Standing Bradford Press
A beginner compound strength exercise that works the shoulders, using a barbell.
Starting position
End position
How to Do Standing Bradford Press
- 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.
- 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.
- Lower the bar down to the back of the head until your elbow forms a right angle.
- Lift the bar back over your head by extending the elbows
- Lower the bar down to the starting position.
- Alternate in this manner until you complete the recommended amount of repetitions.
Muscles Worked
Alternatives to Standing Bradford 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.
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1
Standing Alternating Dumbbell Press
A beginner compound strength exercise that works the shoulders, using dumbbells.
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2
Standing Dumbbell Press
A beginner compound strength exercise that works the shoulders, using dumbbells.
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3
Standing Palm-In One-Arm Dumbbell Press
A beginner compound strength exercise that works the shoulders, using dumbbells.
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4
Standing Military Press
A beginner compound strength exercise that works the shoulders, using a barbell.
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5
Standing Palms-In Dumbbell Press
An intermediate compound strength exercise that works the shoulders, using dumbbells.
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6
Alternating Cable Shoulder Press
A beginner compound strength exercise that works the shoulders, using a cable machine.
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7
Cable Shoulder Press
A beginner compound strength exercise that works the shoulders, using a cable machine.
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8
Leverage Shoulder Press
A beginner compound strength exercise that works the shoulders, using a machine.
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9
Machine Shoulder (Military) Press
A beginner compound strength exercise that works the shoulders, using a machine.
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10
Seated Cable Shoulder Press
A beginner compound strength exercise that works the shoulders, using a cable machine.
Frequently Asked Questions
What muscles do standing bradford press work?
Standing Bradford Press primarily works the shoulders. The triceps assist as secondary muscles.
What equipment do I need for standing bradford press?
Standing Bradford Press uses barbell.
Standing Bradford Press: is it suitable for beginners?
Yes. Standing Bradford 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 standing bradford press?
Standing Alternating Dumbbell Press, Standing Dumbbell Press, Standing Palm-In One-Arm Dumbbell Press train the same primary muscles and are listed with 7 more alternatives above.
Can Fitnit count my standing bradford press reps automatically?
Not automatically yet. Fitnit's AI rep counting covers push-ups, squats, dumbbell curls, crunches and pull-ups today; standing bradford 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 Standing Bradford Press with AI
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