The Push Movement: How To Progress In The Movement Part 3

Before I got into powerlifting, I used to have two days dedicated to training shoulders. It was and still is one of my favourite muscle groups to train. It had nothing to do with strength, performance or aesthetics goals, I just enjoyed training them. Training shoulders encouraged me to go to the gym more and eventually, work on building shoulder mass. Fast forward to my powerlifting journey, I discovered that strong shoulders helped me move more weight on bench. As much as the push movement is key to powerlifting, I still train to attain ‘boulder shoulders’.

Although I enjoy training as a powerlifter, I have my seasons where I am focused on hypertrophy. Don’t deny yourself the opportunity to see what your best physique could look like by neglecting this muscle group.

What Are The Functional Movement Patterns

There are seven functional movements that your body performs on a daily basis. You may not even realise the connection between pushing a door closed to a push up. It mimics the action of the horizontal push movement. Altogether, these movements target all the muscle groups and optimises your body to perform and function at its best. These movements include the : squat, hip hinge, lunge, push, pull, gait, rotation and the bonus, the hip thrust. Everything that you do in the gym mimics all seven movement patterns that you do outside of the gym. In sum, change your perspective. Once you start viewing your exercises as movement patterns, you can start to build a solid workout programme. By incorporating progressive overload, dynamic stretches and deload weeks, you will see continuous progress over time.

Check out Pinterest Functional Movement Series

What is The Push Movement

The push movement is one of the most effective ways to building upper body strength. It is one of the most over- and under utilised movement patterns in most gyms. For example, when you are getting up from the ground from a stomach-facing position that counts as the push movement. The push movement can be broken down into two parts: vertical pushing and horizontal pushing. If you want to understand more about the anatomy and the basics of the push movement, check out part 1 of this instalment. If you want to learn more about horizontal pushing and its progression, check out part 2 of this instalment.

For this post, we will be focusing on the vertical push movement. Vertical pushing strengthens your ability to push weight above your head. It targets the muscle fibres of your shoulders, triceps, and rotator cuff. In addition, it also targets your upper chest and upper back muscle fibres. As a result, it encourages the development of all three heads of the triceps and shoulder muscles. I’m sure that you’ve heard of the phrase ‘boulder shoulders’ within the fitness industry. The key way to building shoulder mass and strength is by incorporating vertical push exercises into your training programme.

How To Effectively Progress In The Vertical Push Movement

In my opinion, this type of pushing is something that is under utilised in most gyms. With the exception of Olympic weightliftersm, you will not see a lot of people doing multiple variations of the vertical push. This includes barbell overhead press (OHP), seated barbell overhead press, shoulder press, Arnold press, military press etc. I think you get the picture. Furthermore, this particular type of pushing is a very good movement pattern to develop overall upper body strength. You can also build muscle mass in the shoulder, triceps, rotator cuff, upper chest and upper back.

Moreover, it promotes shoulder stability and makes the joints more resilient and less prone to injury. What I love about these exercises is that you can perform them multiple times a week. You don’t need a lot of days for recovery, like you do for leg training. In short, you can do these exercises more frequently. On lighter training days, use them to help build more strength and mass.

Seated Neutral Grip Overhead Press

The seated neutral grip overhead press is a variation of the seated shoulder press. It is an exercise that strengthens and builds all the muscles in the shoulders. Using a neutral grip will alleviate any shoulder or elbow pain that you might experience while doing the push movement.

To perform the seated shoulder press, you want to set up an upright bench. Hold a dumbbell in each hand, resting them on your thighs. Next, take a deep breath. Lift the dumbbells up so you are holding them above your shoulders, with your palms facing inwards. Push the dumbbells towards the ceiling until your arms are straight. Pause for a second, then lower the dumbbells and return to the starting position.

