Behind The Neck Press: Good Or Bad? Safe Or Dangerous?

Been lifting weights since I was 12. Now at 76, the behind the next press is, and has been my favorite shoulder exercise. Remember, this is a 100% controlled exercise, and never performed with too heavy a weight.

I think doing BTN presses depends on how much shoulder mobility you have. Alec Enkiri is a fan of them and has plenty of videos on the topic.

Isnt a weighted stretch great for hypertrophy?

Sooo the problem is too much weight.

If you fail to address your own mobility issues, don't blame the exercise.

Rare younger Sean Nalewanyj footage

I love you Sean 🙏 🙏

I know he doesn't really reply to comments, but curious if he still has the same opinion on these.
They feel great on my shoulders. I'm gently introducing them with one set a week, very light weight about 3 reps from failure. Will slowly increase and properly put them in my programme if I'm still happy with them.

it seems to me that behind the neck presses work more back

Listen to him. So you won't look as good as me

Yes they’re safe and beneficial. Don’t listen to these new guys! You full of shit! 🤨

Thank you Sean! Finally someone said it! Unless you have freakish shoulder mobility and/or are a fake natty like someone we shouldn't mention, behind the neck press is terrible.

Mike O Hearn has left the chat.

For people who think its bad. Just do 20rep 3set with just bar as your warm up for a month or two. Your flexibility will increase.

Welcome Olympic lifters

Not true dude. Just keep the weight light. 60 -70 lbs.

Done them for years. Not with superheavy weight but for 8 reps or so. Never had any issues. My shoulders feel pretty sore after doing it so I love it.

Depends on whether you have the shoulder mobility or not. If you don't, work on that until you do. If you do, behind the neck presses are an excellent exercise.

BTN press never hurted my rotator cuff, but overhead extensions always hurt my rotator cuff. Different for all people.

I think the behind the neck press is actually better for some people

I know for myself it is a way better bar path, it feels better, I don’t get any solder issues, i actually get more joint stress from front presses

Also I can feel my side delts far more, I know they aren’t the prime movers but who cares? You get great activation and you need to work the front delt anyways so it’s not really a big deal

Of course you need the mobility for it but if you have it I think it can be better than the front press

But if you get pain from them don’t do them, it’s not worth the risk till you feel very comfortable doing it

wtf sean what did you do to fix your hairline? why is it better now than in this 8 year old vid. HOW

As someone who is extremely flexible. This is not hard to do at all.

Once you know what you're doing the results are crazy.

Lol... Sounds like someone who can't handle them.... Check out Mike O'Hearn doing press behind neck with 315lb for reps! He always recommends them.... And one of the better physiques around!

Kevin Levrone will have your ass lol. Just do them on a damn Smith machine.

Don't go heavy on behind the neck press. It's simple. 4-5 sets of 12. Wasn't really designed to go super heavy.

BNP hits all 3 of the heads. do it if u have the mobility.

Says the young guy before loss of mobility. Guys, take it from a 58 year old trying to establish mobility, do behind the neck presses! And while you're at it, do behind the neck pull-ups too before its too late.

"Behind the neck presses are one of the best shoulder-building exercises there is, and it used to be a staple among bodybuilders from the 50s up to the early 80s. It's the most effective pressing exercise for overall shoulder development. This is found both in the trenches and in the lab.

Among the three main pressing options – barbell press from the front, behind the neck barbell press, and dumbbell press – the behind the neck press has a significantly greater activation of all three heads of the delt. And there's no doubt that the behind the neck press is superior to the barbell military press (seated or standing). It's not even close.

When comparing the standing versions of behind the neck presses with dumbbell presses, the dumbbell press hits more of the anterior delt, but the anterior delt is usually over-stimulated with all the bench pressing we do. And when comparing the seated versions of the behind the neck press and the dumbbell press, once again, the behind the neck press is the clear winner.

Someone with a normal posture and no shoulder mobility issues should have no problem doing the behind the neck press safely. There are only two kinds of people who will have problems:


1.Those with a pronounced kyphosis (a rounded upper back and hunched shoulders).

2.Those with pre-existing shoulder mobility issues.


