The military press is a strength training staple; however, you need to perform it properly. The military press is hard to perform, which is why, when carrying out this exercise, you shouldn’t execute it with anything less than perfect form.
Performing the military press would call on your shoulder and triceps strength, your chest, mobility, core stability, and upper back strength.
Incorporating the military press into your exercise program will see you get massive benefits as this exercise stimulates all the muscle fibers found in the three heads of your shoulder muscles.
Common mistakes made when doing the military press
The military press is a hard exercise to perform, and most people often make mistakes when trying to do it.
These are the common mistakes made when performing the military press;
- There are three heads in your shoulder muscle, which includes the front, middle, and rear deltoids. If you perform too much horizontal and vertical pressing, you will place a lot of strain on your front and middle deltoids. This is why it is recommended that you stimulate your rear delts enough by doing a resistance band pull-apart for two sets of about 30 reps. In addition to improving your posture, you will so find it easier to retract your shoulder blades, which in turn will make you better at doing the military press.
- Most people forget to keep their core engaged while pressing the bar overhead. It is essential to engage your core as this helps prevent excessive strain on your lower back. Also, your abdominals are activated for strength thanks to their central placement within the body. If you don’t engage your core, you would not be able to lift the weight sufficiently.
- Most exercisers are found to pick a weight that is a bit too heavy for them. And since the military press is a technical and challenging lift that gives little room for error, they would most likely fail in performing it. It is recommended that you pick a weight that allows you to do controlled and strict reps.
Tips to note when doing the military press
When doing the military press, these are the tips to keep in mind so that you don’t make mistakes;
Position your elbows the right way
Your elbows should be vertically aligned with your ears; they shouldn’t move backward or forwards.
To be in a scapular plane, you have to rotate your elbows a few degrees forward; this, in turn, would ensure that you start the press upwards. To round up the exercise, you drive your biceps beside your ear.
Do not arch your back
When most people are pressing up, they are fond of arching their backs, mainly if they are using heavier weights. Doing this could impact a lot of parts of your body.
For instance, it would cause your lower back so much strain and might result in injuries. It would also mean that your shoulder blades are not positioned ideally.
You need to ensure that your pelvis is directly beneath your torso and that you tighten your abs. This tension should be maintained all through the workout.
Squeeze your shoulder blades
While you are doing the military press, ensure that you are squeezing your shoulder blades together as this aids in the proper completion of the motion while also helping you drive your arms upwards and in a straight line.
The tension created throughout your back and in your rhomboids is the vital factor that aids with getting your arms perpendicular to the ground. It also prevents your shoulder joints from getting injured.
These are some other tips to note;
- While lowering the bar, you should not go below chin level, as this would mean that your shoulders get internally rotated excessively. When this happens, the emphasis of the weight is taken off your deltoids. So, it would be best if you stopped lowering at the chin level.
- Your forearms should be kept vertical all through this exercise as this would help balance the weight and take the load off your wrist and onto your elbows.
- If you don’t want to lose drive, you should not grip the bar any wider than the width of your shoulder. This is essential so that you have the ability to lock your arms out easily.
- Before you start lifting, inhale deeply so that you would stabilize your shoulder blades and ribcage. Inhale while lowering the bar and exhale as you press the bar up.
- Ensure that your feet are driven through the floor. Imagine each press as a back squat or leg press. Create tension and stability in your lower body by driving down through your feet. This would give you more strength by creating a rigid frame. It is recommended that you tense your core, glutes, and quads while doing the military press.
A form guide for the military press
- Hold the barbell with your hands a bit broader than the width of your shoulder, while ensuring that your palm faces forward. There are two versions that you can try to see the one that is more comfortable for you. It might be easier to execute with the use of a hook grip; instead of placing your hand under the bar, you place it over the bar.
- Get into a quarter squat by standing near the bar while keeping your knees bent; then, you contract your glutes and core. Take the weight off from the squat rack by using your legs to drive up. This ensures that when picking up the bar, the lower back would be protected. Then you give yourself room to lift the bar by taking a few steps back.
- Keep your feet close to each other while standing, then tighten your core muscles and glutes so that you have a rigid base for pressing. Ensure that you maintain the tension while performing the exercise. You will strain your spine, arch your back, and lose power if you start to go soft in the middle. Drop the bar down on the floor when this happens.
- Keep the bar at your chin level, while ensuring that your elbows point forward instead and do not flare out to your sides. What this means is that you will need a significant amount of your side and front pec muscles and deltoids to aid with control and lifting of heavier weights. While lowering down and pressing up, always make sure that your elbows point forward.
- This is the stage where you drive. Inhale sharply and maintain tension in your torso and glutes before driving the bar upwards, exhale as your press. Once you are getting close to full extension, lean your head forward so that your biceps are in line with your ears, which would guarantee that there is no arching of your back and ensure perfect form.
- While lowering the bar with a controlled movement to be level with your chin, tilt your head back a bit; this ensures that your forehead doesn’t get clipped as you go down. Maintain the tension in your core as you are performing each set. Then, you drop the weight and relax.
Warming up before the military press
It is not advisable to just go head-on into heavy overhead presses. It is easy to injure the ball and socket joint of the shoulder and the nearby muscles around it. So going straight into heavy overhead presses is one of the fastest ways to injure these muscles.
The best way to prepare yourself for the military press is by performing;
- Two sets of 20 shoulder dislocates with the use of a broom handle
- Then you do two sets of 30/30 light push presses, you work for 30 seconds and then rest for the next 30 seconds.
You do these two sets without taking a break, then take a 2-min break. When you are ready to start doing the military press, you repeat these steps once more.
Difference between the military press and an overhead press
The simple difference between the military press and a standard overhead press is the position of your feet. For the military press, you need to keep your feet together while with the overhead press, you have to stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
Since your feet are placed together when doing the military press, you have lower stability. This means that, for you to be stable while doing the lift, your core would need to do more work; your obliques and abs are mostly responsible for handling the load.
The military press gives you a better core workout than the overhead press, even if you would have to use less weight.
