# Barbell Overhead Press (Standing): how to do it

- Main muscles: front delts
- Also works: side delts, triceps, upper chest
- Equipment: barbell
- Level: intermediate
- 3D demo (side view): https://media.trainaq.com/exercises/barbell_overhead_press/7f169493d7/side-m-720.mp4

## Steps

1. Grip the bar just outside your shoulders and rest it on your collarbones.
2. Stand tall, feet shoulder-width, squeeze your glutes and brace.
3. Press straight up, moving your head back so the bar passes your face.
4. Lock out over the middle of your head, then lower to your collarbones.

## Cues

- Bar over the middle of your feet
- Head through at the top
- Ribs down, glutes tight

## Common mistakes

- Leaning back to finish the press: squeeze glutes and keep ribs down.
- Bar swinging forward round the face: move your head back instead.
- Elbows flared out wide: keep them slightly in front of the bar.

## Starting position

Standing, bar taken from a rack set at about chest or shoulder height. Feet about shoulder-width apart, flat, toes forward or slightly out; knees straight but not locked once the bar is out of the rack. Pronated, closed grip (palms forward, thumbs round). Wrists straight, the bar over the heel of the palm. Torso braced, ribs down, glutes tight, head neutral, eyes forward.

## The movement

Bar travels in a near-vertical line over the mid-foot. On the way up the head moves back a little (slight neck extension) so the bar clears the chin and nose, then moves forward under the bar once it passes the forehead. The elbows swing from in front of the bar to under it and then lock out. Hips, knees and feet stay still; no knee dip, no backward lean. The way down reverses the path, the head moving back again as the bar passes the face.

## End position

(turnaround point): arms straight, elbows at about 175–180° (extended, not snapped). Bar directly over the shoulder joints and the middle of the foot, above the crown of the head. Upper arms close to the ears. Head comes back to neutral under the bar ("through the window"), torso upright with no lean back.

## Tempo

About 1.5 s up, a 0.3 s hold at lockout, about 2 s down, a 0.3 s rest on the collarbones.

## Form in numbers

| Measure | Target | Good range | Sources |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Forearm from vertical, front view, bottom | 0° | 0–10° |  |
| Bar at the bottom | on the collarbones | upper chest to chin height |  |
| Elbow at lockout | 178° | 170–180°, no snap |  |
| Bar horizontal drift from mid-foot line | 0 cm | under 5 cm |  |
| Torso lean back from vertical | 0° | 0–5° |  |

## Sources

1. [[ACE: Standing Shoulder Press](](https://www.acefitness.org/resources/everyone/exercise-library/71/standing-shoulder-press/)
2. [[University of Sussex Sport: Standing Barbell Press](](https://www.sussex.ac.uk/sport/documents/standing-barbelll-press.pdf)
3. [[ExRx.net: Barbell Military Press](](https://exrx.net/WeightExercises/DeltoidAnterior/BBMilitaryPress)
4. [[Achievable CSCS study guide: exercise technique part 5](](https://app.achievable.me/study/cscs/learn/exercise-technique-for-free-weight-and-machine-training-exercise-list-part-5)

Source: https://trainaq.com/exercises/barbell-overhead-press