If you're unable to do the behind the neck press comfortably, that's a sign you should work on shoulder mobility. In fact, the behind the neck press is a good diagnostic tool to see how functional your shoulders are.

It's not the exercise that's the problem. It's the fact that it can highlight pre-existing shoulder issues. If you add it to your training, make sure that you don't lack mobility or have a shoulder injury. Start light until you find your groove.

Olympic lifting powerhouse, Dmitry Klokov, for one. He does it in various forms: wide grip, narrow grip, strict, and with a push. Many even call the wide-grip behind the neck press a Klokov press.

Klokov once suffered a serious shoulder injury attempting a 265-270 kg jerk from the racks in training. Afterward he started to emphasize various overhead pressing movements. Now, if a lifter who suffered a severe shoulder injury can do behind the neck presses with over 315 pounds, that's a sign that if you have proper mobility it's a not an inherently dangerous exercise.

Paul Carter is a monster presser, having done 365 pounds in the strict behind the neck press. Paul has a permanently separated shoulder. Despite that, he can still handle monster weights in the behind the neck press.

Ted Arcidi, one of the first to officially bench press 700 pounds, used the behind the neck press as his main upper body builder. He too was able to handle hefty loads without compromising his shoulders.

Maybe it's time for you to re-think the behind the neck press too."

by Christian Thibaudeau

Sean you’re always crying about some exercise, just train bro. There’s no truth to anything you’re saying. I seen guys get STRONG doing behind the neck presses and with simple weights 185, 225, 275 etc... just lift!

Dude, stfu u don’t know what ur taking about, idiot 🤦‍♂️🤬

Disagree. EMG studies have shown the BTN press activates more of the lateral and rear delt than presses to the front. Any exercise can cause harm if done incorrectly and with too much weight and improper form. Agreed some may be more bio-mechanically challenging but everyone’s bio-mechanics are different.

For those with no shoulder issues and enough flexibility, they build shoulders better than front presses. I have been doing them for 36 years with no issue.

Most people do them incorrectly with too much weight and jerk the motion from the bottom. This is what leads to injury to the rotator cuff. The shoulder is the most flexible joint with the widest range of movement when they are healthy and trained correctly.

The Golden Age of bodybuilders had this as a staple shoulder movement. Again, the key is not to go beyond your strength and flexibility boundaries and cycle in other shoulder pressing movements to prevent over use injuries. 95% of the people who shun this exercise don’t practice these boundaries.

Ive been doing behind the neck presses for over 50 + years and have never had a problem. I built most if not all of my delts with this one lift alone. Funny how guys with little to no muscle always have the most advice to give! The key is not to over do it on the poundage. I never went over 110-120 and built a great set of delts with never any pain. As you go up in weight, lessen the range of motion and you'll be fine.

I strongly disagree....

I do BNP 195 lb . and I really enjoy it very much,, and it really gives result.. I feel how my traps work.. how my back shoulders muscles work .. we all what he says doesn't have any scientific prove..
absolutely reasonless ..

Yeah, actually you WOULD be right, if the execution of behind the neck press, or push press was like as you biomechanically describe in your article. Good article but inaccurate.
If someone has to duck his head for not bar slamming it, then he is in no place and flexibility to perform btn press

If you do it light you will be fine my neck got very big becose of it

Science all you want. More % of people who bench get fucked up than % of people who bth press

Thanks bro. To the point with no bullshit.

I only use the behind the neck press for volume work (high reps). It has great carryover to frontal presses.

Start light then build slow.
If you can't press from behind with moderate weight you are weak.

Damn your content is awesome

What about push press or push perk from behind the neck? Its pretty standard for oly lifters to improve their jerk using behind the back.

This may sound odd but I feel when I do front seated military press there is more pressure on my neck/spine area then when I do behind the neck press. P.S - I'm using proper form.

For me BNP is the safe

I've been reading and listening to a lot of people explain why the BTN press is bad for shoulder, rotator cuff, impingement of the shoulder ...etc. Just to play it safe I'll most like ditch the exercise but what I haven't heard are any "actual" injuries from doing the movement. There's no one saying I did this movement and it fucked up my shoulder. I'd like to know if anyone has seen or heard of any real cases.