Written by Garett Reid | NSCA, CSCS, CISSN, M.S.E.S.S
Fact checked by Kirsten Yovino, CPT Brookbush Institute
FACT CHECKED
If you want to be able to press more weight over your head and take your vertical pressing strength to a more powerful level, look no further than the PUSH PRESS.
While the push press, which can be done with a barbell, dumbbells, or kettlebells (among other more obscure equipment), is considered an advanced movement due to multiple areas of the body working at once, it is an exercise that even beginners can learn and incorporate into their training routine.
Below, we’ll discuss the following:
- What a push press is
- How to do it correctly
- Common mistakes when performing push presses
- Benefits of the push press
- Push press muscles worked
- Variations of the push press
- How to incorporate it into your routine
- Alternatives to the push press
What is a Push Press?
A push press is an overhead press that allows you to use your lower body to generate power.
While this movement can be performed with other fitness implements like dumbbells, kettlebells, or even sandbags, for now we’ll discuss how to execute a push press properly with a barbell.
With a barbell racked along your upper chest and hands outside shoulder width, the body is lowered into the power position; from here, the hips extend and the arms simultaneously press the barbell overhead, with complete extension through the arms and legs at the finish.
The main difference between a push press and a standard overhead press (aka military press or strict press) is that you will be using your lower body to generate force as you press overhead.
The push press can highlight several factors involving indiscrepancies with pressing movements - one big one being your mobility. Since the lower body, core, and upper body all play major parts in completing a push press correctly, setting up for the movement and executing it with proper form is key.
If you are looking to increase your power, strength, core stability, and overhead pressing endurance, then the push press will be the perfect exercise to incorporate into your fitness routine.
Now, let’s dive in and see how to do a push press correctly!
How To Do a Barbell Push Press:
We will first go over the barbell push press, then look at other equipment options and even alternatives to the push press.
Set Up: There are two different ways that you can begin to get in the proper setup position for a push press; one is removing the barbell from a squat rack at about shoulder height, or you can clean the barbell off of the floor.
- Regardless of how you get into position, you want to bring the barbell up to the front of your shoulders with an initial relaxed grip on the bar – this is so your elbows can come through, so that your upper arms (triceps) are parallel with the floor.
- Once your elbows are through and pointing straight ahead – or as much as your mobility allows – then a full grip on the barbell is needed. Hands here are about shoulder-width apart.
- As for the lower body, feet should be about hip-width apart, and if you are starting from a squat rack, take a step or two away from the rack before beginning.
- From here, keep your chest up high with shoulder blades retracted, maintaining a solid grip on the barbell. Eyes should be forward, with core engaged.
- Once you are set here, lower yourself down into a quarter squat, or the power position; your center of gravity should be easily balanced as you get into this position. With knees tracking over your toes and elbows high, drive through your legs and extend thoroughly through your hips as the bar moves vertically overhead.
- Once the elbows are then fully extended, you should be completely locked out with the barbell over your head.
- If you are doing multiple repetitions of a push press, then bringing the bar back down into the power position (essentially re-racking the weight in your front rack) is necessary. As you lower the bar back to the starting position, bend your knees slightly to help “catch” the bar on the descent.
- Once the barbell has fully returned to the front of your shoulders, your knees should also be bent – from here, you can continue with more reps, or you can stand with full extension and re-rack the barbell in your squat rack, or drop the barbell to the ground (pending safety of your surroundings, of course).
Common Mistakes with a Push Press
Because a push press can be a tricky movement to get the hang of, there are some mistakes that can be made when learning how to do it! Let’s break down some of the most common areas where deficiencies can be seen within the movement.
Not moving your head out of the way: While this might almost be a given, moving your head out of the way of the barbell path can quickly go on the back burner as you are working through the process of all of the other parts of the push press. As you are lowering into your power position, bring your head back slightly so that you have room to press the barbell straight up into the air – but hopefully, avoiding your chin at the same time! Once the barbell is above your head, you can then press your head through your arms to complete the movement. The reverse would then happen as you bring the barbell back to your front rack, moving your head out of the way as the barbell returns to the starting position.
