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Overhead Pressing Movements
General guidelines for all overhead pressing movements
(unless specifically stated otherwise)
- always assess your active range of motion beforehand (even from set to set): keeping hands slightly outside of shoulder-width, the goal is to maintain a position of 90º external rotation (a vertical forearm) throughout where you’ll be strongest in the range. This is not as common as you think, if necessary, bring butt forward slightly to help achieve
- stabilize weight in-between the chest & back ideally (neutral, no retraction / protraction)
- big stretch at the bottom, lower as far as can be actively controlled while maintaining scapula retraction and depression (keep the abs shortened)
- think about squeezing the elbows together on the ascent (not about bringing the hands together if using dumbbells); really reach for the ceiling at the top.
Dumbbell Overhead Press
Bottom position (neutral-grip variation)
Top position (neutral-grip variation)
- Exercise Specific:
- ideally perform seated, remembering to keep the abs ‘tight’ throughout.
Standing Overhead Press – Dumbbell or Barbell
- Exercise Specific:
- place one foot slightly in front of the other for stability if desired
- minimize any backward lean (try to keep the abs ‘tight’ throughout ideally)
- no pushing / bouncing from the knees (unless specifically prescribed to do a ‘Power Press’).
Dumbbell Arnold Press
Start position
Ready for overhead press portion
- Exercise Specific:
- begin with hands internally rotated (facing the body) with wrists directly above elbows
- externally rotate arms out and back until reaching the bottom position of a standard ‘dumbbell overhead press’
- perform a dumbbell overhead press (both the concentric and eccentric)
- once at the bottom, internally rotate the DB’s back to the start position (think about pulling the elbows together).
Prone Incline Dumbbell Press
- Exercise Specific:
- choice of incline angle is variable, though perhaps begin at 60º, then over time (and / or depending on ability), progress to 45º, then ideally to 30º
- facing the bench, bring chest right up against the pad
- raise dumbbells straight up relative to body position (eg. if using a 45º incline, body angle will be at 45º, therefore weights should be raised along a 45º path of movement)
- fight to ensure that the arms / dumbbells do not descend towards the ground, maintain the relevant angle / plane of movement throughout (be prepared to go light on these).
Machine Shoulder Press – including Hammer Strength
Hammer Strength depicted
- Exercise Specific:
- ‘shove’ elbows inwards throughout (‘intent’) while pushing torso into the back support (like you’re trying to push yourself away from the weight, and not the weight away from you).
Prone Machine Press – including Hammer Strength
Start position
End position
- Exercise Specific:
- ‘face’ the seat / bench of the machine press (the bench should be set at a around 75º)
- only come down to just short of where tension is removed from the delts at the bottom
- ‘shove’ the elbows towards each other throughout (‘intent’).
Smith Machine Reverse-Grip Shoulder Press
- Exercise Specific:
- keep arms ‘slightly’ outside of the shoulder joint and wrists above the elbows perpendicular to the ground
- relax arms (push only with shoulders)
- stop just short of locking out triceps at the top
- it’s acceptable to perform this exercise on a ‘slightly’ inclined bench if need be.
Barbell Clean and Press
- Exercise Specific:
- Start position:
> take an overhand grip on the bar with arms slightly outside of shoulder-width where forearms are perpendicular to the ground
> feet shoulder-width apart. - Step 1:
> lift the bar keeping back flat, chest up and stand tall
> lower the bar to knee-level (or just below) by bringing the hips back a few inches bending at the knees
> from here, explosively push / jump upwards from the glutes and knees so forcefully that the feet may temporarily leave the ground. - Step 2:
> as the ascension begins, simultaneously drag / raise elbows up high (in a style similar to an upright row but also ‘shrugging’ the traps), before then proceeding to very quickly drop the body underneath the bar (so that not only is the bar now supported from underneath with palms facing the ceiling, wrists turned back and elbows up perpendicular to the ground), the movement now essentially transitions into either a full or half squat (depending on personal preference)
> avoid ‘reverse-curling’ the weight up when flipping / getting underneath it. - Step 3:
> when at the bottom of the chosen squat position, once again explosively ascend / jump back up (feet again may leave the ground) while forcefully pushing the barbell upwards until finishing overhead with arms locked (really ‘pop’ the weight up at the top)
> try to avoid leaning backwards and extending the arms behind the body
> on the way up, it may also be beneficial to swiftly split the feet by bringing one foot backwards so that they end staggered at the top (a tactic to potentially improve any balance issues and / or to add protection to the lower back). - Step 4:
> lower the bar to the bottom position of an overhead barbell press, then very quickly turn the hands over / roll the shoulders, thus almost effortlessly returning the bar to the starting position
> don’t reverse-curl it back down. - Some Final Points:
> there should be no ‘muscling up’ of the weight throughout (besides at the bottom of the squat / push-press portion) – aim for near constant inertia / momentum and continuous fast movements of the bar
> try to ensure that the bar travels straight up and down at all times, never forward or backwards.
