What’s surprising within the Strength and fitness world today is that, the exercises which once formed the bottom of coaching for the old skool strongmen and athletes, at the moment are found to be dangerous and injury prone. One exercise, which tops this list, is the nice old, Behind the Neck Press, and other exercises like behind the neck lat pulldown, or behind the neck pullups.
Behind the neck press was a staple movement within the routine of yesteryear bodybuilders and strength athletes. Lately, this movement had been termed dangerous and is altogether banned from various gyms and sports workouts.
Acc. to a detailed study on avoiding shoulder injury during resistance training:
- The glenohumeral joint in our shoulder may be very mobile but lacks bony congruency, rendering it vulnerable to excessive laxity (hyperlaxity) or instability. In easy terms, this joint has a relative lack of bony constraintand it relies heavily on the encircling soft tissue envelope for static and dynamic stability.
- And this excessive laxity and instability can occur consequently of traumatic injury, or a gradual loosening of ligaments. Joint hyperlaxity involves excessive mobility without the presence of pain, whereas painful and uncontrollable excessive joint movement characterizes joint instability.
- Repeated stretching of ligamentous-capsular restraints increases the likelihood of everlasting elongation (acquired ligamentous laxity) and injury. If a ligament or capsule is loosened significantly, surgery could also be mandatory to revive stability.
- When the static glenohumeral ligaments are excessively lax or unstable, the rotator cuff muscles are thought to exert greater force to stabilize the humeral head. This dynamic compensation often leads to fatigue followed by rotator cuff tendonitis and pain.
- That’s why exercises that impart significant stresses to the glenohumeral ligaments must be avoided, particularly if pre-existing instability or hyperlaxity is present. Examples of common exercises that put the glenohumeral joint within the “at-risk” position (external rotation combined with abduction and horizontal abduction) include the latissimus pull-down performed behind the neck, the shoulder press performed behind the neck, the wide-grip bench press, and the pectoralis fly.
- Exercises commonly performed behind the neck (e.g., shoulder press and latissimus pull-down) must be performed with the elbows roughly 30deg anterior to the shoulder to diminish stress to the anterior glenohumeral joint.
- Another exercise which the researchers within the study told to beware about is the barbell back squat. During the back squat the shoulder is maintained in an externally rotated, abducted, and horizontally abducted position. Clients with glenohumeral anterior hyperlaxity or instability must be instructed to either use a modified center of mass bar or perform a front squat as an alternative.
- The wide-grip flat bench press (barbells or dumbbells) or the seated machine chest press must be modified to avoid excessive horizontal abduction. Cases of bilateral anterior shoulder dislocation during bench pressing have been reported consequently of the horizontal abduction stress on the anterior glenohumeral ligaments combined with heavy resistance. Excessive horizontal abduction through the bench press may be avoided by limiting hand spacing to 1.5 times the shoulder width, placing a cushion or roll on the chest, or using a variety of motion (ROM) limiting stop on a machine or self-spotting rack.
- Like the bench press, hand spacing during push-ups must also be limited to cut back horizontal abduction. An alternative technique for performing a push-up using a regular weight bench.
- Another common strengthening exercise for the anterior shoulder and chest musculature is the pectoralis fly. Excessive horizontal abduction must be avoided when performing this exercise in an effort to minimize anterior capsular distention. This may be completed by instructing clients to initiate the movement with their elbows barely in front of their shoulders (scapular plane) and to take care of their elbows below shoulder level throughout the movement. The elbows must be kept below shoulder level to cut back shear across the subacromial space, which can irritate the rotator cuff tendons and bursa.
But this study, also covers a variety of other exercises, which should be modified or prevented totally.
A studycompared the 2 overhead pressing techniques i.e. front of the top and behind the neck press, in 33 subjects who performed the movements in a sitting position, without back support.
Though there was difference seen in female and male spine movement through the testing, nevertheless, each front and behind the neck presses were found to be protected and effective exercises, when performed on subjects with normal trunk stability and ideal shoulder ROM. The trunk stability is required to stabilize the posture of the spine, especially during seated overhead presses, and not using a back support.
