Bradford Press

The Bradford Press is a barbell shoulder press variation where the bar travels in front of and behind your head without locking out. It trains the front and side deltoids as the main movers, while the triceps and upper traps help stabilize and guide the bar.

Set up like a standing overhead press. Hold a barbell with a grip slightly wider than shoulder-width. Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart, brace your core, and rest the bar at shoulder height in front of your collarbone.

Press the bar up and slightly forward so it passes just over your head. As soon as it clears the top, lower it behind your neck in a controlled arc. Then reverse direction: press the bar up from behind your head and lower it back to the front of your shoulders. Keep the motion smooth and continuous.

Breathe in and brace before the bar leaves your shoulders, then exhale as it moves upward or around the top. Keep your elbows slightly forward of your torso and do not lock out your arms, so the delts stay under tension. To make it easier, do the press seated with back support or with a lighter bar. To make it harder, slow down the lowering phase or add a short pause at the front and back positions.

Fault: Locking the elbows at the top of the movement. Fix: Stop just short of full extension in both the front and back positions, keeping continuous tension on the shoulders.

Fault: Letting the elbows flare straight out to the sides. Fix: Keep the elbows angled slightly forward and under the bar, which creates a safer path in front of and behind the neck.

Fault: Lowering the bar too far behind the neck. Fix: Keep the back range short and controlled; the bar should sit just behind the head, not drop down toward the shoulder blades.