The overhead press is a Barbell pressing movement that targets the muscles in the shoulders, and specifically the medial deltoids. 

Whether you’re looking for more definition in your upper body, or you want to increase shoulder strength, the overhead press is a useful exercise to incorporate into your training. It’s a compound movement that requires the work of several other muscles, so you’re getting a lot of bang for your buck with one exercise.

Step by Step Guide to the Overhead Press

Although the overhead press primarily targets the shoulder muscles, it requires full body stability and core strength to maintain good form throughout the movement. Therefore, it’s important to work on your technique as well as loading the weight and getting stronger.

• Set the barbell up in the rack at shoulder height. Hold the bar just wider than shoulder width apart, lift the bar out of the rack and take a few small steps back.

• At the start position, the bar should be resting in front of you, at shoulder height. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart or take a staggered stance. Staggering your feet will reduce the chances of over-arching your back during the lift.

• Whilst standing, brace your core and tuck your tailbone under. Keep the wrist straight to reduce any chances of wrist pain. If you struggle to maintain wrist position, you can use wrist straps.

• Take a breath in, as you breathe out, push the bar overhead until your elbows are locked out.

• In the overhead position, the bar should be directly over the crown of your head, wrists straight and shoulders relaxed whilst maintaining a neutral spine.

• Lower the barbell back down to your shoulders and repeat. 

If you want to spice up your training, there are different variations of the overhead press that you can include in your workout, these include -

• Thrusters

• Push press

• Z press

Along with this, if you don’t have access to a barbell in your home gym, you can perform these movements with Dumbbells or Kettlebells. This is also a great way to practise the movement if a barbell is too heavy.

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Tags: Equipment > Bars and Weight Plates ; Exercise Type > Strength