The Military Press is an excellent upper body and core strengthening exercise.
The entire workout is unique in the sense that it develops strength, balance and stabilization of the core for the entire body.
The lift itself affects the majority of the upper body including the upper pectoral muscles, the shoulders, the upper back and the arms.
The major focus of this exercise however is the shoulders and the triceps as they are the ones that see the most results after use.
Here is how you perform the military press: 1: Position your feet shoulder width apart 2: Grip the bar in an overhand fashion.
Keep your wrists under the bar and over the elbows at all times.
3: Now extend your arms straight up over your head, make sure that your feet are stable enough to hold you up as you do not want to be falling while holding that barbell.
4: Slowly lower the bar back to the starting position.
That is one rep.
5: Repeat for your desired number of reps.
Here are some indications that you are not doing this lift correctly: 1: Lack of full extension in your arms; your arms need to be fully extended for it to be a complete rep 2: Bouncing at the bottom of the lift, this will reduce the effect the workout has so try not to bounce at the bottom of a lift.
3: Uneven extension or leaning backward; make sure you lift the weight evenly with both arms and that you are not leaning in either direction when you extend.
This exercise is one in which a spotter is highly recommended especially if you are using heavy weights.