Winston Salem Fitness

The military press is a popular shoulder pressing exercise which involves barbell over head

pressing whilst standing. This military press is sometimes the name given to some of the seated

shoulder pressing variations, but this is incorrect.

An exercise which has been around since man (and women) have lifted iron, the military press is a

popular shoulder exercise which has the bonus of trainers able to add some “cheat” to the

exercise as they reach the final repetitions of a set.

The military press is a difficult exercise to fully master to begin with, so starting with a

light weight and focusing on the execution if a wise choice for beginners.

The rep range 6-12 is commonly said to be a suitable rep range for anybody whos goal is to

increase muscle size and mass. This of course is not universal and it would be wise to experiment

with different rep and set ranges to see which regime seems to be the most effective for you.

Instructions:

Load bar with a suitable weight. Put on safety collars.
Take an overhand shoulder width grip, and take bar off rack (or Clean off floor if you do not

have a rack).
Carefully place the barbell just in front of your neck, whilst keeping torso erect, and back

straight.
Whilst keeping torso erect, press the bar upwards until arms are extending above.
Whilst keeping good body posture, slowly lower the weight back in front of the neck.
Repeat for desired amount of repetitions.