10 Best Push Press Alternatives for Explosive Shoulder Power

The Push Press asks your legs to dip and drive so a barbell can travel from your shoulders to a locked-out arm overhead. The Standing Two-arm Overhead Throw keeps the explosive whole-body effort with a medicine ball instead: take it behind your head with a slight knee bend, then throw it forward at a wall or a partner. If you only have kettlebells, the Kettlebell Double Push Press keeps the same leg dip with a bell in each hand, and the Kettlebell One Arm Push Press covers a single bell.

Original Exercise: Push Press

Push Press
Primary Muscle
Delts
Equipment
Barbell
Difficulty
Intermediate
Type
Compound
Secondary Muscles: Quadriceps, Triceps
Pro Tips
  • Category: Olympic weightlifting
  • Force: Push
  • Movement type: Compound

Ranked Push Press Alternatives

Best Match
Standing Two-Arm Overhead Throw

1. Standing Two-Arm Overhead Throw

99.9% Match
Delts Medicine-ball Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart holding a medicine ball in both hands. To begin, reach the medicine ball deep behind your head as you bend the knees slightly and lean back.
  2. Violently throw the ball forward, flexing at the hip and using your whole body to complete the movement.
  3. The medicine ball can be thrown to a partner or to a wall, receiving it as it bounces back.
Push Press - Behind The Neck

2. Push Press - Behind The Neck

96.7% Match
Delts Barbell Advanced Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Standing with the weight racked on the back of the shoulders, begin with the dip. With your feet directly under your hips, flex the knees without moving the hips backward. Go down only slightly, and reverse direction as powerfully as possible. Drive through the heels create as much speed and force as possible, moving the bar in a vertical path.
  2. Using the momentum generated, finish pressing the weight overhead be extending through the arms.
  3. Return to the starting position, using your legs to absorb the impact.
Ez Barbell Anti Gravity Press

3. Ez Barbell Anti Gravity Press

95.4% Match
Delts Ez-barbell Advanced Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Start by standing with your feet shoulder-width apart and holding the ez barbell with an overhand grip.
  2. Raise the barbell to shoulder height, keeping your elbows slightly bent and your palms facing forward.
  3. Press the barbell overhead, extending your arms fully.
  4. Lower the barbell back to shoulder height and repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Bradford/Rocky Presses

4. Bradford/Rocky Presses

95.2% Match
Delts Barbell Advanced Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Sit on a Military Press Bench with a bar at shoulder level with a pronated grip (palms facing forward). Tip: Your grip should be wider than shoulder width and it should create a 90-degree angle between the forearm and the upper arm as the barbell goes down. This is your starting position.
  2. Once you pick up the barbell with the correct grip, lift the bar up over your head by locking your arms.
  3. Now lower the bar down to the back of the head slowly as you inhale.
  4. Lift the bar back up to the starting position as you exhale.
  5. Lower the bar down to the starting position slowly as you inhale. This is one repetition.
Kettlebell Double Push Press

5. Kettlebell Double Push Press

95.2% Match
Delts Kettlebell Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Start by standing with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding a kettlebell in each hand at shoulder height.
  2. Bend your knees slightly and engage your core.
  3. Initiate the movement by explosively extending your hips, knees, and ankles, driving the kettlebells overhead.
  4. As the kettlebells reach the top, press them fully overhead, locking out your arms.
  5. Lower the kettlebells back to the starting position by bending your elbows and bringing them back down to shoulder height.
Clean And Press

6. Clean And Press

95.1% Match
Delts Barbell Advanced Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Assume a shoulder-width stance, with knees inside the arms. Now while keeping the back flat, bend at the knees and hips so that you can grab the bar with the arms fully extended and a pronated grip that is slightly wider than shoulder width. Point the elbows out to sides. The bar should be close to the shins. Position the shoulders over or slightly ahead of the bar. Establish a flat back posture. This will be your starting position.
  2. Begin to pull the bar by extending the knees. Move your hips forward and raise the shoulders at the same rate while keeping the angle of the back constant; continue to lift the bar straight up while keeping it close to your body.
  3. As the bar passes the knee, extend at the ankles, knees, and hips forcefully, similar to a jumping motion. As you do so, continue to guide the bar with your hands, shrugging your shoulders and using the momentum from your movement to pull the bar as high as possible. The bar should travel close to your body, and you should keep your elbows out.
  4. At maximum elevation, your feet should clear the floor and you should start to pull yourself under the bar. The mechanics of this could change slightly, depending on the weight used. You should descend into a squatting position as you pull yourself under the bar.
  5. As the bar hits terminal height, rotate your elbows around and under the bar. Rack the bar across the front of the shoulders while keeping the torso erect and flexing the hips and knees to absorb the weight of the bar.
Barbell Skier

