Overhead press#Military press

{{Short description|Weight training exercise}}

File:Seated-military-shoulder-press-1.png

The overhead press, also known as the shoulder press, strict press or military press, is an upper-body weight training exercise in which the trainee presses a weight overhead while seated or standing. It is mainly used to develop the anterior deltoid muscles of the shoulder.{{Cite web|url=https://barbend.com/overhead-press/|title=The Overhead Press May Just Be the Best Pressing Movement Around|date=16 March 2021|last=Boly|first=Jake|website=BarBend|access-date=2022-03-25}} The standing version was once a component of the sport of Olympic weightlifting as part of the clean and press movement, but was removed in 1972 due to difficulties in judging proper technique.{{Cite journal |last=Fair |first=John D. |date=2001 |title=The Tragic History of the Military Press in Olympic and World Championship Competition, 1928-1972 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/43610198 |journal=Journal of Sport History |volume=28 |issue=3 |pages=345–374 |jstor=43610198 |issn=0094-1700}}

The lift is set up by taking either a barbell, a pair of dumbbells or kettlebells, and holding them at shoulder level. The weight is then pressed overhead.{{Cite news|url=https://www.bodybuilding.com/content/how-to-overhead-press-a-beginners-guide.html|title=How To Overhead Press: A Beginner's Guide|date=2015-08-12|work=Bodybuilding.com|access-date=2018-09-11|language=en-US}} While the exercise can be performed standing or seated, standing recruits more muscles as more balancing is required in order to support the lift.{{Cite web|title=

The Overhead Press: The Difference Between Seated, Standing, Dumbbell and Barbell

|url=https://breakingmuscle.com/fitness/the-overhead-press-the-difference-between-seated-standing-dumbbell-and-barbell/|work=Breaking Muscle|date=17 March 2022}} Other variations of the exercise include the push press, a similar movement that involves an additional dipping motion in the legs to increase momentum. An overhead press may also be performed unilaterally, with the lift being performed one handed; or in an alternating fashion with both hands holding a dumbbell or kettlebell, and then pressing with one arm and then the other.{{cite book |last1=Boyle |first1=Michael |title=New Functional Training for Sports |date=2016 |publisher=Human Kinetics |location=Champaign |isbn=978-1-4925-3061-9 |page=168}}