Anti-Gravity Press

A beginner compound strength exercise that works the shoulders, using a barbell.

Anti-Gravity Press — Starting position Starting position
Anti-Gravity Press — End position End position
Difficulty Beginner
Type Strength
Equipment Barbell
Primary Muscle Shoulders
AI Rep Counting Log manually

How to Do Anti-Gravity Press

  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.

Muscles Worked

Front
Back

Primary

Where Anti-Gravity Press does most of its work.

Secondary

Assisting and stabilising muscles.

Alternatives to Anti-Gravity Press

10 movements that train the same primary muscle, closest substitutes first — same kind of training, then variations of the movement itself, then a similar difficulty.

  1. 1 Alternating Cable Shoulder Press

    Alternating Cable Shoulder Press

    A beginner compound strength exercise that works the shoulders, using a cable machine.

    beginner Cable Machine
  2. 2 Cable Shoulder Press

    Cable Shoulder Press

    A beginner compound strength exercise that works the shoulders, using a cable machine.

    beginner Cable Machine
  3. 3 Leverage Shoulder Press

    Leverage Shoulder Press

    A beginner compound strength exercise that works the shoulders, using a machine.

    beginner Machines
  4. 4 Machine Shoulder (Military) Press

    Machine Shoulder (Military) Press

    A beginner compound strength exercise that works the shoulders, using a machine.

    beginner Machines
  5. 5 Seated Cable Shoulder Press

    Seated Cable Shoulder Press

    A beginner compound strength exercise that works the shoulders, using a cable machine.

    beginner Cable Machine
  6. 6 Seated Dumbbell Press

    Seated Dumbbell Press

    A beginner compound strength exercise that works the shoulders, using dumbbells.

    beginner Dumbbells
  7. 7 Shoulder Press - With Bands

    Shoulder Press - With Bands

    A beginner compound strength exercise that works the shoulders, using a resistance band.

    beginner Resistance Bands
  8. 8 Smith Machine Overhead Shoulder Press

    Smith Machine Overhead Shoulder Press

    A beginner compound strength exercise that works the shoulders, using a machine.

    beginner Machines
  9. 9 Standing Alternating Dumbbell Press

    Standing Alternating Dumbbell Press

    A beginner compound strength exercise that works the shoulders, using dumbbells.

    beginner Dumbbells
  10. 10 Standing Dumbbell Press

    Standing Dumbbell Press

    A beginner compound strength exercise that works the shoulders, using dumbbells.

    beginner Dumbbells

Frequently Asked Questions

What muscles do anti-gravity press work?

Anti-Gravity Press primarily works the shoulders. The upper back, traps and triceps assist as secondary muscles.

What equipment do I need for anti-gravity press?

Anti-Gravity Press uses barbell.

Anti-Gravity Press: is it suitable for beginners?

Yes. Anti-Gravity Press is rated beginner. Movements you can learn in a session, with a low skill floor and a forgiving failure mode.

What can I do instead of anti-gravity press?

Alternating Cable Shoulder Press, Cable Shoulder Press, Leverage Shoulder Press train the same primary muscles and are listed with 7 more alternatives above.

Can Fitnit count my anti-gravity press reps automatically?

Not automatically yet. Fitnit's AI rep counting covers push-ups, squats, dumbbell curls, crunches and pull-ups today; anti-gravity press can be logged manually in the app, and tracked movements are added over time.

Photographs and step-by-step instructions from free-exercise-db, a public-domain exercise dataset. Muscle mapping and alternatives by Fitnit.

Track Your Anti-Gravity Press with AI

Fitnit automatically tracks push-ups, crunches, squats, pull-ups, and curls with advanced body tracking technology — and you can manually input any other workout too. Start free — Pro is $8.99/month.