Related Blackridge guides: seated front delt raise, plate front delt raise, clean and press
Quick Links – skip to what you’re interested in:
- Shoulder press muscles worked
- How to perform a shoulder press
- How to perform the “Standing Barbell Press”
- How to perform the “Standing Shoulder Press”
- How to perform the “Seated Shoulder Press”
- Can’t perform an OHP yet?
- Shoulder press reps & sets
- Alternative Exercises
- Secret technique: maximise growth
- Additional resources
The shoulder press is a great exercise for building muscle and strength of the shoulders, as well as improving the shape of the upper body in general. Having a strong and muscular set of shoulders can go a long way in creating an impressive physique.
In this article, we’ll be taking a look at what muscles are involved in the shoulder press, how to perform different shoulder press variations, sets & reps, alternate exercises and an interesting trick to maximise performance.
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Shoulder press muscles worked?
Generally speaking, when performing the variations of shoulder press you will be using primarily the deltoids to complete the exercise, however, the variation you choose will dictate the degree to which various muscles are involved, and the overall stimulus placed on the body.
Below is a list of the main muscles used to complete the exercise.
Delts (Deltoids)
The Deltoid muscles are a group of small thick triangular-shaped muscles that lie over the glenohumeral joint (shoulder) giving the shoulder its rounded shape. The three muscles (anterior, lateral, posterior) act to move the arms in a variety of ways.
The front Deltoid is responsible for generating the majority of force required for the overhead press movement.
Function:
1) the anterior (front) deltoid rotates the shoulder producing forward flexion, which can also be referred to as allowing the arm to move forward. In the context of a shoulder press, this muscle acts to lift your arms up overhead.
2) the lateral (medial) deltoid moves the shoulder joint outward (sideways) bringing the arm away from the body, also known as shoulder abduction. It’s is more active during a dumbbell shoulder press as the shoulder is more open to the side, rather than in front of the body.
3) the posterior (rear) deltoid often referred to as the “rear delt” is responsible for shoulder extension and moving the arm backwards and outward. This pulls the arm and shoulder behind the body which is why the rear delt is more active during pulling movements.
Triceps
The triceps is the large muscle on the back of the arm and is formed of three heads (medial, lateral and long head), all of which will be used during the shoulder press.
Function: this muscle acts to extend the elbow joint and also serves to stabilise the shoulder joint when sustained force generation is required.
Upper Chest (Pectoralis major)
From the Latin ‘Pectus’ meaning ‘breast’. The pecs form most of the bulk of the chest, specifically the pec major which is the fan-shaped muscle positioned on the front of the chest. There is a pec minor which is situated under the major and is much smaller.
Function: the Pec major produces both adduction of the arm (bringing the arm closer to the body) as well as flexion of the arm via the clavicular head which happens during shoulder pressing movements. whilst the pec minor acts to stabilise the shoulder against the ribs as well as internally rotate the shoulder
Traps (Trapezius)
The Trapezius is a big, broad, superficial muscle that runs from the top of the neck to the mid-back.
Function: The traps are active during functional pulling and pushing tasks, however, they also act to support posture. They can often be very dominant in shoulder movement exercises and act to stabilise/counterbalance body alignment.
Related Blackridge guides: seated front delt raise, plate front delt raise, clean and press
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How to perform a shoulder press
Whether you chose the barbell shoulder press, dumbbell shoulder press or chose to perform the exercise seated or standing, it’s important to understand the movement and the correct technique to build muscle and avoid injury.
These are the three movements that occur during any overhead pressing movements.
1). Shoulder flexion
This movement is primarily governed by the anterior deltoids and is assisted by the clavicular head of the pectoralis major to lift your upper arms up overhead.
2). Elbow extension
Followed by elbow flexion which will use all three heads of the triceps to extend the arm straight when pressing overhead.
3). Scapula upward rotation
Finally, the rotation of the scapula (shoulder blade) will incorporate the upper traps to rotate the shoulder blade form a base of support to hold the bar overhead.
These three movements occur simultaneously to bring the weight overhead and will heavily target shoulder muscles.
Listed below are the three main shoulder pressing exercises that you can incorporate into your training for optimal shoulder growth.
How to perform the “Barbell Overhead Press”
Also known as the “Military Press”, the Overhead Press (OHP) is our final and most advanced variation. Similarly to the other shoulder pressing exercises, the OHP trains the deltoids, but with this exercise, there is more emphasis being placed specifically on the anterior delt.
This is due to your elbows being positioned more forward in front of your body rather than out to the side such as when performing the dumbbell variations.
The overhead press/military press requires you to pay more attention to the finer details, such as your hand & elbow positions and your spinal alignment during the press.
For this reason, the overhead press/military press is considered more of an advanced exercise in the sense that it requires you to have greater mobility within the shoulder joint so that you can perform the exercise safely and effectively.
Follow these steps below to perfect your technique and grow your shoulders to their full potential.
Select the weight & bar height
Generally speaking, you want to load the bar with heavy to moderate weight, anywhere between the 5-10 rep range. Setting the bar up: you want the rack positioned around arm-pit height.
How To: Start Position
- Standing close to the bar in the rack.
- Position your grip slightly wider than shoulder-width.
- You want to swing your elbows under the bar whilst slightly bending your knees and hips.
- Stand up straight, un-rack the bar and take 3 steps back
- Plant feet at shoulder width stance and point your elbows slightly outside your shoulders.
How To: The Rep
- Position your elbows at a 45-degree angle, the middle ground between pointing them directly our to the side (cactus) or directly in front of you.
- With the bar resting in your hands near your collarbone, flex and engage your glutes to ensure your spin is kept neutral.
