Shoulder Press Alternatives: The Best (and Most Shoulder-Friendly) Substitutes

The best shoulder press alternative keeps the vertical push and removes whatever stopped you from pressing: pain, missing equipment, or a stalled lift. For most athletes, that substitute is the landmine press, with the Z-press, Arnold press, and push press close behind. We program these swaps every week inside our military fitness programs, because tactical athletes put loads overhead on the job and cannot afford a shoulder that quits.

Below are eight proven substitutes, which ones are easiest on irritated shoulders and why, what to use with no machine or no gym, and how to slot the swap into your training without losing strength.

Key Takeaways:

• The landmine press is the best all-around pick because it trains the press on an angled arc that most sore shoulders tolerate.

• For pain or impingement, choose angled, neutral-grip, or partial-range pressing and let the shoulder blade move freely.

• Dumbbells, a barbell, kettlebells, or a band replace any shoulder press machine.

• At home, pike push-ups progress to handstand push-ups and load the same pattern with bodyweight.

• Match the sets, reps, and effort of the press you replace, and pick the substitute by your reason for swapping.

Why Look for a Shoulder Press Alternative?

A shoulder press alternative makes sense when pain, equipment, or programming turns the standard press into a poor choice. The four common reasons are shoulder pain or impingement, no access to a press machine, training at home without weights, and a stalled lift that needs a new stimulus. Any good substitute still trains the vertical push.

The press trains the front and side deltoids, the triceps, and the upper trapezius and serratus anterior, which rotate the shoulder blade upward so the arm can get overhead. Your trunk works the whole time to stop the load from bending you backward. That combination is why overhead strength carries over to the job: loading gear onto a vehicle, pushing through a hatch, boosting a teammate over a wall, or lifting a litter. Training functional strength for military performance means treating overhead strength and shoulder durability as one goal, not two.

The lift most of these alternatives replace is the overhead shoulder press, done strict with a barbell or dumbbells. It is a great movement, but the shoulder is one of the most frequently injured joints in people who lift, and pressing overhead is a common aggravator (Kolber et al., 2010). In the Army, musculoskeletal injuries are a leading cause of lost duty days (Molloy et al., 2020), so a substitute that keeps you training is worth more than a lift you keep re-injuring.

An alternative exercise is only as good as the plan it sits in. If you are still choosing a strength & endurance program, that guide walks through what to look for before you start swapping individual lifts.

The Best Shoulder Press Alternatives

We chose these overhead press alternatives on three criteria. Each one trains a vertical or near-vertical push, each can be loaded progressively, and each works with equipment most gyms or garages already have. All eight also work as an alternative to the barbell overhead press.

1. Landmine Press

How to do it: wedge one end of a barbell into a corner or landmine base. Hold the other end at shoulder height, set up half-kneeling or standing, and press up and forward until your arm is long, reaching slightly at the top.

Why it substitutes: the bar travels on an arc in front of your body instead of straight overhead, so you train the same muscles without forcing the shoulder into full overhead flexion. The shoulder blade is also free to rotate and wrap around the ribcage. Best for: lifters with cranky shoulders or limited overhead mobility. Verdict: the top all-around pick.

2. High-Incline Press

How to do it: set a bench steep, around 60 degrees or higher, and press dumbbells or a barbell from the upper chest.

Why it substitutes: the steep angle sits between an incline bench and a true overhead press, so the front deltoid still does most of the work while the end range stays short of full overhead. Best for: athletes who can press but can’t lock out overhead without pain.

3. Arnold Press

How to do it: start seated or standing with dumbbells at chin height, palms facing you. Rotate your palms outward as you press, finishing palms forward overhead.

Why it substitutes: the rotation lengthens the path through the front deltoid and starts the press from a neutral-leaning position. The trade-off is rotation under load near end range, which some impinged shoulders dislike. Best for: muscle-building work at moderate loads.

4. Push Press

How to do it: dip a few inches at the knees, drive hard through the legs, and use that momentum to finish the press overhead.

Why it substitutes: leg drive lets you handle heavier loads overhead and trains the hip-to-arm power transfer you use when you put something heavy above your head. The Army includes the overhead push press in its strength training circuit (FM 7-22). It is not a pain option, since the end position matches the strict press. Best for: breaking a strength plateau or adding power.

5. Z-Press

How to do it: sit on the floor with legs straight and press a barbell or dumbbells overhead with no back support.

Why it substitutes: removing leg drive and the bench forces your trunk to stay stacked, exposing any habit of leaning back to finish the rep. Expect to use less weight. Best for: strict pressers with good overhead mobility who need to clean up position.

