Overhead Press: Add size and strength to your shoulders

The overhead press is sometimes called the shoulder press, but that’s a bit misleading because heaving a weight overhead is working far more than just your shoulders – it’s a serious mass builder for your entire upper body

Pressing a weight overhead will test the strength and stability of all three heads of your shoulder musculature, your shoulder girdle (the muscles surrounding your shoulder blades), and your core (both your abs and lower back) and, if you are performing standing variations, you will also train your glutes, quads and hamstrings to add stability to the lift.

Working Up To The Overhead Press

If you are new to the overhead press, you should start with the seated dumbbell shoulder press. Using an upright bench will provide stability during the movement to stop you overarching your lower back and allow you to concentrate on keeping tension through your shoulders when pressing the weight. Using dumbbells allows for greater control and range of movement, both of which are ideal for learning new movement patterns of an exercise and can allow you to add weight quickly.

Overhead Press Form Guide

Stand with your body upright and core muscles braced, looking straight ahead. Hold the bar on your upper chest, gripping it with hands just wider than shoulder-width apart. Press the bar directly overhead. Don't tilt your hips forward during the move.

How To Perfect The Overhead Press

Take a shoulder-width grip

The wider apart your hands are on the bar, the weaker you will be and the less weight you will be able to lift. Aim for a grip with hands no wider than shoulder-width apart and keep your elbows directly underneath your wrists to keep you in the strongest mechanical position possible for the lift.

Mobile wrists are key

For the strongest press possible you need to have mobile wrists so that they can extend back towards your body,” says McKenzie. “The better the starting position of your wrists, the more able you are to initiate the move with a strong push. Better mobility will also allow your elbows to flare out slightly towards the sides as you press upwards.

Squeeze your shoulder blades

At the start of each rep focus on squeezing your shoulder blades together, then focus on using your shoulders to initiate the lift and get the bar moving. Lower the bar under control, ensuring that your shoulders are fully engaged and managing the weight with good form.

Adjust your head position

The bar starts across your upper chest below your chin, so your head must tilt backwards slightly as you push the bar up in the straightest line possible to avoid hitting your chin and nose. As you press the bar up, tilt your head backwards so that the bar just misses your nose on the way up.

Keep your chest up

You need to keep your chest up during each rep to maintain a strong and stable upper back, which in turn allows better and smoother movement patterns of all the muscles and joints involved in the lift – especially the shoulders, which are one of the most easily damaged joints in the body.