Overhead Press Questions..

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MrEgo

Senior member
Jan 17, 2003
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Since I've just started doing this recently, I've found that there are a few things that I could be doing wrong or inefficiently.

First, does everyone prefer to do this sitting down in a seat or standing up and lifting off of a squat rack? Personally, I was able to do 175lbs sitting down in the seat, but my body naturally wants to lean back a little bit, causing the lift to be a little bit easier than it should be. Standing up, I'm barely able to do 135lbs, but standing up seems to give me a better workout.

Also, I'm lowering the bar down to my upper chest on the downward motion. It hurts my shoulders too much if I try to lower it behind my head. Is there a "correct" technique to the downward and upward motions? Like.. should I be moving my head forward.. should I be looking up or down, should I have my back arched inward, should my feet be shoulder width apart, etc?

Thanks for the help.
 
BlackTigers

BlackTigers

Diamond Member
Jan 15, 2006
4,491
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When I press, I always, always do it standing, in front of the head.

Usually, I can get a squat rack to do this from. But at my one gym, there's only one and I'm going to give it to squatters if they need it, so sometimes I have to get creative. I'll walk over to a bench, steal a bar, and power clean it up. Rep, and repeat.

I move the bar from just below my clavicles, to full lockout (shrug traps!) at the top. That's as full of a ROM as I feel comfortable moving my shoulders. Also, make the upper part of the movement quick - if you pause the bar you lose a rep or two from the est, usually.
 
SociallyChallenged

SociallyChallenged

Elite
Mar 22, 2002
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Doing it standing will improve overall core strength. While seated, you're hyperextending your back and making it an incline bench press. That's why you can lift so much. You're supposed to keep your body nearly perpendicular to the ground. If you lean back, you risk injuring your vertebral spine and everything in side. So tips: do it standing, do full range of motion (from racked position to lock out for each rep), keep your core tight, and don't lean back. Looking at the Stronglifts site should definitely help you.
 
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brikis98

Diamond Member
Jul 5, 2005
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The press should be done standing up. This forces you to do a lot more work to balance the load (which means your entire upper body is working) and does not allow you to arch the back as much and turn it into an incline bench press. Doing it behind the head can put the shoulder in a vulnerable position and lead to injury, so most people are best off doing the press in front of the head. The proper ROM for the press is from the bar racked on your shoulders (similar to how it would be in a front squat or clean) to your hands fully extended and the bar directly over the spine (NOT out in front of your face!). To get the weight to your shoulders, either use a squat/power rack or clean it from the floor.

Get a copy of Starting Strength for an excellent tutorial on the press. The Stronglifts OH Press Tutorial is also a decent free resource.
 
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Lamont Burns

Platinum Member
Dec 13, 2002
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135 is nothing to sneeze at, not sure what you weigh. I can't do 135 and I weigh 215. Close...

OHP gives me more progression issues than any other lift. I have my ass so clenched I could crack peanuts.
 
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MrEgo

Senior member
Jan 17, 2003
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I weigh 190, give or take a few lbs.

Thanks for the tips. It looks like I was doing it properly by looking at the guy in the youtube video from stronglifts.

Does anyone in here have a 1:1 ratio of OHP to body weight? That seems like a kickass acheivement if so.
 
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brikis98

Diamond Member
Jul 5, 2005
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MrEgo said:
Does anyone in here have a 1:1 ratio of OHP to body weight? That seems like a kickass acheivement if so.
Click to expand...

I pressed 195 at a bodyweight of 187 last October. My goal by the end of 2010 is to press 225, though the lift is so hard to make progress on that I'm not sure how likely that'll be.
 
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MrEgo

Senior member
Jan 17, 2003
874
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Awesome job on the press.

Heh.. there's something about that milestone of 225. It must be the double 45's on each side that looks cool? :D
 
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brikis98

Diamond Member
Jul 5, 2005
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MrEgo said:
Heh.. there's something about that milestone of 225. It must be the double 45's on each side that looks cool? :D
Click to expand...

