Behind The Neck Press

The behind the neck press is an overhead press in which the bar travels behind the head rather than in front of the face. Pressing from that position places the shoulders in full external rotation and abduction, which recruits the lateral and posterior deltoids more than a front press does and takes the upper back out of its usual rounded posture. It also asks a great deal of shoulder mobility, and that is the honest caveat. If you cannot hold the bar behind your head with the elbows under the wrists and the chest open, without craning the neck forward, the position will find the weakest part of your shoulder before it builds the strongest. Use a wide grip, lower only to the point where the mobility runs out, and treat load as the last variable to increase rather than the first.