9 Overhead Press Alternatives

The best overhead press alternative depends on how much overhead range you actually have available. Use a landmine press or Arnold press with a partial range when overhead range is genuinely limited, a high-incline bench press when you can tolerate a steep angle but not vertical, and a machine or dumbbell option when the real problem is a missing rack rather than the movement itself. This page assumes pressing overhead is already off the table; if you can press overhead and are choosing between styles, see military press vs overhead press instead, or overhead press vs bench press if the real decision is which press direction to prioritize.

These are substitutions for a programme slot, not a claim that every pressing exercise is mechanically identical. If a movement causes sharp pain, numbness, instability, or symptoms that persist after training, stop and seek individual advice from a qualified professional rather than trying to train through it.

Overhead Press Alternatives at a Glance

Angles are approximate and vary with equipment setup and individual arm length. Use the table to pick the steepest angle you can tolerate rather than dropping straight to a flat press.

First, Screen Whether It Is Your Shoulder or Your Thoracic Spine

A true overhead lockout needs both healthy shoulder mechanics and enough thoracic extension to let the ribcage and shoulder blade rotate out of the way.¹ The two limitations feel similar during a press but call for different substitutes, and a thirty-second screen can usually tell them apart:

1. Wall slide. Stand with your back, head, and arms against a wall, then slide your arms overhead while keeping contact. If your arms reach fully overhead without your lower back arching off the wall, shoulder mechanics are probably not the limiter.[1]
2. Supine arm raise. Lie on your back with knees bent and lower back flat, then raise both arms overhead toward the floor. If your arms stop well short of the floor while your ribs stay down and your back stays flat, limited thoracic extension is a likely contributor, and mobility work may resolve more of the problem than a permanent substitute will.[1]

If both screens look clean but pressing overhead still produces pinching or sharp pain specifically in the shoulder joint, treat that as a genuine shoulder issue and choose a substitute rather than pushing through it.[1]

The Press-Angle Continuum

Rather than jumping straight from a vertical overhead press to a flat bench press, pick the steepest angle you can tolerate. Each step down the continuum reduces how far the shoulder travels into full flexion and how close the position gets to the impingement-prone top range, at some cost to how directly the exercise trains a true overhead lockout.

• Landmine press, roughly 45 degrees. The barbell travels in an arc anchored at the floor, which naturally stops well short of vertical. This is usually the first stop for readers who cannot tolerate any true overhead pressing yet.[1]
• High-incline bench press, roughly 60 to 70 degrees. A steep incline keeps most of the vertical pressing demand on the shoulders and triceps while staying short of a fully overhead position.[1]
• Incline bench press, roughly 30 to 45 degrees. A shallower incline shifts more emphasis toward the chest and reduces shoulder-flexion demand further, useful once a high incline is comfortable but full overhead pressing still is not.[1]

Work down this list toward a flatter angle only if the steeper option still causes symptoms, not as a default starting point.[1]

Landmine and Machine Options

1. Landmine press

The landmine press anchors a barbell in a landmine attachment or a corner, so the bar travels in a fixed arc that finishes at roughly 45 degrees instead of straight overhead. Press from shoulder height, driving the bar up and slightly forward along its natural arc rather than forcing it vertical.

Best for: the steepest reduction in press angle while staying a loaded, free-weight movement.[1]

2. Machine overhead press

The machine overhead press supports the torso and follows a fixed path, which removes the stabilization demand of a free-weight press and lets you set the exact range through the seat height. Stop the range a few centimetres short of full lockout if that top position is where symptoms appear.

Best for: adjustable range with full back support when stability, not just angle, is a concern.[1]

3. Cable shoulder press

A cable shoulder press, set up standing or seated with the pulley at shoulder height, gives continuous tension through the range and lets you angle your body to fine-tune the effective press direction between a landmine-like arc and a more vertical path.[1]

Best for: a flexible setup that can be tuned toward whichever angle feels comfortable.[1]

Dumbbell Options With an Adjustable Range

4. Arnold press

The Arnold press adds a rotation through the bottom portion of the range, and stopping the top of the rep a few centimetres short of full overhead extension reduces how far the shoulder travels into the impingement-prone top range while still training the same muscles as a standard shoulder press.[1]

Best for: dumbbell pressing with a built-in option to shorten the top of the range.[1]

5. Dumbbell shoulder press with a partial range

The dumbbell shoulder press, performed with the top of the rep stopping just short of full lockout, keeps most of the strength and hypertrophy stimulus of a full overhead press while avoiding the specific top-range position that tends to produce symptoms.² Independent dumbbells also let each arm find a comfortable path rather than being locked to a bar.

Best for: preserving most of the overhead pressing stimulus with an individually adjustable range.[1]

6. Resistance band press

A resistance band press, anchored low behind you and pressed up and forward, needs minimal equipment and lets you set the exact angle by changing anchor height. Tension increases through the range rather than staying constant, which is a different loading curve from a barbell or dumbbell press but still trains a pressing pattern with an adjustable finish angle.

Best for: a portable, minimal-equipment option with full control over press angle.[1]

High-Incline and Incline Bench Pressing

7. High-incline bench press

Set an adjustable bench to roughly 70 to 80 degrees and press a barbell or dumbbells from that position. This keeps most of the vertical pressing demand and a large share of the shoulder and triceps involvement of an overhead press, while the bench supports the torso and the angle stays short of true vertical.

Best for: the closest substitute to a true overhead press in both angle and lockout demand.[1]

8. Incline bench press

The incline bench press at a shallower 30 to 45 degree angle shifts more of the work toward the chest and reduces shoulder-flexion demand further than a high-incline press. It is a reasonable landing point if even a high incline still causes discomfort.

Best for: continued pressing training when shoulder tolerance is more limited.[1]

Direct Deltoid Work Regardless of Angle

9. Lateral raise

No pressing substitute, at any angle, trains the lateral deltoid through the same abduction pattern a lateral raise does. Add lateral raises to whichever press substitute you choose so lateral deltoid volume does not depend entirely on how much overhead pressing you can tolerate.

Best for: direct lateral deltoid work that supplements any of the pressing substitutes above.[1]

What You Trade Away Without a True Overhead Lockout

A landmine press or partial-range dumbbell press preserves less of the fully extended triceps lockout demand that a true overhead press or a bench press lockout requires.¹ If you are training an overhead press substitute specifically to support your bench press lockout, a high-incline bench press or a full-range machine press, once it is pain-free, carries over more of that specific demand than a landmine press does.

The Bottom Line

Run the wall-slide and supine arm-raise screen first to separate a shoulder problem from a thoracic-extension limitation. Start with a landmine press or partial-range Arnold press when overhead range is genuinely limited, move to a high-incline bench press as tolerance improves, and add lateral raises regardless of which pressing substitute you choose, since none of them replaces direct lateral deltoid work. See military press vs overhead press if you can press overhead and are deciding between styles instead.