Barbell Z Press
A step-by-step form guide from the Ægir Iron exercise library: how to do the lift, what to watch for, and the muscles it trains.
- Equipment
- Barbell
HOW TO PERFORM
- Set the safety pins in a rack at shoulder height when you sit on the floor under them, and rest the bar on them.
- Sit on the floor under the bar with the legs straight out in front and slightly apart, torso tall over the hips.
- Take the bar just outside shoulder width and lift it off the pins to the front of the shoulders.
- Brace the trunk and press straight up, moving the head back to let the bar pass and then forward under it.
- Lock out overhead without leaning back, then lower under control to the front of the shoulders.
FORM TIPS
- No back support and no legs, so any lean back shows at once. If you cannot sit tall with the legs straight, sit on a plate rather than rounding the low back.
- Expect noticeably less weight than a standing press.
TARGET MUSCLES
Primary
- Shoulders
Secondary
- Triceps
- Traps
Log it in Ægir Iron to track your PRs and estimated 1RM, and to see the sets each muscle gets every week. Free for individual lifters.