6. Bottoms-Up Kettlebell Press

How to do it: grip a kettlebell by the handle with the bell pointing up and press it overhead slowly, keeping it balanced.

Why it substitutes: the unstable load demands a hard grip and constant work from the rotator cuff to keep the bell stacked. Loads stay light, which suits shoulders that need control more than tonnage. Best for: building shoulder stability.

7. Pike Push-Up

How to do it: from a push-up, walk your feet in and lift your hips into an inverted V. Lower the top of your head toward the floor between your hands and press back up.

Why it substitutes: it is a vertical push with your own bodyweight, and elevating your feet increases the load. It is also the first step toward the handstand push-up. Best for: training without equipment.

8. Banded Press

How to do it: stand on a resistance band and press the handles overhead.

Why it substitutes: band tension rises toward lockout, and a meta-analysis found elastic resistance training produces strength gains similar to conventional weights (Lopes et al., 2019). Best for: travel, home, and high-rep accessory work.

What Is the Best Shoulder Press Alternative for Shoulder Pain?

The best shoulder press alternative for shoulder pain is usually the landmine press, followed by neutral-grip dumbbell pressing and the high-incline press. Each reduces how far and how hard the shoulder must work at the top of overhead elevation, where impingement and rotator cuff symptoms tend to flare, while still loading the pressing muscles.

Four mechanisms explain why these options feel safer:

1. Angle. Pain during pressing commonly shows up near full overhead elevation, where the rotator cuff tendons and nearby tissues are under the most demand (Lewis, 2009). The landmine arc and the high-incline bench keep the arm in front of the body and stop short of that range.

2. Neutral grip. Palms facing each other keeps the upper arm more externally rotated. Shoulder-protection guidance for lifters recommends avoiding internally rotated and behind-the-neck pressing positions for exactly this reason (Durall et al., 2001).

3. Scapular freedom. The shoulder blade must rotate upward and tilt back as the arm rises. People with impingement symptoms often show altered shoulder blade movement (Ludewig & Cook, 2000; Kibler & Sciascia, 2010). A fixed machine path, or a bench pinning your shoulder blades to the pad, restricts that motion. Half-kneeling landmine work lets it move.

4. Partial range. Pressing to just short of the painful position, with pins or a steep incline, keeps training stimulus without repeatedly loading the irritated range.

For a diagnosed rotator cuff injury, the bottoms-up kettlebell press and light banded work fit well, since rehab research favors controlled, progressive cuff and scapular loading (Escamilla et al., 2009). These swaps manage training around a sensitive shoulder. They do not diagnose or treat it. If pain is sharp, persists for more than a couple of weeks, wakes you at night, or comes with weakness or numbness, see a physician or physical therapist before loading it further.

What Can You Do Instead of the Shoulder Press Machine?

The seated dumbbell press is the closest machine shoulder press alternative: same seated position, same vertical path, and each arm works independently, so a weaker side can’t hide. A standing barbell press or landmine press works if you want more trunk demand.

Research supports the trade-off. Lifters press more weight seated and with a barbell, but standing presses produced greater deltoid activation than seated versions (Saeterbakken & Fimland, 2013). For a Smith machine shoulder press alternative, the landmine press gives a similar guided path without locking your arms into a fixed vertical line. For a cable press, use a half-kneeling single-arm press or swap to a band at home.

How Do You Replace the Shoulder Press at Home?

You can replace the shoulder press at home with no weights by progressing through bodyweight and household loads:

1. Pike push-up from the floor.

2. Feet-elevated pike push-up on a box or couch.

3. Wall walks and handstand holds to build tolerance upside down.

4. Slow handstand push-up negatives against a wall.

5. Full handstand push-ups.

Bodyweight pushing at matched effort produces strength gains comparable to free weights (Calatayud et al., 2015), so the pike progression is a real training tool. For a dumbbell shoulder press alternative at home, press a single kettlebell, a filled water jug, or a loaded ruck held by its frame. A band press fills the gaps.

Are Overhead, Military, and Arnold Press Alternatives the Same?

Yes. The overhead press, the military press, the Arnold press, and the push press all train the same vertical pressing pattern, so the same substitutes apply. Choose by which feature of the original lift you need to keep.

• Military press alternative: the military press is the strict, standing, heels-together barbell version. The Z-press and strict standing dumbbell press keep its no-momentum demand.

• Arnold press alternative: a seated neutral-grip dumbbell press or the landmine press keeps the front-deltoid focus without loaded rotation.

• Push press alternatives: the dumbbell push press, kettlebell push press, or landmine push press keeps the leg drive with a friendlier path.

