Overhead Press Form

Prop up your phone and RepSensei counts your overhead press reps and flags some visible issues, right on your device. Video never leaves your phone.

How to do it

1. Set the bar in the rack at about collarbone height. Grip just outside your shoulders, palms facing forward.
2. Unrack with the bar resting on the front of your shoulders, elbows slightly in front of the bar, forearms vertical.
3. Stand with feet about hip width apart. Squeeze your glutes and brace your midsection so your ribs stay down.
4. Pull your chin back slightly and press the bar straight up past your face.
5. As the bar passes your forehead, move your head forward under it so the bar finishes over your mid-foot, arms locked.
6. Lower the bar back to your shoulders under control, pulling your head back to clear the path.

Coaching cues

Squeeze the glutes

Tight glutes stop the hips drifting forward and the lower back arching.

Head through the window

Getting under the bar at the top stacks it over your shoulders and mid-foot.

Bar in a straight line

Moving your head, not the bar, keeps the bar path short and vertical.

Common mistakes and how to fix them

Leaning back to press

Turning the press into a standing incline press arches and loads the lower back. Fix: Lower the weight, squeeze the glutes and keep your ribs pulled down throughout.

Pressing the bar around the face

The bar loops forward, so it ends up in front of you and feels much heavier. Fix: Pull your chin back at the start and move your head under the bar once it passes.

Not finishing the lockout

Stopping with the bar in front of your head leaves the shoulders straining instead of supporting. Fix: Finish with arms straight and biceps by your ears, then shrug up slightly.

Elbows too far behind the bar

The forearms tilt, so force goes forward instead of up. Fix: Start with elbows a touch in front of the bar and forearms vertical from the side.

Using the legs without meaning to

A knee dip turns it into a push press and hides weak points. Fix: Lock the knees and keep the legs still unless you are doing push presses on purpose.

Muscles worked

Main: Shoulders, Triceps. Also: Traps, Abs, Obliques, Glutes.

Who should take care

If you cannot raise your arms fully overhead without arching your back, start with seated dumbbells or a landmine press. Shoulder pain during the press is a reason to stop and see a physiotherapist.

Variations

• Dumbbell Shoulder Press: Easier on the shoulders: each arm finds its own path.
• Seated Barbell Military Press: Easier to control: sitting removes the urge to lean back.
• Machine Shoulder (Military) Press: Easier: a fixed path while you build strength.
• Arnold Dumbbell Press: Variation: a rotating press that adds range for the front shoulders.

Filming your overhead press

Film side-on at shoulder height, two to three metres back, with room above your head for the lockout. You can track it with the RepSensei camera, which counts reps and can flag some visible issues from one angle; it cannot see everything. See how to film your form.

Questions

Should I press standing or seated?

Standing trains your trunk and is the classic lift. Seated is easier to control and useful if you tend to lean back.

Why does the overhead press go up so slowly?

The shoulders are smaller muscles than the chest, so progress is slower. Small jumps of 1 to 2.5 kg work better than big ones.

Is a slight lean back normal?

A small lean to clear your face is normal. A big backward bend from the lower back is not.

See the Standing Military Press exercise guide with a 3D figure.

More form guides

• Bench Press form
• Push-Up form
• Triceps Dip form
• Face Pull form
• Lateral Raise form

General guidance, not medical advice. Stop if anything hurts. The camera can miss things, so no issue seen doesn't mean perfect form.