“Know Your Lifts” is an illustrated guide series that shows how to perform basic weight lifting exercises. Check out our previous guides on the High-Bar Back Squat and the Deadlift. On the docket today is another essential and beastly lift: the Overhead Press. The overhead press (or shoulder press, or strict press, or just “press”) is superior to the bench press in that it works the whole body and is a much more functional exercise (most of the time when you’re lifting things you’re on your feet, not lying on you back). It’s also feels pretty manly to hoist a heavy barbell above your head.
Know Your Lifts Series:
High-Bar Back Squat
Deadlift
Overhead Press
Thanks to Barry Schroeder and Jim Schoenberg of CrossFit Sandstorm for consulting on this post.
Illustration by Ted Slampyak
Know Your Lifts: The High-Bar Back Squat
Know Your Lifts: Deadlift
The Ultimate Squat Guide: 35+ Squat Exercises
3 Feats of Strength: An Introduction to Strongman Exercises
{ 34 comments… read them below or add one }
My girlfriend does this with perfect form. If you go the gym and don’t do this, you’re terrible. Good day.
I like that the picture for this and the deadlift are both lifting 315. Pretty light for a deadlift and world-class elite for the press.
Perhaps you could do the hang clean next, as some lifters try to do both the clean and press in succession.
I have pretty much ditched seated shoulder presses for overhead presses. It is an awesome exercise and sometimes I even take it one step further with a Push Press. Both are great at hitting every part of the deltoid.
The cool thing is not many people do this at the gym. Heck, the squat rack is usually abandoned. Better for me…
Dan, highly unusual for an Internet commenter to pick apart an illustration. You feeling ok bro?
Dan, I was thinking the same thing. A 315 overhead press is almost unheard of nowadays. Still, it’s a sweet drawing and even better lift. Thanks!
technically the military press is different because you keep your feet together, where as the shoulder press is with them apart.
Thanks for the wonderful guides! Will you be selling these as posters?
also locking elbows is debatable, usually trainers and videos will tell you not too because at heavy weights, it can lead to hyperextending the elbow/do damage. You should extend to almost locking, but not to complete lock.
I did this exercise just yesterday. It is very humbling.
I always injure my shoulder when I do this. Any ideas why?
Chuck,
Are your elbows splayed way out to the sides? You might be doing some shoulder-impingement stuff, which is bad juju. BTW, I’m not an orthopedist, but I’m dating a data systems engineer for Kaiser, so I guess that’s my credential. :D
Anyhow, joking aside, I’ve always understood that your elbows should be pointed forward at the bottom, and that you should never let them splay out further than about 45 degrees from the sagittal plane.
Go look at the Starting Strength wiki or any of the MYRIAD youtube videos of Mark Rippetoe coaching people on this lift.
For my part, it’s my favorite lift. It’s the most primitively manly of the lifts, except maybe the deadlift.
I’m actually going to be moving away from iron. I’d like to try my hand at gymnastic-type bodyweight exercises and see if I can’t do some handstand pushups. Heavy as I am, that’ll be quite an achievement if I can pull it off. :D
John
@ Christopher – I think our joints are made precisely for locking. Heavy supports were used by old time strongmen specifically to develop joint and ligament strength. I agree that hyper-extension is a problem is handling heavy weights though.
@ Chuck – Try overhead pressing with dumbells for awhile. For some people, the barbell keeps your shoulders from their desired range of motion, dumbells (or kettlebells) should fix that.
John is right, when in doubt seek Rippetoe!
my favorite lift ever. I think it is so rare to see that life done these days as everybody else seems to use dumbbells.
I’ve actually had men and women ask my what the lift was. For me at least i can lift WAY weight like this than with dumbells, and it looks badass.
“The overhead press (or shoulder press, or strict press, or just “press”) is superior to the bench press in that it works the whole body”
They primarily work different muscle groups (deltoids vs. pecs). Ideally, one does both.
@John,
Handstand push ups are an excellent body-weight alternative to the overhead press.
To help train for them, you can start with just simple hand stands against the wall – but do it so your face is facing the wall, this puts your body in the correct ‘hollow-body’ position.
Once you can hold your weight that way, slowly lower your head to the ground doing a hand stand negative to help build your strength to a regular hand stand pushup.
