Execution:
- Assume a standing position with your feet parallel and shoulder width apart. For better balance you can also stand with one foot slightly in front of the other.
- Grasp the barbell slightly wider than shoulder width apart with a pronated (palms down) grip.
- Curl the bar up to shoulder level so that your elbows are pointed downward and to the side.
- In the final position the bar should be high on the upper chest.
- The bar should rest on the hands with the wrists slightly hyperextended.
- Inhale and hold your breath as you press the bar upward until your arms are fully extended or locked out with the shoulders elevated.
- As you reach the uppermost position, exhale and when the arms are completely straight or locked, rest momentarily.
- When ready for the next repetition, inhale and hold your breath as you lower the bar to the initial position and then reverse directions and repeat.
- Keep the bar under control at all times.
TRAINING TIPS
- The breathing pattern used is needed to stabilize your trunk to protect the spine and to create a base against which the shoulder girdle and shoulder joint muscles can contract. Maintaining a rigid midsection also helps keep you from bending your spine during execution and thus prevents injury.
- When executing the overhead press in a standing position, you must have strong midsection muscles (abdominals, lower erector spinae). They contract isometrically to stabilize your spine in a very firm position. This is the key to maintaining good balance.
- To help prevent a loss of balance when executing this exercise look straight ahead and keep your head in its normal upright position. Looking up may cause you to lose balance and fall backwards. Also, looking up and leaning backward places your spine in a hyperextended position. In this case, you will be simulating an incline press or if the arching is very severe, a bench press! If you are using maximum weights, this extreme spinal position can cause lower back problems.
- It is important to fully extend or to lock the arms in the top position to get full contraction of the deltoid and triceps. However, do not lock out if you have hyperextended elbows or a tendency to hyperextend the elbows. Doing so can cause injury to the elbow.
- When doing the overhead press with the elbows out to the sides there is less of a tendency to lean backwards during the upward push. It can be done in a standing or sitting position. but the standing position is preferred. In the seated variant it is more difficult to balance yourself and a back support is usually needed.
- If you execute the exercise with the elbows in and pointed forward it is known as the military press . It is similar to the jerk portion of the clean and jerk weightlifting event. In this variant, which is often used with very heavy weights, the exercise is often done with a push of the arms and legs (known as the push-press). These actions helps to overcome the inertia of the bar to get it moving upward. Also,In this narrow grip variant you exhale and stop in the down position before inhaling and pushing upward.
- When doing the classic military press you assume a narrower grip with the elbows point forward when the bar is at rest high on the chest. In this variant you may find a stride stance (one leg in front of the other) more comfortable which may also provide you with greater stability.
MAJOR MUSCLES INVOLVED In the shoulder joint the major muscles involved are the anterior and middle deltoid, upper pectoralis major and the coracobrachialis. In the shoulder girdle the major muscles involved for moving the scapula to allow for the shoulder joint actions are the serratus anterior and the upper and lower trapezius. In the elbow joint the triceps is the main muscle involved The deltoid is a 3-headed muscle that covers the front ,side and back of the shoulder from the scapula to the middle of the upper arm. The pectoralis major is a large muscle that covers almost the entire chest. From its attachment on the arm just above the deltoid attachment it spreads out to the clavicle on top, sternum in the middle and cartilages of the first six ribs on the bottom. The coracobrachialis is a small muscle located deep beneath the deltoid and the pectoralis major on the front and inner side of the arm. The serratus anterior lies on the outer surface of the ribs at the sides and is covered by the scapula at the rear and the pectoralis major in front. It is often mistaken for the external obliques. The trapezius is a large, flat sheet of muscle located on the upper middle of the back. It runs from the base of the skull, to the posterior border of the clavicle and the last thoracic vertebrae. The supraspinatus is a small but powerful muscle and is covered by the upper middle part of the trapezius. MUSCLE ACTION In the shoulder joint the major muscles used are involved in shoulder joint abduction. In this action the upper arm travels in the lateral (side) plane from a position alongside and in line with the body upward to an overhead position. The middle deltoid and triceps play the key roles. The upper pecs come into play after the arms pass the horizontal position. In the shoulder girdle the muscles are involved in scapulae upward rotation. In this, the right scapula turns counter-clockwise and the left scapula turns clockwise when viewed from the rear. In addition, the scapulae are elevated (move directly upward) during execution by the upper traps. In the elbow joint there is extension in which the forearm moves away from the upper arm until the arms straighten. SPORTS USES For bodybuilders, the overhead press is most important for development of the deltoids, especially the middle portion. Also strongly emphasized are the upper traps and triceps. The actions involved in the overhead press are used in a multitude of sports. It plays a role in weightlifting (clean and jerk, snatch), in gymnastics (vaulting push off the horse, hand stand press), tumbling (pushing off the floor), hand balancing (pushing and holding the top performer), and in the recovery strokes in swimming. It is used for (but not specific to ) overhead hitting actions, as for example, in the tennis serve and smash, ceiling shot in racquetball and in the overhead clear in badminton. In basketball, it is important for getting the arms up for a rebound and in volleyball, for blocking. Shot putters also find it important for partial development of the muscles involved in their sport.