The push press is a vertical pressing exercise commonly used to build and strengthen the shoulders. Unlike the strict overhead press, the push press engages the lower body to push more weight overhead. This exercise has various benefits and trains several muscle groups.
This article covers the top five benefits and the primary muscle groups worked by the push press. Keep reading to see why it may be worth adding to a workout routine.
Push Press Benefits
- Increases shoulder size and strength
- Improves overhead stability
- Has carryover to other movements
- Builds lower body power and explosiveness
- Requires minimal equipment and space
Here are the top five push-press benefits:
Increases shoulder size and strength
One of the main reasons why people perform the push-press is to get bigger and shoulder shoulders. The primary muscle group targeted with this exercise is the delts, specifically the anterior and lateral heads.
The delts are large superficial muscles that surround the shoulder. Big and round shoulders are attributed to having well-developed delts. Beyond aesthetics, having more muscular shoulders helps reduce injury risk and increase athletic performance, especially with overhead movements.
Since the push press engages the lower body, you can lift more weight than a strict overhead press. The increased load increases muscle tension, leading to even more hypertrophy and strength gains. If you’ve recently hit a plateau on the overhead press, switching to the push press may help you progress once again.
Improves overhead stability
Overhead stability is important for several movements, such as throwing, handstands, overhead squats, jerks, and snatches. Improving overhead stability may reduce the risk of shoulder injuries and improve athletic performance.
Since the shoulder joint has such a large range of motion, various muscles are responsible for stabilization. The primary stabilizer muscles include the rotator cuff, which consists of the teres minor, supraspinatus, infraspinatus, and subscapularis. All of these muscles work together to keep the head of the humerus pressed against the glenoid fossa on the scapula.
If you’ve ever had a shoulder injury, there’s a good chance the rotator cuff weakened, leading to instability. A great way to reestablish overhead stability is by performing the push press with a pause at the top of the movement.
Has carryover to other movements
The push press is commonly performed by cross-fitters, strongmen, Olympic weightlifters, and other athletes because it carries over to various movements. Increasing how much you can push the press will likely lead to performance increases in the overhead press, hand-stand push-ups, split jerk, thruster, log press, snatch, and more.
It’s often used as an accessory exercise to other main compound movements because it helps build strength, power, and stability in the lower and upper body. The push press is a superior alternative to the strict overhead press for those more concerned about increasing their performance rather than just building muscle.
Builds lower body power and explosiveness
Something unique to the push-press is that it also engages the lower body, enhancing overall power and explosiveness. Unlike the strict overhead press, where the hips remain fully extended at all times, the push press uses the lower body to help drive the barbell overhead. The extra push from the lower body is where the push press gets its name.
There are a lot of movements that rely on leg drive to allow for more weight to be lifted without overly fatiguing the upper body. Some common ones include the clean, snatch, bench press, thruster, wall balls, jerk, and kettlebell swings.
Beginners new to this concept may find proper leg drive challenging, especially with some of the more complicated lifts. The push press is a good way to teach beginners the proper biomechanics of utilizing hip extension while performing upper-body movements.
Requires minimal equipment and space
The last benefit of the push press is that it requires minimal equipment. A traditional push press is performed with an Olympic barbell, squat rack, plates, and safety clips.
With that said, if you’re strong enough to get the barbell in the front rack position, then a squat rack isn’t even necessary. It just makes it easier to rack and un-rack the weight. Dumbbells, EZ-bars, kettlebells, and standard barbells can also be used to do the push-press.
The fact that the push press is a free-weight, compound movement makes it ideal for most people because you can manipulate the path of motion, equipment, and weight to suit any individual. Lastly, minimal space is needed to perform the push press.
Push Press Muscles Worked
- Delts
- Triceps
- Traps
- Quads
- Glutes
- Lower Back and Core
Here are the primary muscles groups involved in push presses:
Delts
The main muscle group targeted with the push press is the delts, also known as the shoulders. Three delts surround the shoulder joint: the anterior, lateral, and rear delts. Each one performs a specific action that’s different from one another.
The anterior delt is located on the front of the shoulder and performs shoulder flexion. The lateral delt covers the side of the shoulder and performs shoulder abduction. The rear delt is located on the back side of the shoulder and assists with shoulder horizontal abduction and retraction.
