Military Press: Why it Belongs on Push Day, Biomechanics, and Integration

Should I do military press on push or pull day?

For optimal programming within a push/pull training split, the military press unequivocally belongs on push day. Its primary action involves pushing weight away from the body, engaging the synergistic muscle groups responsible for pressing movements.

Understanding Push/Pull Training Splits

A push/pull training split is a popular and effective method for organizing workouts, designed to group exercises based on the primary action of the muscles involved. This approach optimizes recovery, minimizes muscle overlap between sessions, and allows for high-intensity training for specific movement patterns.

• Push Day: Exercises on push day target muscles responsible for pushing movements. This primarily includes the chest (pectoralis major), shoulders (deltoids, especially anterior and medial heads), and triceps brachii. Examples include bench press, overhead press, and triceps extensions.
• Pull Day: Exercises on pull day target muscles responsible for pulling movements. This primarily includes the back (latissimus dorsi, rhomboids, trapezius, erector spinae) and biceps brachii. Examples include rows, pull-ups, and bicep curls.
• Leg Day (Optional Third Day): Often, a third day dedicated to lower body exercises (quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, calves) is incorporated, making it a "Push/Pull/Legs" (PPL) split.

Anatomy and Biomechanics of the Military Press

To correctly categorize the military press, it's essential to understand the muscles involved and their actions. The military press, or overhead press, is a fundamental compound exercise that involves pressing a barbell or dumbbells directly overhead from a starting position at the shoulders.

• Primary Movers:
  • Anterior Deltoid: The front part of the shoulder muscle, responsible for shoulder flexion.
  • Medial Deltoid: The middle part of the shoulder muscle, responsible for shoulder abduction (lifting the arm out to the side).
  • Triceps Brachii: Located on the back of the upper arm, responsible for elbow extension (straightening the arm).
• Synergistic Muscles:
  • Upper Pectoralis Major: Assists in shoulder flexion, particularly at the beginning of the movement.
  • Serratus Anterior: Stabilizes the scapula (shoulder blade) and aids in upward rotation.
  • Trapezius (Upper & Middle): Elevates and stabilizes the shoulder girdle.
• Stabilizer Muscles: The rotator cuff muscles (supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor, subscapularis) play a crucial role in stabilizing the shoulder joint throughout the movement, as do the core muscles (rectus abdominis, obliques, erector spinae) for maintaining trunk rigidity.

Conclusion: The dominant actions in the military press are shoulder flexion/abduction and elbow extension – all pushing movements away from the body.

Why the Military Press Belongs on Push Day

Based on its biomechanics, the military press is a quintessential push exercise, making its inclusion on push day the most logical and effective choice for a structured training split.

• Muscle Group Synergy: Push day is designed to work the chest, shoulders, and triceps. The military press directly targets the shoulders and triceps, and to a lesser extent, the upper chest. Grouping it with other pressing movements (like bench press variations) ensures these muscle groups are worked comprehensively in a single session.
• Optimizing Recovery: By focusing all "push" movements on one day, you allow ample time for these muscle groups to recover before being stimulated again. If you were to place military press on a pull day, you would be fatiguing your shoulders and triceps, which would then be required to perform other pressing movements the following push day, potentially hindering performance and increasing injury risk.
• Minimizing Overlap and Fatigue: Placing the military press on push day prevents unnecessary fatigue of the deltoids and triceps that would otherwise occur on a pull day. Pull day exercises primarily target the back and biceps, and while some stabilizers are shared, the prime movers for the military press are not heavily involved in typical pull exercises.

Could It Ever Be on Pull Day? Addressing Nuances

In a strict push/pull split, placing the military press on a pull day would be counterproductive and anatomically incorrect. The fundamental definition of a pull exercise involves bringing weight towards the body, primarily engaging the back and biceps. The military press involves pushing weight away from the body, making it a direct contradiction to the principles of a pull workout.

While there might be highly specialized or unconventional training programs that deviate from standard push/pull definitions (e.g., full-body workouts, or specific athletic performance programs with different muscle grouping strategies), for the vast majority of fitness enthusiasts and structured programming, the military press has no place on a dedicated pull day. Doing so would compromise the intended focus and recovery benefits of the push/pull split.

Integrating Military Press into Your Push Day

When incorporating the military press into your push day, consider its role as a compound, foundational movement.

• Placement in Workout: As a multi-joint compound exercise, the military press should typically be performed early in your push workout, after a thorough warm-up. This allows you to lift the heaviest loads and dedicate the most energy to it before fatigue sets in from isolation exercises. Many fitness programs place it after a primary horizontal press (e.g., barbell bench press) or as the primary pressing movement itself.
• Rep Ranges and Intensity: Depending on your goals (strength, hypertrophy, endurance), use appropriate rep ranges.
  • Strength: 3-6 repetitions with heavier loads.
  • Hypertrophy (Muscle Growth): 8-12 repetitions with moderate loads.
  • Endurance: 15+ repetitions with lighter loads.
• Progression: Focus on progressive overload – gradually increasing the weight, reps, sets, or decreasing rest times over weeks and months to continually challenge your muscles.

Key Takeaways for Program Design

• Adhere to Biomechanics: Always consider the primary muscle actions of an exercise when categorizing it within a split.
• Prioritize Recovery: Grouping synergistic muscles together allows for adequate recovery time for those muscle groups before their next intense session.
• Maintain Focus: Push/pull splits are effective because they create focused training days, optimizing performance for specific movement patterns.

Conclusion

The military press is a cornerstone exercise for developing shoulder and triceps strength and mass. Its biomechanical nature as a vertical pressing movement firmly places it on push day within a push/pull training split. Adhering to this principle ensures logical program design, maximizes training efficiency, and supports optimal muscle recovery and development.