Ask any trainer worth their hourly rate and they’ll tell you that strength training is most effective when basic exercises are done well. Which means proper form. And overhead press is both one of the most effective exercises and one of the ones most exercisers mis-perform. So, Warrior, I’ve got my top five tips for overhead press!
Before I dive it to the nitty gritty, it is important to understand why proper form for any overhead press exercise is so clutch. And I can answer the question in two words: your shoulders. See, shoulders are pretty amazing joints. They have the ability to move in ways no other joint can. But with all that mobility comes an increased risk of injury. Shoulder injuries can be some of the toughest to manage. Which is why it is crazy important to preform overhead presses correctly.
My first tip is to make sure you are properly warmed up. Now, strength trainers do a lot of, uh, interesting warm up activities for shoulders. The only thing you need to remember is to do a general cardio warm up for at least five minutes followed by a specific warm up for your shoulders. I prefer using the motions you are about to do as a guide and doing un- or minimally weighted versions. In fact, this one is a great tip for any strength workout, not just shoulders and overhead press.
Specifically for overhead press, you’ll want to do some unweighted front and lateral raises, as well as mimicking the actual pressing motion. Which leads me to tip two: take your time. As you are doing the prep work, let your shoulders talk to you. If any part of the motion feels painful or if you feel tension, popping, or creaking, you’ll want to modify the movement path for the exercise. Taking your time also means that your brain will properly engage your muscles. Always clutch for strength moves.
Overhead press is generally taught to be completed with everything at right angles. Elbows 90 degrees and upper arms 90 degrees from the torso. Thing is, this positioning is not only uncomfortable for many, it is can be darn near impossible for others. So, don’t beat yourself up if during the warm up prep your body tells you to modify your position. The easiest way to modify is to bring your elbows in slightly towards center. Five or 10 degrees is usually enough and this change won’t affect the muscle input too much. Just enough to take the pressure off the joint.
Once you’ve got the prep done and you’ve got your motion down, it’s time to pick your support. Overhead presses can be done either seated or standing. And you should pick the position that you feel stable in and also allows your spine to maintain length. Sounds weird, I know, but as much as your shoulders are important to protect, so is your spine. I have TMJ which is typically triggered when my cervical spine (and the associated musculature) undergoes compression, so I generally choose to perform overhead presses standing because I find it easier to keep my spine long that way. Obviously, your mileage may vary, but my point remains, keep your spine long.
Which brings me to my last tip, be mindful of the weight. I know, I know, it is important to lift heavy things but I’ll say it again… protect your shoulders. As with any strength exercise, it is important to make sure that you can complete each rep with proper form. That means you shouldn’t be leaning forward, shouldn’t be using your legs for a bump, shouldn’t be swaying and shouldn’t have your shoulders shrugged (see previous tip) at any point during the lift. If you are, you need to cut back on how much you are lifting.
Long story short for overhead presses, protect your shoulders and protect your spine. As long as you are doing those things, this is a great lift with a ton of benefits.
Until next time, be well friends!
