Seated Behind the Neck Press (Barbell)

The seated behind the neck press is an advanced barbell shoulder exercise in which the bar starts on the upper traps and is pressed straight overhead from behind the head. It loads the deltoids in a strict vertical line, and it also recruits the traps and the upper back muscles to hold the torso and shoulder blades in place. The catch is that it asks for a lot: full external rotation at the shoulder and enough thoracic extension to keep the bar path vertical without craning the neck forward. Who should press behind the neck? Experienced lifters with clean overhead mobility, and nobody else. A sensible entry point is around half the load you use on a standard overhead press, in sets of eight to ten controlled reps, taking the bar only to ear level rather than forcing it lower. Stop the set the moment technique degrades.