What Is Behind The Neck Press Exercise?

The behind the neck press remains a mainstay exercise of Olympic weightlifters. While this exercise requires a great deal of flexibility, it also allows you to press the bar in a straight line without back-bend or other forms of cheating that not only allow you to artificially move more weight, but increase your risk of injury. Consult a health-care practitioner before beginning any strength-training program.

Technique

To perform the behind the neck press, set the bar in a power rack slightly below the level of your shoulders. Step under the bar and bend your knees, gripping the bar with your hands just outside of your shoulders. Straighten your legs to lift the bar out of the rack and take a small step back with each foot. Press the bar up in a straight line without bending your knees, hips or torso. Lower the bar under control to below the level of your ears, then press it again to full extension until you have completed your desired number of repetitions.

Variations

Both the snatch grip and push-press variations of the behind the neck press allow you to perform the lift to help with different aspects of your training. If you have trouble moving the weight in the bottom of your press, or you are an Olympic weightlifter, you may wish to snatch grip press behind the neck. Your hands should be at least half-again as wide as your shoulders, otherwise you perform the lift in the same manner. The push press allows you to use leg drive, which means you can use more weight to strengthen the top portion of your lift, or improve your jerk if you are a competitive weightlifter. To push press from behind the neck, set up in the same manner and, before the weight leaves the back of your neck, bend your knees and hips then explosively drive the weight up. Keep your torso rigid while you do this.

Cautions

If you have shoulder problems, short arms or a rotator cuff imbalance this exercise may not be for you. Olympic lifters routinely perform this lift with very little incidence of injury, according to a 1999 study published in the "American Journal of Sports Medicine." Before you attempt this exercise, stretch your shoulders thoroughly. Grip a resistance band or broomstick with your hands at least half-again the width of your shoulders, and hold the stick in front of you. Without bending your arms, rotate the stick up and over your head and around behind you as far as you can. This exercise is called a shoulder dislocate.

Stability

The other primary issue with the behind the neck press follows an instability in your rotator cuff. If you primarily perform pressing exercises but do not do an equal number of pulling exercises, such as chinups and rows, you will develop a muscular imbalance in your rotator cuff. While this will not only make it difficult for you to achieve the flexibility and control to perform the behind the neck press, it can also result in injury. In addition to practicing shoulder dislocates, add more pulling exercises into your program. These help build your back, strengthen your external rotators, and provide stability when pressing a weight overhead -- from in front of or behind your neck.