When you spend enough time weight lifting, you count everything in 45's. 135, 225, 315, 405, 495... :)
 
BlackTigers

BlackTigers

Diamond Member
Jan 15, 2006
4,491
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brikis98 said:
When you spend enough time weight lifting, you count everything in 45's. 135, 225, 315, 405, 495... :)
Click to expand...

Haha, after awhile thats how a lot of people set goals.

4 plate dead, 3 plate squat, two plate bench are my currents :p
 
Koing

Koing

Elite Member <br> Super Moderator<br> Health and F
Oct 11, 2000
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Very few people do a bodyweight military press! It's very hard!

When you do it seated how upright is the chair? If the chairs is vertical pressing from seated is really had man! I'd be no where near 175lbs!

I've done 187lbs @ 199lbs

Doing it from behind head is MUCH MUCH harder then from the front!

Koing
 
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MrEgo

Senior member
Jan 17, 2003
874
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I'm just going to forget about doing it seated anymore. The way that station is set up really hurts my shoulders since I have to bend so far backwards just to lift the bar off of the rack that it's sitting on. It basically requires that I have a spotter, which isn't really a bad thing, but it is an inconvenience.

The chair is vertical to the ground, but I tend to slide a little bit when lifting the bar off of the rack, so I'm not completely vertical after lifting off.. which is why I'm able to lift so much more by sitting in the seat.
 
PingSpike

PingSpike

Lifer
Feb 25, 2004
21,758
603
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I only have my home gym, and my bench doesn't go full vertical so I've only pressed a few times seated. I also found the whole racking/deracking really awkward like you did when seated. I thought about using a chair for a few seconds until I imagined the legs of my chair blowing out and me dropping 100+ pounds on my face. :p

The weird thing was I felt weaker when I was seated (didn't really have back support) than when I stand. I thought I was maybe cheating a bit when I was standing but my spine seems to stay pretty upright and I cleaned up my heel raise issues a long time ago. It might just be I wasn't used to the movement. I don't know what it is. There's this funny picture of this guy from the 70s pressing and he's leaning so far back it looks like he's doing about a 1 notch up incline bench press. Hilarious and dangerous!

Press is a bitch, but it is my favorite lift. I've been able to continue slow but steady progress by using little pieces of pipe to add sub-5lb increments to the bar. I want to get my 3x5 up to 145 this year and then I should be able to do 1 rep BW. I've got maybe 17lb to crawl up to that so I think I'm good.
 
Jeffg010

Jeffg010

Diamond Member
Feb 22, 2008
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1990 when I was 17 I did a Military Press of 135lbs @ 127lbs weight. The school record for my weight class was 135. I did this on a Monday and told my gym teacher that I tide the record and when I was ready that he would confirm the record. Dumb ass me at the time decided that if I do Military Presses every day for the rest of the week I'm could get the record the following week. Well come Thursday I blow out my left should from doing way to many presses. I learned a hard lesson that over training is a very bad thing. With less then a month left in the school year I was done.
 
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Whisper

Diamond Member
Feb 25, 2000
5,394
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Weighing in at ~170lbs., I can do a few (on a good day) reps @175 lbs. while seated. I've done behind the head for pretty much the entirety of my weight-lifting "career", so it's what I'm used to and it feels fine. However, I'll likely switch to going in front of the head soon to preemptively avoid screwing something up.

When standing, I always start in front of the head, as behind the head just seems like it'd be asking for trouble. And yes, standing is significantly more difficult than seated, even when compared with behind-the-head seated presses. I could possibly do 175lbs. while standing (once or twice tops) if I started my routine with it, but I honestly don't know that I'd feel comfortable with it.

Edit: You could always just alternate between seated and standing. Also, you could try standing dumbbell presses, as it's a bit easier to go in a linear motion, since the bar isn't there and thus you aren't required to shift your head and torso around very much.
 
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Eric62

Senior member
Apr 17, 2008
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Whisper said:
Looks a lot like the way I do them when seated. Don't think I'm brave enough to try behind-the-head while standing. Kudos.
Click to expand...

I'm in a cage with the crossbars set high enough that I can easily duck out from under the bar. Something I've had to do many times over the years...
 
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