10 Best Push Press - Behind The Neck Alternatives for Limited Mobility

If you can’t perform the behind-the-neck push press due to mobility or pain, use front-loaded or neutral-grip presses that hit the delts with less shoulder rotation. Try the landmine press, seated dumbbell press, or strict military press, brace your core, keep elbows slightly forward, and drive from the legs when applicable to protect the cuff.

Original Exercise: Push Press - Behind The Neck

Push Press - Behind The Neck
Primary Muscle
Delts
Equipment
Barbell
Difficulty
Advanced
Type
Compound
Secondary Muscles: Calves, Quadriceps, Triceps
How to Perform Push Press - Behind The Neck
  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.
Pro Tips
  • Category: Olympic weightlifting
  • Force: Push
  • Movement type: Compound

Ranked Push Press - Behind The Neck Alternatives

Best Match
Push Press

1. Push Press

96.7% Match
Delts Barbell Intermediate Isolation
Standing Two-Arm Overhead Throw

2. Standing Two-Arm Overhead Throw

96.7% 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.
Kettlebell Double Push Press

3. Kettlebell Double Push Press

95.4% 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

4. Clean And Press

93.6% 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.
Bradford/Rocky Presses

5. Bradford/Rocky Presses

93.4% 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.
Ez Barbell Anti Gravity Press

6. Ez Barbell Anti Gravity Press

92.1% 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.
Barbell Skier

7. Barbell Skier

91.7% 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

88.4% 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.
Standing Bradford Press

9. Standing Bradford Press

85.4% Match
Delts Barbell Advanced Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Place a loaded bar at shoulder level in a rack. With a pronated grip at shoulder width, begin with the bar racked across the front of your shoulders. This is your starting position.
  2. Initiate the lift by extending the elbows to press the bar overhead. Avoid locking out the elbow as you move the weight behind your head.
  3. Lower the bar down to the back of the head until your elbow forms a right angle.
  4. Lift the bar back over your head by extending the elbows
  5. Lower the bar down to the starting position.
Standing Barbell Press Behind Neck

10. Standing Barbell Press Behind Neck

84.7% Match
Delts Barbell Advanced Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. This exercise is best performed inside a squat rack for easier pick up of the bar. To begin, first set the bar on a rack that best matches your height. Once the correct height is chosen and the bar is loaded, step under the bar and place the back of your shoulders (slightly below the neck) across it.
  2. Hold on to the bar using both arms at each side and lift it off the rack by first pushing with your legs and at the same time straightening your torso.
  3. Step away from the rack and position your legs using a shoulder width medium stance with the toes slightly pointed out. Your back should be kept straight while performing this exercise. This will be your starting position.
  4. Elevate the barbell overhead by fully extending your arms while breathing out.
  5. Hold the contraction for a second and lower the barbell back down to the starting position by inhaling.

Why You Might Need a Push Press - Behind The Neck Alternative

People replace the behind-the-neck push press for three main reasons: limited thoracic extension, shoulder impingement risk, and lack of a safe rack setup. Behind-the-neck placement forces extreme external rotation and humeral abduction, which stresses the rotator cuff and subacromial space. Alternatives like the landmine press or neutral-grip dumbbell press reduce scapular anterior tilt and keep the glenohumeral joint in safer ranges. Use a cue such as “tuck chin, retract scapula, lead with elbows” to limit excessive abduction and preserve cuff integrity while still loading the anterior and lateral delts.

How to Choose the Right Substitute

Choose a substitute based on mobility, loading goals, and equipment. If thoracic mobility is poor, pick a landmine press or single-arm neutral press to limit overhead range; keep your ribs down and press along a diagonal to reduce impingement. If you want heavy bilateral loading, use a front push press variation while keeping elbows forward and scapula packed. For unilateral stability and core carryover, select single-arm dumbbell or kettlebell presses and cue “drive through hips, maintain upright torso” to emphasize deltoid activation and anti-rotation.

Frequently Asked Questions

What muscles does Push Press - Behind The Neck work?

The behind-the-neck push press primarily targets the anterior and lateral deltoids and the triceps, while the legs and hips supply drive. It also recruits the upper traps and scapular stabilizers; cue “drive with hips, finish with elbows” to coordinate lower-body power with shoulder loading.

What is the best bodyweight alternative to Push Press - Behind The Neck?

A strong bodyweight option is the pike push-up, which shifts load to the delts and mimics vertical pressing mechanics. Keep hips high, aim your head slightly forward of your hands, and lower with controlled scapular retraction to maximize anterior and lateral delt activation.

Can I build muscle without doing Push Press - Behind The Neck?

Yes. You can build shoulder mass with front-loaded presses, seated dumbbell presses, and unilateral kettlebell work that place similar tension on the delts without extreme external rotation. Focus on progressive overload, strict technique, and cues like “elbows slightly forward” to maintain consistent deltoid loading.

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