Standing Dumbbell Overhead Press

The standing dumbbell overhead press targets all three heads of shoulder muscles (front, side and rear) more than any other overhead press exercise. It’s the dumbbell version of the OHP that we discuss later on in this post. Moreover, it is an excellent vertical push movement for building shoulder mass and strength. You do require some sort of core stability to perform the standing OHP exercises more effectively. Make sure that you are supplementing core exercises into your training programme.

To perform the standing dumbbell overhead press, stand upright with your feet shoulder width apart. Hold a dumbbell in each hand. Next, lift the dumbbells up so you are holding them slightly above your shoulders with your palms facing away from you. Then, push the dumbbells toward the ceiling until your arms are straight. Pause for a second, then lower the dumbbells until you return to the starting position.

The Vertical Push Movement: Seated Shoulder Press

The seated shoulder press is more stable than the standing press version that we discussed above. It happens to be my favourite variation because the bench supports my back and I can lift heavier weights safely. In addition, I’m not compromising form to lift heavier weights. This particular vertical push movement allows you to pack on more shoulder mass and strength. It is easier to progress with dumbbells.

To perform the seated shoulder press, you want to set up an upright bench. Hold a dumbbell in each hand, resting them on your thighs. Next, take a deep breath. Lift the dumbbells up so you are holding them above your shoulders, with your palms facing away from you. Push the dumbbells towards the ceiling until your arms are straight. Pause for a second, then lower the dumbbells and return to the starting position.

Barbell Overhead Press (OHP)

The Barbell Overhead Press (OHP) is one of the best vertical pushing shoulder exercises that you do. It is a compound exercise that trains your front, side, and rear delts, along with the rotator cuff. It gives you a full shoulder workout in one exercise. In addition, it allows you to progress regularly by lifting heavy weights and adding more dense muscle mass.

To perform the OHP, make sure that you have a barbell set up at the same height as your upper chest in a squat or power rack. Grip the bar with your palms facing away from you and placed at shoulder width. Next, unrack the bar with your elbows slightly underneath and with a small bend in the hips and knees. Then, take 2 to 3 steps back with your feet flat standing with a shoulder width stance and slightly pointed. Your elbow should be pointed down towards the floor.

With the bar resting on your upper chest, flex your glutes to keep your spine neutral and take a deep breath. Press the bar towards the ceiling by slightly tilting your face back. Once the bar is clear of your face, push your head through the barbell back into a neutral position. Reverse the movement back to the starting position. Your elbows should be by your side at roughly a 45 degree angle, with the bar resetting on your upper chest.

Grips For The Vertical Push Movement

As I mentioned in the first, second and third instalment of the pull series, the grip that you choose can effectively change what muscles are targeted in a lift. It is also important to mention it here too. There are three different grip options that can yield different results for the vertical push movement.

• Pronation grip: The back of your hands are facing you and your arms are slightly wider the shoulder width apart. This emphasises your lats, traps and deltoids more. For the vertical push, it’s going to engage the muscles in the rear delts more.
• Supination grip: The palms of your hands are facing you and your arms are slightly narrower. This emphasises your traps, rhomboids and accentuates the biceps.
• Neutral grip: The palms of your hands are facing each other. This variation allows you to train your back from a different angle. This emphasises the same muscles as the pronation grip.

Conclusion

Most vertical pushing exercises will use a neutral grip as it puts less stress on your shoulder joints. Some exercises require you to play around with the grip as you perform the movement i.e. the Arnold Press. This exercise starts with a supination grip and rotates to a pronation grip mid-exercise.

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This post concludes the seven functional movement pattern series, I can’t believe it’s over just like that! I hope that this entire series has provided you with all the tools that you need to create a foundation in your fitness journey. Luckily, there is more to come! Now that we have built the foundation, we can begin to transform your existing fitness routine into something more effective.

I hope you enjoy the last few days of the year. I’ll be taking a break from the blog and will be back with a new post on January 12th. Make sure to hit that subscribe button to join the community and never miss out on a post. Find me on Instagram, Pinterest and TikTok for more powerlifting and wellness content.

Until next time,

Folakemi