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Thread: Behind the neck shoulder press

  1. #1
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    Default Behind the neck shoulder press

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    In the latest T-Nation article, Christian Thibaudeau says the Behind the Neck shoulder press is less dangerous than people deem it. He says they only highlight existing shoulder problems, and don't cause them. He also says:
    "There are only two kinds of people who will have problems. 1. Those with a pronounced kyphosis (a rounded upper back and hunched shoulders) and 2. Those with 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."

    He also uses Klokov as an example who used heavy BTNP AFTER his shoulder injuries to argue it helps create strong durable shoulders.

    Thoughts?

  2. #2
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  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mark Rippetoe View Post
    You've been waiting all day to do that, haven't you?

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    I see someone new is pimping for this shoulder wrecker even though Joe Weider has gone to his reward. Wherever he happened to end up.

    Many of my shoulder problems were the result of performing this exercise from my teens to my early 40's. Since I stopped wide grip bench presses and the press behind the neck, they are much better. I used a wide grip and didn't let the bar go lower than the bottoms of my ears as recommended in those days. All in vain, because they would give my AC joint fits every 6-12 months.

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    Ah... Well not much more to say then.

  6. #6
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    As Christian points out, there are a number of populations that probably shouldn't do behind the neck presses, do I really want to check to see who shouldn't behind the neck press when I can just press from the front?

    Bill Starr was a strong advocate for the behind the neck press, but people didn't have as much hunchback in the 70's.

    Finally, you can press more than you can behind the neck press, usually. More weight=Awesome

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Archangel View Post
    Bill Starr was a strong advocate for the behind the neck press, but people didn't have as much hunchback in the 70's.
    Might have been at one time, a long time ago, but this article by Bill is one of the reasons I wouldn't do them even as light assistance.

    "Now the behind-the-neck press is a horse of another color. I have been lobbying against this exercise since Nixon was in the White House. That movement does place a huge amount of stress on the shoulder joints, as does any behind the neck exercise because the shoulder girdle and joints are not designed to rotate in that manner." The Olympic-Style Press by Bill Starr.

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    I'm glad you dug that up, Dave.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by perman View Post
    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."
    Isn't squatting a good diagnostic tool for that? If you don't have good shoulder mobility, you won't be able to get in a low bar position correctly. And if you don't have semi-decent shoulder mobility you won't even be able to get in a high bar position. I do ten minutes of shoulder PT exercises with cables now before I squat, just to be able to get into a high bar position.

    BTW, I used to do seated behind the neck presses when I was in college, because I was following the bro science of my more experienced training partners. Didn't notice any issues then, but who knows, maybe I accumulated some damage from it.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Mark Rippetoe View Post
    Anyone bet against No 6 being the most common category invoked?

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