[quote]Xanthos wrote:
sarah1 wrote:
Can anyone explain the differences between pressing in front and behind the head? Is one better than the other for certain muscles? Is one worse for the shoulders?
Thanks!
behind the neck is more efficient at recruiting motor unit but it is harder on the shoulder. I personally prefer military press bringing it down to the chin instead to the clavicle to keep the muscle contraction during the entire exercice.[/quote]
That is not correct. Many guys believe behind the next presses are hard on the shoulder, but the real problem is that they are just not flexible enough to perform them correctly. So the truth is that if you have poor flexibility they are difficult to perform. But if you have normal flexibility they do not cause any shoulder problems.
[quote]uptruck wrote:
why would it be easier for me behind than infront?[/quote]
Cause then you don’t have to look at her.
But for me behind the necks are slightly easier as well but I don’t have an explanation for you, really because I haven’t cared enough to look for one.
And as far as the range of motion question I lower to my nose on front presses since any lower begins to hurt my shoulders, ear level with behind the necks. My shoulders are growing so that’s all that matters.
For bodybuilding purpose, the romanian deadlift is used instead of the standard deadlift because of the no sense TUT like you said. Pec are involved in the lower part of the bench press ( tricep kicks in on the top ) that’s why you lower the bar down… I humbly suggest that you read some material from CT… the answer I gave you come from the book High Threshold Muscle Building by CT page 107 and 108 by the way.[/quote]
In a bench, the pecs stop doing work when your humerus (sp?) is parallel to the floor. For anyone who’s not massive, that’s well short of bringing the bar to the chest. The thing that makes the bench great is that it’s a compound exercise that works the lats, pecs, tris, traps, and core through a full range of motion. If you don’t bring the bar to your chest, you’re changing the bench from a great compound exercise to a crappy isolation exercise. I think the same thing is true for shoulder presses.
Also, the TUT principle never worked for me. When I learned how important it is to accelerate the bar during lifts and use a full ROM on every exercise, I got a lot stronger. Check out the second half (Focusing on Speed/Acceleration) of this link: EliteFitness.com Bodybuilding Forums.
Personally, I tend to favor the behind-the-neck one. For some reason, I feel that it’s easier to maintain correct form doing it rather than traditional military press. Also, it ensures that you’re unlikely to overlook the power of stretches.
I used to stretch religiously and hurt my shoulder wrestling. A physical therapist told me I was hyper-mobile and should stop stretching. BTN presses bothered the hell out of my shoulder even when they were light, so I don’t think the toll they take on the shoulder joint can be explained by a lack of flexibility alone.
[quote]Wilrise wrote:
sarah1 wrote:
Can anyone explain the differences between pressing in front and behind the head? Is one better than the other for certain muscles? Is one worse for the shoulders?
Thanks!
Hope i can help with my spanglish:
Behind the head:
This works the deltoids(posterior deltoid), trapecius, Triceps brachii, and the serratus major…
Front shoulder press:
Deltoids (posterior, externe), Pectoralis Major (Clavicular Head),tapecius,Triceps brachii,serratus major…
Info taking from:
Frederic Delavier
“Guia de los moviemientos de musculación”
[/quote]
I dont agree with some of this. That a shoulder press behind the head uses the posterior head of the delt to a greater degree. If you look at someone doing a behind the head press, you can plainly see their anterior delt is getting a stretch while the posterior is on the other opposite side. This was not well thought out. Rear delts are used more in pulling or reverse flye type motions, very little in pressing and I would even guess that a behind the head press used even less posterior delt than a normal in front of the face military press.
[quote]Shadowzz4 wrote:
Wilrise wrote:
sarah1 wrote:
Can anyone explain the differences between pressing in front and behind the head? Is one better than the other for certain muscles? Is one worse for the shoulders?
Thanks!
Hope i can help with my spanglish:
Behind the head:
This works the deltoids(posterior deltoid), trapecius, Triceps brachii, and the serratus major…
Front shoulder press:
Deltoids (posterior, externe), Pectoralis Major (Clavicular Head),tapecius,Triceps brachii,serratus major…
Info taking from:
Frederic Delavier
“Guia de los moviemientos de musculación”
I dont agree with some of this. That a shoulder press behind the head uses the posterior head of the delt to a greater degree. If you look at someone doing a behind the head press, you can plainly see their anterior delt is getting a stretch while the posterior is on the other opposite side. This was not well thought out. Rear delts are used more in pulling or reverse flye type motions, very little in pressing and I would even guess that a behind the head press used even less posterior delt than a normal in front of the face military press.
[/quote]
You are exactly right. That is why the military press is better for overall development of the delt, because is uses medial and anterior delts (the medial comes in when trying to clear your face/head.