How to Program the Swap

1. Pick by your reason. Pain points to the landmine, high-incline, or neutral-grip work. No machine points to dumbbells. No gym points to the pike progression.

2. Match the dose. Keep the sets, reps, and effort of the press you are replacing. Weekly volume drives most of the adaptation (Schoenfeld et al., 2017), and loads across a wide rep range build muscle when sets go close to failure (Schoenfeld et al., 2017b).

3. Start a step lighter. New movements carry a learning curve. Use the first week to find your working weight.

4. Progress on purpose. Add load or reps across weeks; both approaches produce similar strength and size gains (Plotkin et al., 2022).

5. Balance the pull. Pair overhead pushing with rows and pull-ups so the shoulder keeps a stable foundation (ACSM, 2009).

6. Reassess in four to six weeks. If the swap was for pain and the shoulder has settled, test a pain-free strict press again.

The swap should sit inside a full plan, not float on its own. A strength workout for athletes shows how vertical pressing fits beside squats, hinges, and pulls across the week.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best alternative to the shoulder press?

The landmine press is the best all-around alternative to the shoulder press. It trains the deltoids, triceps, and trunk on an angled path that most shoulders tolerate, it loads progressively, and it needs only a barbell and a corner. The Z-press and push press are the best choices when your shoulders are healthy and you want more strength.

What is a shoulder-friendly alternative for shoulder pain or impingement?

The landmine press and neutral-grip dumbbell press are the most shoulder-friendly alternatives. Both keep the arm short of full overhead elevation and reduce the internal rotation that tends to aggravate impingement. Train in a pain-free range, and see a physician or physical therapist if pain persists.

What can you do instead of the shoulder press machine?

A seated dumbbell press replaces the shoulder press machine most directly. It uses the same position and path while forcing each arm to stabilize on its own. Standing barbell, landmine, or half-kneeling cable presses work too and add trunk demand the machine removes.

How do you replace the shoulder press at home with no equipment?

Use the pike push-up and progress it. Elevate your feet, add wall-walk and handstand holds, then work toward handstand push-up negatives and full reps. A band, kettlebell, water jug, or loaded backpack adds external load when you have it.

Is the landmine press easier on the shoulders than overhead pressing?

For most people, yes. The landmine press moves the arm up and forward on an arc instead of straight overhead, which limits end-range shoulder flexion and lets the shoulder blade rotate freely. That combination usually reduces irritation while still training the pressing muscles.

Do the alternatives to overhead, military, and Arnold press differ?

Not much. All three lifts train the same vertical pressing pattern, so the same substitutes cover them. The difference is emphasis: strict alternatives like the Z-press suit the military press, while neutral-grip dumbbell work replaces the Arnold press without loaded rotation.

Do the substitutes build the same strength as the shoulder press?

They build most of it. Any vertical push trained with enough volume and effort strengthens the same muscles, though strength is partly specific to the movement you practice. If a strict press test matters to you, return to it periodically once the substitute has done its job.

A good shoulder press alternative keeps the vertical push in your training while you work around pain, missing equipment, or a stalled lift. Pick the substitute by your reason, match the dose you were already doing, and progress it like any main lift. If you want those swaps built into a structured plan that adjusts as your shoulder and your standards change, start a CF ONE program and train the press the way the job demands.

References:

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Calatayud, J., Borreani, S., Colado, J. C., et al. (2015). Bench press and push-up at comparable levels of muscle activity results in similar strength gains. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 29(1), 246 to 253.

Department of the Army. (2020). FM 7-22: Holistic Health and Fitness. Washington, DC: Headquarters, Department of the Army.

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Lopes, J. S. S., Machado, A. F., Micheletti, J. K., et al. (2019). Effects of training with elastic resistance versus conventional resistance on muscular strength: a systematic review and meta-analysis. SAGE Open Medicine, 7.

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Molloy, J. M., Pendergrass, T. L., Lee, I. E., et al. (2020). Musculoskeletal injuries and United States Army readiness part I: overview of injuries and their strategic impact. Military Medicine, 185(9-10), e1461 to e1471.

Plotkin, D., Coleman, M., Van Every, D., et al. (2022). Progressive overload without progressing load? The effects of load or repetition progression on muscular adaptations. PeerJ, 10, e14142.

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Schoenfeld, B. J., Grgic, J., Ogborn, D., & Krieger, J. W. (2017b). Strength and hypertrophy adaptations between low- vs. high-load resistance training: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 31(12), 3508 to 3523.

Disclaimer: This article is for general educational purposes and is not medical advice. Shoulder pain can have many causes. Consult a physician or licensed physical therapist before training through pain or returning from injury. Combat Fitness makes no guarantee of specific performance or injury outcomes.