Pressing the bar forward instead of up: This is a very common mistake, especially with beginners – and especially those who have already possibly hit their chin with the barbell as it goes overhead! Although it can be a tendency (and possibly feel awkward at first) to move your head back as the bar passes overhead, it’s necessary in order to maintain a vertical bar path – especially as the weight increases. Think about it this way…if you are going up in weight but neglecting to pull your head back through the press, the weight on the barbell will go forward – therefore putting your shoulders at risk, and placing you into a scenario where the strength and power from your legs is no longer useful to the movement, since the weight is in front of you. Bring your head back ever so slightly, then let your head come through your arms as you go into extension overhead.
Turning the movement into a strict press: Again, a common mistake that is typical with novice push pressers. The dip-drive can take a bit of time to get used to, so oftentimes the push press can be turned into a strict press (therefore removing the dip-drive and corresponding leg strength and power for the movement). If you are wondering why the exercise is tough, make sure that you’re getting that quarter squat from the power position and then powerfully extending up through the hips to get that barbell overhead!
Benefits of the Push Press
There are several benefits to incorporating the push press into your routine – let’s take a look at a few key paybacks for this movement!
- Shoulder & Back Stability: For one, the stability within your shoulder joint – and correspondingly, your movements overhead – can improve drastically. Granted, this has to be approached with caution, since not every exercise where you are adding weight will improve stability if done incorrectly. However, with proper mechanics and a solid lifting program, you can improve your overhead stability as you learn to push press more weight.
- Upper Body Strength & Mass: Along with this stability comes overall control of your movements that require you to go overhead, and can also increase your strength gains throughout the upper body as well.
- Leg Drive: Leg strength and power are also increased with a push press, although that’s probably not one of the top benefits that usually come to mind for most folks. However, the powerful explosion that is required in order to get the barbell out of your front rack comes from a strong hip extension, as well as a solid power position. Lots of force comes from the lower body, and if you repeatedly work on the push press and nail the mechanics, the benefits of that lower body power will translate into other exercises and definitely sports as well.
- Speed & Efficiency of Movements: Increased efficiency and speed are also benefits of the push press; the quicker you can learn to properly cycle repetitions, the better you will get at moving through a workout in general, which can also lend itself to improvements in other areas of exercise performance.
Other benefits of the push press can include:
- Break Through Strict Press Plateau.
- Total body muscle stimulation for increased androgenic hormone production.
- Improve mobility and mechanics for overhead presses.
- Add some freshness to your workouts (don't underestimate this one!)
Overall, the push press can help you become a more powerful and explosive athlete/trainee.
Push Press Muscles Worked
As stated, the push press is a full body exercise, utilizing multiple joints and muscles. Let’s take a look at just a few of the prime movers!
- Glutes: Probably not the main muscle group you think of when it comes to the push press, the glutes are the driving force behind the power overhead. As the glutes engage and contract at the top of the dip-drive, this energy will then correspond to helping the bar get overhead.
- Quads: Again, not a front of mind muscle in regards to the push press; however, like the glutes, the quads aid in the dip-drive phase of the exercise, allowing speed to increase with engagement as you drive upwards with the hips – and correspondingly, the barbell!
- Lower Back: The engagement of the lower back can be correlated with the core as well – and is necessary in order to keep your entire torso stabilized during the movement of a push press. There should be no rounding (or, no anterior pelvic tilt) during the exercise, and an engaged core can help prevent this from happening! If the core stability is lost, that can also contribute to the barbell moving forward instead of in a vertical fashion, which can disrupt the lift as well.
- Anterior Delts: Although all three heads of the shoulder are activated with the push press exercise (anterior, lateral, and posterior), the anterior harbors most of the work. The medial and posterior areas of the delt help stabilize the shoulder in general during the movement.
- Upper Back: This includes muscles such as the traps (upper, middle, and lower) and the rhomboids, all of which are necessary for the overhead strength and stability in a push press, particularly around the girdle of the shoulder.
- Triceps: To complete the movement overhead, your arms need to be fully extended – and that’s the job of the triceps. This smaller muscle group located on the back of your arms is responsible for locking out the elbows at the top of the movement.
Other accessory muscle groups utilized with the push press include the hamstrings, pectorals, and calves!
Push Press Variations with Different Equipment
Although the barbell push press is the most common, there are a couple other fitness items that you can use to model the same movement if you don’t have access to a barbell.
Kettlebell: Push presses can be performed with either one arm or two if using kettlebells, so keep that in mind in regards to your training program. The biggest difference with this equipment variation is the position of the kettlebell (that is different from the barbell grip) – when you pick up your kettlebell, ensure that your palms are facing forward (away from your face) and that the kettlebell(s) are resting on the outside of your shoulder(s) before beginning the press.
