Push Press

Move · Resistance Training · Movement, Typed Supps

The legs do not press the bar overhead; they throw it upward so the arms only have to finish the job.

Stage by stage

Set-up (Front rack and braced trunk): The bar rests on the shoulders with the ribs stacked over the pelvis so the dip stays vertical.
During the set (Hip and knee extension): A shallow dip and fast extension give the bar upward velocity before the arms contribute anything.
Immediately after (Deltoids meet load high): Because the bar is already moving, the heaviest shoulder demand sits above the strict-press sticking point.
Weeks later (Force produced faster): Overhead strength improves alongside rate of force development, which slow pressing does not train directly.

Muscles trained

Primary: shoulders, triceps
Secondary: abs, glutes, quads, rotator cuff

Intensity

6 METs (Resistance training (weight lifting, free weight, nautilus or universal), power lifting or body building, vigorous effort (Taylor Code 210)).

Time to effect

Weeks: The leg-drive timing is the first thing to click — coordinating the dip and explosive extension with the press usually smooths out within a few sessions of practice.
Months: You can typically push press meaningfully more weight than you strict press, and the explosive leg drive itself starts carrying over to other power-based movements like jumping.

Related supplements

Common myth

"Push press is just cheating on a shoulder press." In reality: It is a different tool with a different job. The leg drive lets you overload the shoulders and triceps with weight a strict press cannot handle, and the explosive hip-and-leg extension trains power output that carries over to jumping and sprinting — it is a separate exercise, not a shortcut.