the exercise in a machine with fixed footrests and a cable, it will be pretty easy to perform, but there are a few essential things to keep in mind:

Ring Row

Ring rowing, or rowing in rings, is a perfect exercise for strengthening the shoulders and back. The exercise is similar to Inverted Row but it is performed using rings instead of a bar. This gives you greater flexibility in your grip. You can run with a prone, overhand grip, just like Inverted row with a bar, but you can easily turn the palms of your hands towards each other, so-called neutral grip. When you do this, the elbows will be able to be pulled closer to the body and your lats for a greater load than the upper muscles of the back. A neutral grip is also more gentle to your shoulders.