During a push-press, the anterior and lateral delt are the primary movers. The rear delt helps stabilize the shoulder but is not very active otherwise. It’s important to note that the anterior delt is also known as the front delt, and the lateral delt is often referred to as the side delt.
Triceps
Image borrowed from: https://teachmeanatomy.info/upper-limb/muscles/upper-arm/
The triceps are located in the back of the upper arm and consist of three heads: lateral, long, and medial. This muscle group is responsible for elbow extension, so it plays a crucial role in the lockout portion of any pressing movement. Since the lockout is where most people fail on a lift, doing extra tricep work can be very beneficial.
Not to mention, the triceps make up approximately 2/3rds of the upper arm. So for those who want to get bigger upper arms, it’s just as essential to build the triceps as the biceps. Beyond compound pressing movements, cable tricep pushdowns, skull crushers, and overhead extensions are an excellent way to isolate the triceps.
Traps
Image borrowed from: https://teachmeanatomy.info/upper-limb/muscles/shoulder/extrinsic/
The trapezius, more commonly known as the traps, are large triangular muscles covering the upper back, neck, and shoulders. The traps are divided into three sections based on location, muscle fiber orientation, and action. The upper traps help elevate and upwardly rotate the scapula and extend the neck.
One of the most common exercises to build the upper traps is shoulder shrugs. The middle traps are responsible for scapular retraction, engaging during any rowing motion. The lower traps perform downward rotation and depression of the scapula, so they are best targeted with pulldowns or reverse shrugs.
The upper trap fibers are the most active during a push-press because the shoulders extend overhead. However, all the fibers are actively working to stabilize the shoulder blades throughout the movement.
Quads
Image borrowed from: https://teachmeanatomy.info/lower-limb/muscles/thigh/anterior-compartment/
As mentioned, the quads help drive the barbell overhead during push presses because the movement is initiated with a quarter squat. This allows more weight to be lifted than a strict overhead press.
The quads are located on the front of the upper leg and consist of four muscles: rectus femoris, vastus lateralis, vastus medialis, and vastus intermedius. Since this muscle group crosses the hip and knee joints, it’s considered a biarticular muscle. The quad’s primary actions include knee extension and hip flexion.
There are better movements to build the quad than the push press. However, they are active during the exercise. Some of the most effective quad exercises include the back squat, leg press, lunge, hack squat, front squat, and leg extension.
Glutes
Image borrowed from: https://teachmeanatomy.info/lower-limb/muscles/gluteal-region/
The glutes include three muscles: gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, and gluteus minimus. They are commonly referred to as the butt. The gluteus maximus is the largest and most superficial of the three gluteal muscles. Its primary action is hip extension, a pivotal movement for the push press. The gluteus medius and minimus perform hip abduction, so they help stabilize the pelvis.
As discussed, leg drive is a crucial action to learn for various movements that come from solid quads and glutes. To target the glutes, sumo deadlifts, hip thrusts, kickbacks, back squats, and glute bridges are more effective exercises.
Lower Back and Core
Image borrowed from: https://teachmeanatomy.info/abdomen/muscles/abdominal-wall/
During a push press, the lower back muscles and core stabilize the spine and transfer force from the lower body to the upper body.
The primary lower back muscles include the erectors, multifidus, quadratus laborum, and lower lats. The core consists of the transverse abdominis, rectus abdominis, external obliques, and internal obliques.
Weak core and/or lower back muscles can hinder how much weight can be lifted overhead because it drastically increases instability. Furthermore, it may increase injury risk to the spine or shoulders.
Image borrowed from: https://teachmeanatomy.info/back/muscles/intrinsic/
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the difference between a push press and an overhead press?
The primary difference between the push press and the overhead press is the involvement of the lower body. A quarter squat creates momentum during a push press and drives the weight overhead.
However, the lifter maintains full hip extension during an overhead press and relies solely on upper body strength. Therefore, people can lift much more weight with a push press than with an overhead press.
What are the best barbell push press variations?
The best push press alternatives include the overhead press; dumbbell push press; military press; seated dumbbell shoulder press; standing dumbbell shoulder press; machine shoulder press; Viking press; push jerk; and smith machine shoulder press.
Is the push press better for athletes?
Since the push press helps enhance strength, power, muscle mass, stability, and mobility, it’s superior for athletes than other vertical pressing movements. It’s also easier to learn and safer than Olympic weightlifting movements, such as the push jerk and snatch.
