Weight and reps
Overhead Press (Barbell)
The overhead press is the strict standing barbell lift: bar from the front of the shoulders to locked out overhead, with no knee bend and no leg drive. It is the heaviest genuinely overhead thing most people will ever do, and because the only thing holding you up is you, it trains the trunk almost as much as the shoulders.
How to do it
- Bar on the front delts, elbows slightly in front of it, and squeeze your glutes.
- Move your head back out of the way, then press up and bring it back under the bar.
Common mistakes
- Leaning back until it becomes a standing incline press.
What it trains
- Front delts
- press the bar off the shoulders — the prime mover and the limiting muscle
- Triceps
- lock the elbows out at the top, where most missed reps happen
- Side delts
- assist once the bar is past your face and the arms start moving outward
- Abs and lower back
- stop you leaning backwards under a load sitting directly above your spine
- Traps
- shrug up under the bar at lockout to support it
Variations and alternatives
Common questions
How do I get the bar past my head?
Move your head, not the bar. Push your chin back as the bar leaves your shoulders so it travels in a straight vertical line, then push your head forward through the gap once it is past. Pressing around your face is what makes the lift feel impossible.
Is it cheating to lean back on an overhead press?
A slight lean at the start is normal and unavoidable — bending backwards through the whole rep is an incline press. The test is whether your ribcage stays down and your hips stay under the bar; if your lower back is doing the arching, the weight is too heavy.
Why has my overhead press stalled when everything else is going up?
Because it progresses in the smallest absolute steps of any barbell lift — the muscle group moving the bar is small, so 2.5 kg is a much bigger jump here than on a deadlift. Get a pair of 1.25 kg plates, or even micro plates, and the stall usually disappears.
Should I press from a rack or clean it up?
A rack, unless you are specifically training the clean. Cleaning the bar to your shoulders costs energy the press needs and caps your press at whatever you can clean, which for most lifters is the wrong limiter.
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Shoulders
