Barbell Z Press

Also known as: Z Press, Seated Floor Barbell Overhead Press

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Body Part: Shoulders

Description

The Z press is a barbell overhead press performed sitting on the floor with your legs straight and no back support. With no leg drive or backrest to help, your shoulders and triceps move the bar while your core and upper back keep your torso upright, so it builds strict pressing strength and trunk control.

How to Perform

Set the bar in a rack or on safety pins at about your seated shoulder height, then sit on the floor so the bar is just in front of your shoulders.
Straighten your legs in front of you, slightly apart, and sit tall on your sit bones with your torso upright.
Take a pronated grip slightly wider than shoulder width and unrack the bar so it rests at the front of your shoulders, elbows under the bar and slightly in front of it.
Brace your core, pull your ribs down and tense your thighs so your knees stay straight.
Press the bar straight up, pulling your head back slightly so the bar can pass your face.
Once the bar passes your forehead, push your head through between your arms and lock out your elbows with the bar over your shoulders and hips.
Lower the bar under control to the front of your shoulders and start the next rep without leaning back. After the last rep, return the bar to the rack.

What Muscles Work

Primary Muscle:

Secondary Muscles:

Tips

Use clearly less weight than in a standing overhead press. With no help from your legs, the Z press is much harder.
If tight hamstrings stop you from sitting tall, sit on a low plate or step until your mobility improves.
Keep your forearms vertical under the bar, with your wrists stacked over your elbows.
Brace your core and keep your ribs down before every rep, and breathe out only after you pass the hardest point.
Grip just outside shoulder width. A much wider grip shortens the press and puts more stress on the shoulders.

Common Mistakes

Leaning back to finish the rep, which turns it into an incline press and loads the lower back
Sitting on the tailbone with a rounded lower back instead of tall on the sit bones
Bending the knees or rocking the legs to help drive the bar up
Keeping the head still, so the bar has to swing forward around the face
Not bringing the head through at the top, so the bar finishes in front of the head
Dropping the bar fast onto the shoulders and losing the brace at the bottom
Stopping short of full elbow lockout at the top