How to do Barbell Military Press
Starting Position: Grasp a barbell or body bar with an overhand grip. Your hands should be wider than shoulder width.
Raise the barbell so that it is just below your chin, and keep your knees slightly bent.
Form: While keeping your core muscles engaged, exhale and press your arms over your head. Hold for a brief second at the top and then slowly lower back to the starting position.
Personal Trainer Tips: As with all exercises, posture is very important. Make sure that your back does not arch excessively when you press over head.
2 Different Leg Positions
You can perform this exercise with your feet parallel or with your feet staggered. When your feet are parallel there is more challenge on balance and there is also more challenge on your lower back.
If you want to take some pressure off your lower back use a staggered stance.
Barbell Military Press – Benefits
- Barbell military press is one of the most basic movements to develop and strengthen shoulder muscles. Although the focus of this exercise is on the front shoulder muscles, it is a popular movement that is frequently used in workouts to strengthen the upper body.
- Barbell military press action is effective to build up strength, but if you start this exercise without warming up or with excess weight, you can cause injury. Before starting exercise, always apply warm-up and stretching movements to your shoulder muscles and start by choosing a weight according to your fitness level.
The Bottom Line
The standing military press is an advanced exercise because it requires good balance, good core strength, good shoulder flexibility, and good shoulder stability.
If you lack shoulder flexibility and shoulder stability, you should use caution when performing this exercise. Also, if you have a history of lower back pain, you should also use caution and build up slowly if you include this exercise in your workout routine.
Every exercise has benefits and risks, and some people can really benefit from this exercise.
Barbell Military Press – Muscles Worked
