Daily Maestroism

DM #557

Friday, December 1st, 2017

DM #557: Pressing behind your neck is not bad for you. Trying to behind-the-neck (BTN) press as much as you can or as fast as you can without any training is bad for you. Understand the difference.
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Every time I put a video up of me doing behind the neck presses I get some good discussions, so I figured I’d chat about it tonight. Before I go any farther, do me a favor and do a nice big stretch with your arms. Yes, i’m talking to you. Do it. Right now. Yawn a little bit. Stretch those arms out nice and far. Ahhh. Yes. That was good, wasn’t it?
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So, I’m not sure if you realized, but in all likelihood you reached up, reached back, and at some point during that stretch you got into the exact position you’d be in if you did a BTN press. ? Why does this matter? Because if you can get into a position, you should train that position.
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Now, are certain positions more provocative on joints and tissues that other positions? Sure. This doesn’t mean that we avoid the position completely. It means that we train it appropriately. Progress it carefully. We consider the demands of that person’s activities and then proceed accordingly. If you do CrossFit or olympic lift then you’d best be training BTN in some capacity. Why? Because gravity will take you there at some point whether you like it or not. Better to be safe than sorry. Miss a snatch behind you, go to bail out of a handstand walk/pushup, attempt to move the bar from in front of your face to behind your head…gravity is about to teach you a lesson.
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What about the average Joe? Perhaps you’re putting your kid on your shoulders, putting a heavy bag on your back, or helping your buddy move some furniture. Positions happen. Again, if you can physically get into a position it’s not a bad idea to train it in SOME capacity. That doesn’t mean one rep max lifts or uncontrolled, ballistic sets. It means exposing that tissue to some sort of load (could just be isometrics) and in doing so, building resiliency. —
Take home message: very few, if any, movements or positions are inherently bad for you. Don’t avoid things because you heard they were bad. Explore movement and learn for yourself what it means to be #antifragile.