A compound exercise where you press weight overhead from shoulder level to full arm extension, either seated or standing. It targets the deltoids, triceps, and stabilizing muscles of the core.
From 'shoulder' (the joint/muscle group) + 'press' (to push away). The exercise has ancient origins in strongman demonstrations but was formalized in Olympic weightlifting as the 'press' until it was removed in 1972.
The shoulder press was actually one of the original Olympic lifts until 1972, when it was removed because judges couldn't consistently determine what constituted a legal press versus a push press! This decision changed competitive weightlifting forever, leaving only the snatch and clean & jerk.
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