- Press the bar straight up, NOT up & forward or up & back
- In order to keep the bar path straight, you will have to slightly tilt your head back as you initiate the press.
- As you clear your face, push your head forward back into a neutral position.
Squeeze the glutes & brace the core.
Tucking the hips engages the glutes placing less stress on the spine allowing you to lift the weight with more control and consistency throughout the set. It’s important to maintain this “tucked” pelvis through the exercise to keep the glues involved.
Do you experience shoulder pain when lifting?
Here’s a helpful article by Men’s Health that dives into the issue.
Dumbbell Shoulder Press variations:
Other variations such as the “standing” or “seated” dumbbell shoulder press are reasonable alternatives, since including dumbbells will help prevent muscle imbalances and challenge the muscle further, increasing the size and strength of your shoulders
How to perform the “Standing Shoulder Press”
In the same way you perform the OHP, the standing shoulder press requires you to engage your glutes to keep the spine neutral. However, if we perform the standing dumbbell shoulder press, you can hold the weights further out to the side, which places more load of the lateral deltoids.
In fact, this study suggests that applying instability to the shoulder press by standing and using dumbbells causes more deltoid activation.
By performing this shoulder press exercise standing, the lateral deltoids become more active and you will gain more strength and overall shoulder size as a result.
Plus, with the standing dumbbell shoulder pressthere’s no danger of the bar hitting your face during the rep, which is another added benefit.
Select the weight
You won’t be able to lift as much with the standing dumbbell shoulder press as when you perform the “seated shoulder press” so I suggest dropping the weight by 10 – 15%.
Core and lower body stability
Keeping the core braced and the glutes engaged is important in all standing pressing movements, and this is no different. Make sure you can feel your glutes contracted throughout this exercise. If you ever feel your lower back aching this is most likely because your glutes aren’t engaged.
How to perform the “Seated Shoulder Press”
The seated dumbbell shoulder press will allow for heavier loads, because when using a back support like a bench to stabilise you, you rely less on your smaller stabilising muscles.
Select the weight
Select a weight that will allow you to meet the desired reps and sets in your program. If selected right, the weight should feel easy at first but will suddenly become very tough just after halfway through the set.
Bench set up
First, make sure the bench you have chosen is adjustable so that you can sit up almost vertically upright. You want to hold the dumbbells up just above the shoulders with your palms facing forwards with your elbows positioned out to the side and bent at 90 degrees.
Keep your shoulder blades back and down
Keeping the shoulder blades back and down, and without leaning back or bending the spine, extend through your elbows to press the dumbbells overhead, then control the weights back down to the start position.
Feet, spine & and core tension
Finally, try to push slightly forward through the feet, this will help brace your pelvis into the bench so that you find more stability. Have a slight arch in the spine and hold core tension throughout the set.
Can’t perform an overhead press/military press yet?
You should begin with the “seated dumbbell shoulder press” and once you feel confident with this movement, begin to advance to the standing variation, focusing on engaging the glutes and stabilising through the shoulder.
Start with just the weight of the bar itself. Most Olympic bars weigh 20kg so some of you may find that you can only do 5 reps with that weight at first, this is okay. Rome wasn’t built in a day.
Shoulder press reps & sets
Try to load this exercise within the low to moderate rep range. Meaning that you are aiming to lift a weight that feels heavy but not impossible.
For Hypertrophy
3-4 sets of 8 -12 reps (90% effort) with a 60 – 90 second rest – once you can perform 10+ reps for 4 sets, increase the load to make the exercise harder.
For strength
Either 3 sets of 6-8 reps or 5 sets of 5 reps (90% effort) with 2 – 3 mins rest between – 5×5 is a great way to gain strength fast with the OHP and you will notice you can consistently add weight with this loading pattern.
Alternative Exercises
Check out our other front deltoid related guides: seated front delt raise, plate front delt raise, clean and press
Cable Shoulder Press Using A Shoulder Press Machine
The shoulder press machine is another great way of targeting the front/anterior deltoid. Similar to the cable shoulder press, the shoulder press machine does a lot of stabalisation work which has its pros and cons. Less machine stabalisation means your supporting muscles have to do more work, making the movement more functional. However, you may choose to use a shoulder press machine to really isolate your anterior deltoid/front delt. Be sure to include free weight exercises into your routine to increase shoulder stability to avoid injury.
The Arnold Press
The Arnold Press originate from the big man himself who needs no introduction. The main benefit of the Arnold press is that it does a slightly better job of incorporating a range of deltoid activation, vs other shoulder presses like the dumbbell shoulder press or military press.
What the video to ensure you’re nailing the form to maximise gains and minimise injury risk.
The Landmine Press
The landmine press is a happy middle ground between the stability needed for a free weight exercise and a machine exercise. Plus it’s a bit different and very functional as you’re in a standing position.
Watch the video to understand the movement to ensure you’re doing it correctly.
Pike push up
If you really want to increase your shoulder strength and are looking for a challenge, try the pike push-up. This exercise is great for building strong resilient shoulders.
PLEASE NOTE: This is a very difficult exercise and places a great deal of stress on the shoulder. This exercise does require you to already have a good level of shoulder strength and control.
Secret Shoulder Press Technique To Maximise Growth
Take a deep breath into your gut before your rep to increase torso rigidity and breathe out when lowering the weight. A more rigid core will help stabilise your upper body throughout the movement, allowing you to further isolate and overload your delts with more weight rather than wasting energy on stabilisation.
Additional resources
- Scientific study: barbell shoulder press in front of the head vs behind the head
- Scientific study: seated military press vs standing military press vs seated dumbbell press vs and standing dumbbell press
Olly is a CIMSPA accredited personal trainer with a BSc degree in sport management from Solent University. He has over 10 years experience helping clients reach their health & fitness goals.
