Standing Military Press
A beginner compound strength exercise that works the shoulders, using a barbell.
Starting position
End position
How to Do Standing Military Press
- Start by placing a barbell that is about chest high on a squat rack. Once you have selected the weights, grab the barbell using a pronated (palms facing forward) grip. Make sure to grip the bar wider than shoulder width apart from each other.
- Slightly bend the knees and place the barbell on your collar bone. Lift the barbell up keeping it lying on your chest. Take a step back and position your feet shoulder width apart from each other.
- Once you pick up the barbell with the correct grip length, lift the bar up over your head by locking your arms. Hold at about shoulder level and slightly in front of your head. This is your starting position.
- Lower the bar down to the collarbone slowly as you inhale.
- Lift the bar back up to the starting position as you exhale.
- Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.
Muscles Worked
Alternatives to Standing Military 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
Machine Shoulder (Military) Press
A beginner compound strength exercise that works the shoulders, using a machine.
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2
Standing Alternating Dumbbell Press
A beginner compound strength exercise that works the shoulders, using dumbbells.
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3
Standing Dumbbell Press
A beginner compound strength exercise that works the shoulders, using dumbbells.
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4
Standing Palm-In One-Arm Dumbbell Press
A beginner compound strength exercise that works the shoulders, using dumbbells.
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5
Standing Bradford Press
A beginner compound strength exercise that works the shoulders, using a barbell.
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6
One-Arm Kettlebell Military Press To The Side
An intermediate compound strength exercise that works the shoulders, using a kettlebell.
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7
Standing Palms-In Dumbbell Press
An intermediate compound strength exercise that works the shoulders, using dumbbells.
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8
Two-Arm Kettlebell Military Press
An intermediate compound strength exercise that works the shoulders, using a kettlebell.
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9
Alternating Cable Shoulder Press
A beginner compound strength exercise that works the shoulders, using a cable machine.
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10
Cable Shoulder Press
A beginner compound strength exercise that works the shoulders, using a cable machine.
Frequently Asked Questions
What muscles do standing military press work?
Standing Military Press primarily works the shoulders. The triceps assist as secondary muscles.
What equipment do I need for standing military press?
Standing Military Press uses barbell.
Standing Military Press: is it suitable for beginners?
Yes. Standing Military 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 military press?
Machine Shoulder (Military) Press, Standing Alternating Dumbbell Press, Standing Dumbbell Press train the same primary muscles and are listed with 7 more alternatives above.
Can Fitnit count my standing military press reps automatically?
Not automatically yet. Fitnit's AI rep counting covers push-ups, squats, dumbbell curls, crunches and pull-ups today; standing military 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 Military Press with AI
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