7. Barbell Skier

95% Match
Delts Barbell Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold a barbell in front of your thighs with an overhand grip.
  2. Bend your knees slightly and hinge forward at the hips, keeping your back straight and chest up.
  3. Simultaneously lift the barbell up towards your shoulders while jumping slightly off the ground.
  4. As you reach the top of the movement, quickly reverse the motion and lower the barbell back down to the starting position.
  5. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Kettlebell One Arm Push Press

8. Kettlebell One Arm Push Press

88.2% Match
Delts Kettlebell Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding a kettlebell in one hand at shoulder level.
  2. Bend your knees slightly and engage your core.
  3. Press the kettlebell overhead by extending your arm and fully extending your legs.
  4. Lower the kettlebell back to the starting position by bending your knees and bringing the kettlebell back to your shoulder.
  5. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions, then switch sides.
Anti-Gravity Press

9. Anti-Gravity Press

85.4% Match
Delts Barbell Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Place a bar on the ground behind the head of an incline bench.
  2. Lay on the bench face down. With a pronated grip, pick the barbell up from the floor. Flex the elbows, performing a reverse curl to bring the bar near your chest. This will be your starting position.
  3. To begin, press the barbell out in front of your head by extending your elbows. Keep your arms parallel to the ground throughout the movement.
  4. Return to the starting position and repeat to complete the set.
Barbell Shoulder Press

10. Barbell Shoulder Press

85.4% Match
Delts Barbell Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Sit on a bench with back support in a squat rack. Position a barbell at a height that is just above your head. Grab the barbell with a pronated grip (palms facing forward).
  2. Once you pick up the barbell with the correct grip width, lift the bar up over your head by locking your arms. Hold at about shoulder level and slightly in front of your head. This is your starting position.
  3. Lower the bar down to the shoulders slowly as you inhale.
  4. Lift the bar back up to the starting position as you exhale.
  5. Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.

Why You Might Need a Push Press Alternative

A barbell and space to dip and drive are not always available: the rack might be busy or home gyms skip a bar. The Push Press pairs a barbell with a leg dip into an overhead lockout, and that pairing is hard to copy exactly. Three of the alternatives keep the leg dip and drive to lockout while changing what you hold: a kettlebell or two pressed from the shoulders, or the bar racked across the back of your shoulders instead of the front. The Standing Two-arm Overhead Throw keeps the explosive whole-body effort but throws a medicine ball forward from behind your head instead of pressing it. The EZ Barbell Anti Gravity Press trades the drive for a strict standing press, useful if your gym has an EZ bar and you would rather skip the leg dip.

How to Choose the Right Substitute

Pick by what you own and how hard you want it. A medicine ball and a wall or partner gives you the Standing Two-arm Overhead Throw: a slight knee bend, then a whole-body throw forward from behind your head. A kettlebell hands you the Kettlebell Double Push Press for two hands, or the Kettlebell One Arm Push Press for one side at a time. With an EZ bar, the EZ Barbell Anti Gravity Press turns it into a strict standing press with no dip, and with a straight bar the Barbell Standing Close Grip Military Press sets your hands closer than shoulder width. To change the start, the Push Press - Behind The Neck racks the bar across the back of your shoulders, and the Clean And Press adds a full pull from the floor before the same overhead lockout.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I do the Push Press at home?

Yes, with a kettlebell or two. The Kettlebell Double Push Press keeps the same leg dip and drive into lockout, just with a pair of bells instead of a bar. The Kettlebell One Arm Push Press does the same job one side at a time, which suits a single kettlebell and a lighter load.

Which swaps trade the barbell for something else?

Four do. The EZ Barbell Anti Gravity Press swaps in an EZ bar for a strict standing press with no dip. The Standing Two-arm Overhead Throw swaps the bar for a medicine ball thrown forward from behind your head, so the explosive effort stays but the press does not. The Kettlebell Double Push Press and Kettlebell One Arm Push Press swap in one or two kettlebells, keeping the leg dip and drive without a bar.

How do I make the Push Press drive even harder?

The Push Press - Behind The Neck keeps the same dip and drive but starts with the bar racked across the back of your shoulders, so the press travels straight up from behind your head. The Clean And Press pulls the bar from the floor into a full clean before the same overhead lockout, adding a lift in front of it.

Is there a version of the Push Press without the leg dip?

Yes. The Barbell Shoulder Press seats you on a bench and presses the bar from your shoulders with no dip and no drive from your legs, so you get the same overhead lockout on a strict path. Take it when your legs are cooked from squats or you would rather isolate the shoulders.

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