7 Powerful Vertical Push/Press Exercises

You can put exercises into categories based on their movement patterns. Discover some examples of vertical push exercises you can do.

Vertical push/press exercises are simply movements where you vertically push something away from your body above your head against resistance.

Movements like this work muscles like the triceps, and the front and middle part of the deltoids (main shoulder muscle).

Vertical push exercises can be done with a wide variety of different shoulder workout equipment options and even bodyweight options can offer a nice amount of progress.

1. Shoulder presses

The shoulder press with a barbell is one of the most popular compound exercises for growing shoulder muscles. You preferably want a barbell rack at chest height for this exercise.

Take the following steps to do a shoulder press:

1. Find a barbell rack and place the barbell at about chest height. Add the desired number of weight plates. If there are any safety bars you can adjust them to the right height.
2. Grab the barbell with your hands at about shoulder width with your hand palms facing forward.
3. Unrack the barbell and take a few steps back so that you have room to do the exercise. Stand up straight with your feet at more or less shoulder width. Hold the barbell at about shoulder height. Your elbows can point slightly more forward than just a horizontal line with your shoulders.
4. Slowly move the barbell up until your arms are slightly less than stretched.
5. Lower the barbell back into the position of step 3 in a controlled motion.
6. When done rack the barbell again.

You can also do shoulder presses with a wide variety of other free weights like dumbbells, kettlebells, workout sandbags, etc.

The military press is a very similar vertical push exercise but at the lowest point, you lower the weight slightly lower to your upper chest. You also put your feet closer to each other compared to the regular shoulder press.

2. Pike pushups

The regular pushup is a horizontal push exercise. By changing the angle of the pushup you can make this a bodyweight vertical push exercise that focuses more on your shoulder muscles.

You can do pike pushups on the ground but you can make the angle even steeper with the help of a stable elevated surface.

Take the following steps to do a pike pushup on the ground:

1. Sit on your hands and knees on the ground with your hands at about shoulder width.
2. Move your hips in the air so that your body makes a triangle together with the ground. You likely have to lift up your heels in the air and lean on the front of your feet.
3. Slowly fold your arms at your elbows until your face is close to the ground. Your upper arms should be at an angle of about 45 degrees or less to your sides. Another way to put it is if someone is looking down at your upper body from above your arms should make an arrow, not a T.
4. Stretch your arms again until you are back in the pike position of step 2.

Pike pushups are not the most beginner-friendly exercise out there. Make sure your arm strength and balancing skills are at a sufficient level.

If needed, ask for help from someone to stand next to you to help out if you lose your balance, better safe than sorry.

At some point, the ground version may become too easy.

At that point, you can consider using things like a plyo box, a stepper, or just a simple stair step to elevate your feet and put even more weight on your shoulders with this vertical push exercise.

3. Shoulder press machine

The shoulder press machine is basically a regular seated shoulder press in machine form. This makes it so the vertical push movement is fixed.

In turn, this leads to more focus on your shoulder muscles alone and less on other balance muscles.

An added benefit of doing the shoulder press seated is that it becomes harder to use other body parts to lift the weight. Again this can lead to more focus on your shoulder muscles and less on other muscles.

The exercise for this shoulder gym machine is rather straightforward and similar to the regular shoulder press. Make sure you adjust the machine setting so you can do the exercise safely and well.

One thing to keep in mind is to point your upper arms forward enough to avoid shoulder injuries. Your upper arms should be at about a 45-degree angle to your upper body in starting position.

If your shoulders hurt during the motion, it may be a sign that the machine settings or your technique are suboptimal.

4. Half-kneeling landmine presses

For this next exercise, you need a landmine setup. This is an attachment that secures a barbell at the ground level. The landmine setup opens the door to exercises like the half-kneeling landmine press.

You preferably also want a soft mat to put your knee on during the exercise. Take the following steps to do a half-kneeling landmine press:

1. Set up the landmine with the desired number of plates. Sit on one knee in front of it, your other foot on the ground for stability, with your face toward the landmine.
2. Grab the end of the barbell with one hand with a neutral grip, so hand palm pointing to the center/upward. The upper arm of the hand with the barbell points slightly forward. The arm is about fully folded and the hand with the barbell is close to your shoulder.
3. Slowly move the barbell up until your arm is slightly less than stretched.
4. Lower the barbell back into the position of step 2 in a controlled motion.

One of the possible benefits of the half-kneeling landmine press compared to for example the shoulder press with a barbell is that you work out one side at a time. This can help you avoid or resolve muscle imbalances.

Like many other exercises on this list, you want to make sure you don’t use the rest of your body instead of the muscles you are trying to target.

Half-kneeling landmine presses are also partly a horizontal pushing exercise.

5. Arnold presses

For the next vertical push exercise you need a pair of one-handed weights. This is important since you will turn your wrists during the exercise.

Take the following steps to do an Arnold press with dumbbells:

1. Stand up straight with your feet shoulder-width apart. Hold a dumbbell in each hand at about chest height with your hand palms facing toward your body.
2. Move the dumbbell upward by stretching your arms. Twist your wrists 180 degrees throughout the exercise. At the top of the movement, you should stand straight up with stretched arms holding up the dumbbells with your hand palms facing forward.
3. Lower the dumbbells back into starting position in a controlled motion. This means twisting your wrists 180 degrees back.

If you notice you are using your legs to move the weights upward, you can consider doing the Arnold press seated on a weight bench or similar object.

6. Behind the neck presses

For the behind the neck press, you preferably have a barbell rack at chest height and barbell. Once you have that, take the following steps to do a behind the neck press:

1. Find a barbell rack and place the barbell at about chest height. Add the desired number of weight plates. If there are any safety bars you can adjust them to the right height.
2. Stand under the barbell and let it rest on your shoulders with your hands at about shoulder width with your hand palms facing forward.
3. Unrack the barbell and take a few steps back so that you have room to do the exercise. Stand up straight with your feet at more or less shoulder width.
4. To get in position for the exercise, bend through your knees slightly and with the help of your legs push up the barbell until your arms are slightly less than stretched and pointing vertically. Your legs will do a quick explosive squat to generate upward momentum.
5. Slowly lower the barbell behind your head until about the middle of your head and/or ears.
6. Slowly move the barbell up into the position of step 4 in a controlled motion.
7. When done rack the barbell again.

The behind the neck press is a vertical push exercise that is generally not preferred for people with shoulder issues.

This exercise looks similar to shoulder presses but due to the different position of the barbell, there is more focus on the middle part of your deltoids and less on the front part of the deltoid and triceps.

The reason why you initially use your legs to get into position and why you don’t lower the bar more is because that movement engages different muscles.

7. Handstand pushup

Take the following steps to do a handstand pushup:

1. Stand up straight with your feet about shoulder width apart.
2. Put your hands on the ground and kick your feet back/up to get into handstand position.
3. Slowly fold your arms at your elbows until your head is close to the ground. Your upper arms should be at an angle of about 45 degrees or less to your sides.
4. Raise yourself back into the position in step 2 in a controlled motion.

The handstand pushup is a very advanced no-equipment vertical push exercise. Not only in terms of balance but also for your shoulder and tricep muscles.