Best Shoulder Workout - Barbell Behind Neck Press Deltoids

barbell behind the neck press is possibly the best shoulder mass building exercise.

You may have heard that behind the neck press is dangerous or bad for your shoulders.

Whoever told you this, should have said it could be bad for your shoulders.

If you have good posture and healthy shoulders, and haven't did any upper body exercises in the past couple days, behind the neck press is a great choice to begin your shoulder workout.

Never continue if you experience any shoulder, neck or back pain. You have to be smarter than the barbell.

Make sure you lower the weight under complete control. You should lower the weight to the point where your arms form around a 90 degree angle.

Usually this point the bar is around the base of your skull.

Push the bar up to a position above your head.

Behind the neck press requires a lot of core stabilization so a back rest is the best way to isolate the deltoids.

The very best way to perform this is to have a spotter hold their knee in your back so you can retract your shoulder blades.

Your spotter will also help you unrack and rerack the barbell safely which is usually the most difficult part of the exercise.

You can find many more shoulder exercises, with descriptions and anatomy information on the website.


Personal Trainer Michael Behnken, MS, NASM-CPT-PES, CSCS