I alternate this with bench press throughout the week. I have found a seated overhead press puts one more at risk for injury. Great exercise, the overhead press.
Love this lift… and hate it for the slow slow gains. My only difference in form is leaning from the hips rather than just pulling the neck back to get the bar up to lockout. Seems to keep everything tighter
This is super helpful. I started the Strong 5×5 routine since reading the Testosterone series and couldn’t find any good videos on doing this lift correctly. Thanks.
I started week 5 of stronglifts this week. This lift is by far my favorite. It’s so challenging and feels so great!
One thing that seems to vary widely regarding form: Rippetoe says that elbows should be forward and down, while this illustration seems to say elbows should be forward and in front.
Also, grip width: some say elbow width; Rippetoe says slightly wider than shoulder width.
Also, I love Starting Strength and Strong 5×5. I have never lifted diligently before. I have never stuck with a plan (what plan?) for more than a few days, but the 5×5 has changed everything. After five short weeks I have found a renewed zest and pride in life. I love striving to get stronger each week. I am so blessed to have kept this habit so far.
Do not lock elbows out. Ever, unless you are in a competition. Repeated locking out of your joints such as elbows while lifting heavy weights will injury those joints over time. When exercising, almost lock out.
There’s been alot of knitpicking over the whole Know Your Lifts series, but the bottom line is these are great general guidelines on form for good complex movements when the majority of the male population is going to the gym to do a chest and bicep isolation exercises. These exercises will make you functionally stronger, more athletic, and, in my opinion, better looking than the aforementioned exercises.
OHP is awesome, but if you’ve got chronic shoulder problems, be careful. It might be safer to do it with dumbbells (particularly using a neutral grip). Some people will need to just not do it–that’s a damn shame as it’s a great lift but there it is.
Things to note: find a grip that’s comfortable for you. I like just past shoulder width.
Don’t lock out-stop just short.
Keep your elbows under your wrist.
Come down to your frigging upper chest on each rep. Don’t stop at your eyes or your mouth. Go below the chin.
I alternate OHP and bench press for my upper body days.
Also–I thought my 225 OHP was good :P 315…I think I’ve seen 3-4 people manage that.
As other have mentioned here, if you want to save a couple bucks and get some serious shoulders start praticing handstand push ups, you can find progressions from vey easy too end result. People that think HSPU are only for people that do crossfit, look into old srongmen, most did handstand push ups.
If you have ever dislocated your shoulder, stay far away from this lift. I was doing these warming up with only the bar and my shoulder came out just like that. Granted, my arm muscles were very fatigued. Still, I advise not doing it if you have had similar joint issues. It is a great lift and I wish I could still do it.
Always lock out your joints unless going for hypertrophy, in which case there is a good argument for the added TUT, time under tension. The joints were designed to lock out and the ligaments and tendons need strengthened as well as the muscles. This is the major failing of the Charles Atlas approach. The muscles don’t know any better, maximum contraction with a VW or a pencil will elicit the same response, but the tendons and ligaments aren’t going to be fooled.
Last month I was doing this exercise, and felt/heard a pop in my shoulder. I tore my labrum and rotator cuff while lifting only 125 lbs. I’m looking at surgery and 8 months of rehab.
Moral of the story: don’t be a tough guy. Start light my dudes, and work your more neglected shoulder muscles, too.
This is a great series! Do you or are you going to sell these as posters? I would love to have them in my home gym.
I was pissed when the squat discussion devolved into rabbling after Rippetoe’s name came up.
Here in this article, no better name can be spoken. I would say that arguably the most important part of Rip’s legacy is the work he has done to bring the Press back into its rightful place as the ultimate man-lift, the true dick-measurer, and just one of the most productive exercises on which to work your ass off.
That’s actually a very solid instruction on the military press. Nice job. I’m proud. Also, sick mustache.
This is one of the big 4 (bench, overhead, deadlift, squat). I cannot disagree with the fact that this is one of the cornerstones of a solid weightlifting program. I must add that you can throw variations of this into the mix. One of my go-to’s is the single hand kettlebell clean and press. It is an old school move that hits a good roundout of muscle groups, and stresses the body in a dynamic fashion. As every body is a bit different, and we go to the gym for different reasons, I welcome feedback
I hope we will see these in your store soon I a 5X5 ‘er and i want these in frames in my man cave