Related: Best Kettlebell Shoulder Exercises
Dumbbell: Push presses can also be performed with dumbbells. You can do a one or two arm version to work on imbalances and core strength, just like with the kettlebell. When using dumbbells (whether one arm or two), you want to grab hold of the dumbbell and clean it up to your shoulder(s) so one head of the dumbbell is resting lightly on your delt. With palm(s) facing inward, you then perform the movement of the push press, explosively on the way up, yet in a controlled manner.
Both of these equipment variations allow you to perform a push press, but can be tweaked in order to work strength and stability unilaterally as well as adding some variability to your core and lower body work. Sandbags and resistance bands are also other viable alternatives to the barbell push press, if the equipment is available to you.
Push Press Training Variability
Since the push press is a compound movement, taking weight into consideration is key with your training, regardless if you are using a barbell or other types of fitness equipment. Starting with a low weight load and really focusing on proper form and technique is imperative before adding more resistance.
With that being said, if you’re wanting more of an endurance edge to your push press, then aiming for higher reps is where you want to be. This can look something along a scheme of 2-3 sets of 12-15 reps, while building mass and power can look more like 4-5 sets of 6-10 reps.
Also keep in mind if you are working push press into a routine that also includes strict press and/or push jerks, because that can change the dynamics of your programming as well.
Push Press Alternatives
Here are some great alternatives to the push press that will also improve your pressing strength and overall upper body strength.
Landmine Press:
A landmine push press keeps your wrists in a neutral position, which in and of itself could feel vastly better for some people. This exercise can also be done from a standing position or a kneeling position, giving a bit more variability with stance. Lastly, you are pressing at more of a diagonal than with a regular push press, which can ease up pressure on the shoulder if this is an area of concern for you.
Note: Use two hands to get into the starting position, and start light when first learning this movement.
Related: Best Landmine Exercises
Push Jerk:
A push jerk is yet another variation of the overhead press. A big difference with a push jerk is that the press begins from a racked grip position rather than a standard shoulder press grip, as it is typically done after a clean, such as with the Olympic exercise the clean and jerk,
Most athletes find that they can push jerk significantly more than they would if they were just doing a push press. This is due to the fact that while the push jerk has the initial dip-drive like the push press, there is another dip after the barbell is extended overhead in order to help receive the weight. Once the second dip is done, then the legs are fully extended, and that completes a rep. If given the choice between a strict press, push press, and push jerk (especially in a workout such as HIIT where you need to move weight quickly) then a push jerk is a wonderful alternative to the push press.
Z-press:
The z-press is another great option that you can incorporate into your workout routine as an alternative to the strict press. While this movement still focuses on stability overhead, it is essentially the strictest form of an overhead press. There will be no "cheating" with a Z-press, and that is because you’re seated on the floor! Thus, the major emphasis is on your shoulders, traps and serratus anterior. That said, there is also a lot of focus throughout the core.
A z-press will also have you pressing much less weight than you would for a push press, so don’t be disappointed if you get down on the floor and have to drop way down in weight. Nevertheless, your core and overhead strength and stability will be working overtime since the dip-drive is gone. Moreover, you can really work on bringing your head back and through your arms as you press overhead with this exercise.
Start light with this one, and increase as desired – just remember that it’s not the easiest movement, and will challenge your core strength and stability intensely!
Snatch Grip Push Press:
Lastly, a snatch grip push press gives a bit more variability to your workouts if desired; while the dip-drive motion stays exactly the same as it does during a regular push press, the grip is different! A snatch grip on the barbell will have hands much farther apart than with a traditional push press.
Since this can be a challenging position to get into – and to have a comfortable grip on the barbell - start with an unloaded barbell and get a feeling for getting into position and the pressing motion.
Overall, the snatch grip push press is a good variation to target the muscles differently, as well as build strength and upper body mobility & stability for overhead squats and for Olympic exercises like the Snatch.
Final Thoughts:
If you are looking for a more diverse movement for upper body strength gains while simultaneously incorporating some core stability and lower body power, look no further than the push press. Whether with a barbell or other fitness accessory, you’re sure to notice better overhead stability, core strength, and overall power from the push press!
Related: Overhead Pressing Variations
Garett Reid
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