Training your upper body boasts numerous benefits for your strength, posture and overall health. Upper body strength exercises are often categorized as either pulling or pushing. Pulling movements include lifts such as barbell rows and pullups. Pushing or pressing exercises include exercises like pushups, bench presses and overhead presses.
The bench press and the overhead press are very popular pushing exercises that help build the size and strength of the upper body. The bench press is a staple exercise for bodybuilders and powerlifters as it is one of the three competition lifts.
The overhead press is a common exercise used by Olympic lifters, Strongman athletes, and Crossfitters. It has been around slightly longer than the bench press and was originally part of the clean and press rather than a standalone exercise.
Both exercises can be part of an effective strength program for your upper body, but they do have several key differences. We’ll compare these two pressing movements, go over the pros and cons of each, and review the key technical differences to help you decide which one to include in your training session.
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