IF YOU BUILD A A set of broad shoulders is your goal, it’s standard procedure to add some sort of heavy pressing movement into your workouts. And although most of the variations will provide a lot of profit, there are some options that will be more beneficial than others. Case in point: One of the most common picks for giant bodybuilders, the behind-the-neck press provides more risk of pain and injury than it’s worth for men looking to build muscle every day.
Why? Behind-the-neck presses simply aren’t a safe exercise, especially when you break down the risk-reward ratio of the shoulder that the movement provides, according to men’s health fitness manager Ebenezer Samuel, CSCSY Mathew Forzaglia, NFPT, CPT, founder of Forzag Fitness. Even though this move has long been a traditional shoulder day staple, the behind-the-neck press isn’t the most joint-friendly shoulder exercise, unless you have a lot of mobility in the shoulder region, and most of us are not so lucky.
“Just because you see an influencer do it doesn’t mean it’s worth it,” says Samuel. “It’s all about staying healthy.
3 Reasons Why You Should Avoid The Behind-The-Neck Press
The behind-the-neck press is bad for shoulder health
When it comes to pressing in the gym or even lifting overhead in your everyday life, it’s best to keep your movements within the scapular plane, a position where your shoulders and arms are at 45 degrees to your your torso, to keep your rotator cuff muscles in a more secure position. And virtually no time performing behind-the-neck presses will find your shoulders in this safe place. Instead of working at approximately a 45 degree angle, more stress is placed on the rotator joints. “We want to keep them healthy for as long as we can, so it just isn’t worth it,” Samuel says.
Behind-the-neck press invites poor neck position
In addition to rotator cuff issues, pressures behind the neck will force you to place your neck in flexion, a poor position for safe and comfortable lifts. Yes, behind-the-neck placement can give us slightly more range of motion, but it’s not enough to sacrifice the fact that we’re not working from a neutral spine.
“This injury window not only opens up, but forces us to compensate in other parts of the body,” says Forzaglia.
The press behind the neck can not be loaded much
Unless you are one of the few who have exceptional shoulder mobility, most people are not fully capable of handling heavy loads while still being able to lift them comfortably from this position. Therefore, most people are not capable of going as heavy as other variations of the shoulder press.
3 Alternatives to Behind-the-Neck Presses
Dumbbell External Rotation
3 series of 15 repetitions
This light exercise gives you a chance to target your rotator cuffs. Grab a pair of dumbbells, raise them to a pressing position over your shoulders with your elbows at 90 degrees, but then instead of lifting them, roll your shoulders to shift the weight down, then back.
“It’s not going to be a heavy exercise,” says Samuel, “but if you really want to live in this position, it’s the safest exercise and something that will really improve your shoulders.” You can use them as a warm-up or as a complementary movement to the other exercises.
Dumbbell Overhead Press
3 to 4 series of 6 to 10 repetitions
Samuel doesn’t think it’s enough to shift his position to the front of his body to press hard; he’d rather she swap the bar entirely for dumbbells. He’ll be able to lift more weight while staying in the most joint-safe scapular plane position, giving you the best of both worlds. He can also press from a wider variety of postures, from classic standing to sitting to kneeling to reinforce better spinal posture.
Half-Kneeling One-Arm Overhead Press
3 to 4 series of 6 to 10 repetitions
You’ll be able to load each shoulder a lot more with this underrated unilateral exercise. More loading with less stress on not only the rotator cuffs, but possibly the lower back as well, can lead to greater gains.
Learn which exercises it is best to avoid by reviewing all of our overrated series here.
Jeff Tomko is a freelance fitness writer who has written for Muscle and Fitness, Men’s Fitness, and Men’s Health.
