How to Barbell Overhead Press 101

Just like anything else in life, we're gonna build (discuss) this from the ground up.

When done correctly, the barbell overhead press can be one of the most beneficial exercises in training.

So let's get started. (THREAD)

FEET PLACEMENT:

You're gonna want your feet to be shoulder width apart (if not a little wider) with your toes pointed slightly out.
- Think external rotation

LEGS:

You NEVER want to have your legs locked all the way out. You will want to keep a slight bend in the knees...

at all times. This will prevent you from cutting off your blood flow or hyper-extending your knees.

If you are doing a push press, you will want to do a slight dip (Think top 1/4 of a front squat) before you begin the press as this will give you the initial momentum to get.

the bar off your chest

If you are doing a strict press, you will want to keep you legs ALMOST locked out, but not completely.

GLUTES:

SQUEEZE YOUR GLUTES as soon as you begin the press. This will alleviate any low back cramping or tightness as your glutes help protect your..

lower back. Squeeze them throughout the entire portion of the press.

CORE:

You need to be squeezing your core as tight as possible to make it easier to stay upright. The overhead press can be a funky movement and having a strong core is ESSENTIAL.

LATS:

Before you even pick up the barbell out of the rack, you're going to want to flare your lats as much as possible to create that "shelf" for you to sit your triceps on and give you a little more pop off your chest.

SHOULDERS/CHEST:

The initital portion of the overhead press (after leg drive) is going to be very similar to a high incline press. You want to try and keep your elbows from flaring as much as possible.

This will make the lockout portion of the press easier.

TRICEPS:

The lockout is all in the triceps. And you better be ready to fight like hell to lock it out.

HEAD:

Pushing your head through at the correct time is VITAL to having a strong overhead press.

As soon as you're able to see under the barbell/axle on your press

You need to be pushing your head through as hard as possible. This will keep the bar path going directly overhead and prevent you from pushing the bar away and potentially missing the lift.

A cue I give clients is when they are pushing their head through, to squeeze their

upper back and traps together as tight as possible until you've locked out the lift.

I will be posting a video covering all of this later today.

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Lets win!