Beauty

Benefit exercises

The bench press from behind the head, performed both standing and sitting, is an effective exercise for working on the deltoid muscles. The large weight of the barbell being lifted perfectly stimulates the growth of strength and mass of the shoulders. In this exercise, all three beams of deltas are involved, but the maximum load falls on the front and middle beams.

By regularly performing bench press from behind your head, you will improve athletic performance in sports such as weightlifting, gymnastics, wrestling, tennis, badminton and others where the shoulder muscles are actively involved.

The technique of performing a bench press from behind the head in a standing position

Correct exercise technique:

1. Raise the racks from which you will remove the barbell to the level of the middle of the chest. Put a barbell on the racks and hang pancakes on it. Then grab the barbell with a medium grip and place it on your chest so that it only touches the upper chest, legs shoulder-width apart, your back is slightly arched at the waist, your shoulders are straightened, your chest is deployed, your back muscles and abs are tense, and your eyes are directed strictly in front of. This is the starting position.

2. Inhale, hold your breath and begin to lift the bar up. Make sure that the elbows «look» away from the body. At the top of the movement, the arms are fully extended and the bar is above the head.

3. At the top point, pause and tighten your shoulder muscles even more, then, as you exhale, slowly lower the bar behind your head, without touching your back with the bar until the end of the set.

4. Perform the required number of repetitions.

It is important:

When performing the exercise, in no case do not relax the press and back muscles. Since they are responsible for maintaining balance and keeping the spine in the correct, S-shaped position. Otherwise, the exercise becomes potentially traumatic.

During the set, keep your chin parallel to the floor and do not turn your head to the sides, otherwise you risk losing balance and tipping over.

Do not lower the bar until it touches the back, the range of motion in this case will be maximum, but in the lower position you overload the shoulder joints too much.

When performing presses from behind the head, in addition to the middle and anterior bundles of the deltas, the supraspinatus muscle is also actively involved, which in most people is not sufficiently developed. Therefore, there is a risk of overloading it and earning a shoulder joint injury.

Options exercises

Bench press from behind the head while sitting. This version of the exercise reduces the load on the muscles responsible for maintaining the body in balance.

Working muscles when performing a bench press from behind the head

• deltoid muscles (especially the anterior and middle bundles)
• triceps
• pectoral muscles

Alternative exercises

• Seated Dumbbell Press
• Overhead Press
• Arnold press

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