A push press is a weight training exercise for the anterior head of the deltoid

Deltoid

Deltoid can refer to:* The deltoid muscle, a muscle in the shoulder* Kite , also known as a deltoid, a type of quadrilateral* A deltoid curve, a three-sided hypocycloid* A leaf shape* The deltoid tuberosity, a part of the humerus...

 (shoulder).

Execution

The push press is practically the same as the military press

Military press

The military press is a variation of the overhead press weight training exercise using very strict form.The military press targets the deltoid muscles in the shoulders as well as the triceps...

; however, the movement is started by a 'push' from the legs. This begins the momentum of the movement, the weight is then slowly lowered back to the shoulders. It can also be used from behind the neck, after a squat.

Purpose

The push press is used to help develop the strength of the shoulder. It can be used to push past a sticking point or develop power for the Clean and Jerk

Clean and jerk

The clean and jerk is one of the two Olympic weightlifting events .The clean portion of the lift refers to the lifter explosively pulling the weight from the floor to a racked position across deltoids and clavicles...

 (though 'pressing' is illegal in competition). The ability to drive from the legs and through the torso to the arms is important to sport (this is also found in the bench press

Bench press

The bench press is an exercise of the upper body. For bodybuilding purposes, it is used to stimulate the pectorals, deltoids, and triceps. While on his or her back, the person performing the bench press lowers a weight to the level of the chest, then pushes it back up until the arm is straight...

).

Advantages

The push press can improve all over body coordination (though not to the extent of the weightlifting

Powerlifting

Powerlifting is a strength sport. It resembles the sport of Olympic weightlifting, as both disciplines involve lifting weights in three attempts. Powerlifting evolved from a sport known as 'odd lifts' which followed the same three attempt format but used a wide variety of events akin to Strongman...

 movements). It can also allow a trainee to use the eccentric portion of the exercise with a weight that may be too heavy for the concentric phase, thereby increasing strength.

Drawbacks

As the momentum is initiated by the legs, the bottom portion of the range of motion may be under-developed compared to the middle and end portions. The entire ROM is more reliably trained in a shoulder press. One method of training is to initiate lifting with a shoulder press, and then gradually turning it into a push press when the lifter no longer has the strength to lift it with his shoulders alone and does not want to train with a lighter weight.