We need to know that it was never the movement which is the issue, it’s the joint. Because the study highlighted the difficulty of shoulder mobility or ROM, which might pose as a restriction for this movement.
A 2022 studycompared the muscles excitation during overhead press performed with the barbell passing in front or behind the top or using a shoulder press machine. Eight competitive bodybuilders performed in random order front (front-BMP) or back barbell military press (back-BMP), and front (front-MSP) with neutral handgrip or back machine shoulder press (back-MSP).
Study found that, performing back overhead press enhances the excitation of medial and posterior and partly anterior deltoid, while front overhead favours pectoralis major. Overhead press performed using barbell excites muscles greater than using machine to stabilize the trajectory of the external load. Different variations of overhead press appear to offer different stimuli to the shoulder muscles and should be used accordingly through the training routine.
Let’s see what the experts have said:
- Acc. to Joseph Horriganqualified Chiropractor, “
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- Strength coach, Christian Thibaudeaugives an example of the world renown weightlifter Dmitry Klokov, who did every kind of behind the neck presses i.e. narrow grip, wide grip, strict grip, push presses. In fact, a large grip behind the neck press is named the Klokov press. On the opposite hand, Klokov has been doing more of behind the neck presses, after he had suffered a shoulder injury. And, mind you, Klokov lifts mind boggling weight in all his lifts.
- Quite a lot of famous powerlifters, weightlifters and bodybuilders have extremely heavy behind the neck presses, because the foremost movement during their workouts. Reg Park, Arnold, Franco Columbu, Serge Nubret, Sergio etc. all loved this age old sweetheart.
The first person to interrupt the 700-pound bench press barrier was Ted Arcidi, who used 400 kilos on the behind-the-neck press. Ed Coan performed the identical amount at 217lbs. body weight. Former Olympic weightlifter-turned-professional wrestler Mark Henry also went over 400 kilos on the lift.
So, what’s the ultimate take?:
- It’s the not the movement, it’s the person.
- The behind-the-neck press requires more shoulder range of motion. It requires external rotation of the shoulder—so you possibly can get the bar behind your head—and scapular retraction, which is pulling your shoulders back.
If your pecs are tight, your shoulders will likely be rounded forward to various degrees. The tightness will limit your ability to externally rotate your shoulders and likewise limit your ability to retract your shoulder blades. Those limits can produce shoulder pain from an excessive strain on the rotator cuff tendons or bursitis under the roof of the shoulder.
A more serious injury with this exercise greater than most other move is disk protrusion, or herniation, within the neck.
- It’s a great lift, but it surely’s not for everybody. If you have got any neck problems, either don’t use it or stop using it. If you have got shoulder pain, it could show you how to or cause you more pain, depending on which shoulder problem you have got. Strengthening the rotator cuff may enable you to perform the lift.
- If you possess healthy shoulders and a proper mobility, then you definitely can start with light behind-the-neck presses and construct as much as heavier sets over time.
Here are the next points to be kept in mind whilst you perform the movement:
- Start practising for the movement with a lightweight empty barbell and even higher, a hole pipe.
- Do not grip the bar with a particularly wide grip or too narrow grip. Keep the elbows at 90deg to the bar.
- Your elbows must be directly under the bar, not flared in or out.
- Do not give a jerky movement and once you get the bar down, below parallel, in case your shoulder isn’t mobile enough, don’t force the bar down.
- If you are feeling a pinch within the shoulder even with an empty bar, then higher remain off this movement. So, it’s not that an excessive amount of weight will likely be a problem in behind the neck press. It’s actually any weight which causes joint discomfort.
- Don’t do the movement as the primary movement in your workout schedule. Let the shoulders get warmed up properly, and line-up the exercise later within the workout.
- Avoid getting the bar all the way in which right down to the neck. Preferably, stop the bar, when the elbows are consistent with the shoulder.
