The strict overhead barbell press is the gold standard for pressing. The bench press is great and gets a lot of attention, but you’re stronger in the horizontal plane and the stability of the bench helps. With the overhead press, it’s two hands on the bar and two feet on the floor, and the rest is you.
Using only your chest, shoulders, and triceps, you press a barbell overhead with little help from your lower body. The overhead press is a terrific exercise for strength and muscle mass and requires a lot of core strength and shoulder mobility to pull off. But this move isn’t as easy as simply lifting overhead – there are plenty of movement errors that can lead to injury or just diminish any gains you might make.
Not everyone can hit the bat due to shoulder mobility, however, if you have the mobility and strength to go over the top, it’s best to avoid these common mistakes that hurt batting. safety and efficiency of this lift.
4 advantages of the overhead press
Assuming you’re ready to push over the top, here are some vital benefits of pressing big overhead weights.
- Rock Solid Core Strength: Part of the overhead is having a good brace to prevent excessive arching of the back.
- Larger shoulders: The overhead press strengthens all three deltoids, which is rare for upper body strength exercises.
- Best bench press: Upper back strength plays a vital role in the overhead press, and upper back strengthening helps with the overhead press and with the eccentric portion of the bench press.
- Improved locking force: The triceps are the main engine of the overhead press, and improving the strength and size of the triceps will have a direct effect on other lifts that require an overhead position.
What Happens in a Good Airline Press
There is always a little leeway for good technique because you are all put together differently, but these following points are non-negotiable. Hint, it all starts with the right setup.
- Adequate shoulder mobility and wrist strength: Not only to press the bar overhead, but also to get the right grip placement with your hands shoulder-width apart and your wrists neutral. It is essential to place the bar on the heel of your palm as this is where you will generate the most force.
- Correct personal position: elbows and forearms should be vertical, stacked on top of each other. If your elbows are pointing outward or inward, your grip is too narrow or too wide.
- Pressing a relatively straight line: Undeniable because the shortest distance between two points is a straight line.
- Triceps and upper back strength: The final third of the overhead press is all triceps, and adequate tricep strength is needed to lock it down. Upper back strength is needed to provide a better pressure path and lockout.
- Strong hug: Lowering your ribs, strengthening your anterior core, and squeezing your glutes ensures the right muscles move.
4 Common Overhead Press Mistakes
Most decent, boundary-pushing lifters have used a fair amount of body English to get the bar overhead. When you’re close to your 1RM, perfect form becomes almost impossible to achieve. But compromise, almost impossible. . We’re talking about your submaximal work when working with a weight below 85% of your 1RM.
