Overhead Press


At a glance
- Equipment
- Barbell
- Suggested reps
- 3–4 sets of 5–8 reps
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Common mistakes
You lean way back and turn the press into a standing incline bench, taking the shoulders out and stressing the lower back.
You press the bar out in front of your face and leave it there, instead of finishing with it stacked over the mid-foot.
You bend the knees and sneak in leg drive when the bar slows down.
You stop short of lockout, never finishing with straight arms and shrugged-up shoulders overhead.
What to focus on
Squeeze your glutes and brace your abs hard before the press so the torso is a rigid pillar, not a hinge.
Move your head back to clear a path for the bar, then push your head through the window once the bar passes your face.
Finish each rep by shrugging the shoulders up into the bar at lockout with your ears in line with your arms.
Related strength moves
Sources & further reading
- 1.EMG shows the overhead press strongly recruits all three deltoid heads — anterior, medial, and posterior — Frontiers in Physiology (2022), EMG study