I’m curious of which would be more beneficial to gain strength in the shoulders? I’m making a program based on a layout that makes me pick one of the two:
Military Press or Push Press?
Anyone help me out here?
Well a few people might stay both, but if you must pick one for strength, then I’d say the push press.
Here’s something I want to get an answer on. When you say strength how are you defining it? 1RM on a particular exercise? Gains in strength on a particular exercise?
Which will add more meat to your shoulders is the one that you can progress safely with the most weight for reps over months-years.
I guess I was more looking towards the fact that stronger shoulders help your bench… So I’m not going to test my 1rm on push press or military press, I just meant overall strength, if I’m making sense…
The Push Press is better for building shoulder strength since you can use more weight. The Jerk portion of the clean and jerk is even better than the push press because it allows you to use the most weight. The problem with the push press and the jerk is overlap you’ll experience from leg training.
Why limit yourself to one?
Daily on forums all over we see ‘what’s best this v that ?’ - just see how you respond and fit it into your plan. I find the two compliment each other. A good push press gets you used to handling heavy weights over-head, and is a great lock out exercise IMO - maybe that’s the answer you after?
Alternate the two. A push press uses momentum and lets you power out the top portion of the movement after giving it a start, the normal press demands shoulder and tricep strength along the whole range of motion.
There is great satisfaction in letting down the weight from a set of presses thinking ‘that was hard’ and then getting one last rep from the bottom to the top with no torso momentum.
Push press. It allows you to use more weight and overload the deltoids more. However, you still wanna do military press to teach you starting strength.
Strict standing military presses. Work your way up to pressing your bodyweight, then try some push presses.
For the context you are using it a more strict overhead press would be beneficial in my opinion.
shit, this seems obvious. Military press - hands-down. What do you think lifts the weight when you do a push-press? It’s your legs and then finished with the shoulders/triceps… If you want tougher shoulders do a one-and-a-half military press that emphasis the lower half of the range of motion. Press the bar halfway up, lower it down, then push it all the way up. That would be one rep.
[quote]danger-kelly wrote:
shit, this seems obvious. Military press - hands-down. What do you think lifts the weight when you do a push-press? It’s your legs and then finished with the shoulders/triceps… If you want tougher shoulders do a one-and-a-half military press that emphasis the lower half of the range of motion. Press the bar halfway up, lower it down, then push it all the way up. That would be one rep. [/quote]
1 and 1/2’s are a great training method. But, seeing as how this is the “beginners” section, I don’t think that Flip needs to be worrying about things like 1 and 1/2’s at this point.
Flip,
Just pick one and try to build up your poundages on it as much as you can. Combine that with a caloric surplus and sufficient rest and you’ll see results. When you plateau on which ever variation you choose, switch to the other one and repeat the process. Then switch to maybe dumbbells, or arnold presses, or BTN’s, etc… and so on and so on.
Continue to follow this pattern consistently for years and you’ll see noticeable and significant results. There really are no “secret” or “magical” training methods or exercises that lead to success. Don’t make this more complicated and harder on yourself than it needs to be.
[quote]TKL wrote:
Strict standing military presses. Work your way up to pressing your bodyweight, then try some push presses. [/quote]
Strict Military Presses with your bodyweight? That’s really fucking hard. Just in case you don’t know.
[quote]FightingScott wrote:
TKL wrote:
Strict standing military presses. Work your way up to pressing your bodyweight, then try some push presses.
Strict Military Presses with your bodyweight? That’s really fucking hard. Just in case you don’t know. [/quote]
A good goal though, but the idea of NOT doing any push presses until you can strict press your bodyweight is retarded.
to the OP do both, alternate between them. There is no best exercise, there is alot of training time to do different things.
I say do military presses until you plateau in them than switch it up to push presses, etc.
Thanks for the replies. I’m just going to stick with the military press.
They are all good AS LONG AS U USE A HEAVY WEIGHT! 1-5reps
A good thing is to do presses, then as the weight goes up do push press, and as it goes up even more jerk it.
Behind the neck push press are good too, plus they also teach u the “feel” & “movement” of the lifts. Although u use less weight on those.
[quote]Scott M wrote:
For the context you are using it a more strict overhead press would be beneficial in my opinion. [/quote]
I agree with this. I think strict overhead presses have more of a carryover to the bench. But, again, you don’t have to do one and not the other.
[quote]FightingScott wrote:
TKL wrote:
Strict standing military presses. Work your way up to pressing your bodyweight, then try some push presses.
Strict Military Presses with your bodyweight? That’s really fucking hard. Just in case you don’t know. [/quote]
Isn’t lifting supposed to “really fucking hard”? Or, at least kinda hard. You’re not going to make any real gains just going through the motions.
[quote]malonetd wrote:
FightingScott wrote:
TKL wrote:
Strict standing military presses. Work your way up to pressing your bodyweight, then try some push presses.
Strict Military Presses with your bodyweight? That’s really fucking hard. Just in case you don’t know.
Isn’t lifting supposed to “really fucking hard”? Or, at least kinda hard. You’re not going to make any real gains just going through the motions.[/quote]
So can you military press your bodyweight?
Start with military, add weight each week. Lets say, for example, you’re doing like 4 sets of 5 reps on week 1 of working with military press. Add weight 5/10 lbs each week. Your reps will decrease. If you can’t get 4 sets of at least 3, then push press the weight - you’ll easily get 4 sets of 5 reps with that weight (probably a good 20-30lbs heavier than your week 1 military weight).
Now work with push presses instead of military. Add weight each week. When you hit a weight you can’t get 4 sets of 3 reps with push presses, drop back to military presses. Hopefully, you’ll be able to do the weight you used on week 2 or 3 with military for 4 sets of 5. Rinse and repeat.