Front delts exercise
Seated Barbell Overhead PressHow to do it, with form in numbers
- Main muscles
- Front delts
- Also works
- Side delts, Triceps
- Level
- Intermediate
How to do it
How do you do the Seated Barbell Overhead Press?
- Sit on an upright bench with your back, head and hips on the pad.
- Grip the bar slightly wider than your shoulders, palms forward.
- Press the bar straight up until your arms are straight overhead.
- Lower it slowly to just under your chin, tipping your head back slightly.
- Press back up, bringing your head forward once the bar passes.
Cues
- Elbows slightly in front of the bar
- Back stays on the pad
- Finish with the bar over your shoulders
Common mistakes
- Arching the lower back off the pad; brace your abs and keep contact.
- Lowering the bar behind your neck; always lower to the front.
- Pressing the bar forward, away from your face; keep it close.
Form in detail
What does good form look like?
Starting position
Seated on an upright shoulder-press bench with a fixed back pad at 85–90° to the seat (vertical or nearly so). Buttocks, upper back and head touch the pad; feet flat on the floor about shoulder-width apart, knees about 90°. This is the "five-point contact" position (head, upper back, buttocks, both feet). Wrists stiff and stacked over the forearm, not bent back. Shoulder blades set down against the pad; lumbar curve neutral.
The movement
Bar travels in a near-vertical line. On the way down the head tips back slightly (about 10–15° neck extension) so the bar can clear the chin and nose; on the way up the head comes back to neutral once the bar has passed the forehead, and the bar finishes over the shoulder joints. Elbows stay pointed forward and under the bar; they do not flare straight out to the sides. Torso, hips and feet do not move. Lower back stays on the pad.
End position
(turnaround point): bar at the front of the shoulders, just under the chin and just above the collarbones (target: bar 3–5 cm above the clavicles; never behind the neck). From the side the bar is slightly in front of the face line. Forearms close to vertical seen from the front.
Tempo
Lower 2 s, pause 0.3 s at the chin, press 1.5 s, hold 0.2 s at the top. Consistent with the round-3 standard for the dumbbell press (2 s up, 2–3 s down, ACSM moderate speed).
Form in numbers
What are the angles and distances?
| Measure | Target | Good range | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Back pad angle | 90° | 80–90° | |
| Grip width (× shoulder width) | 1.3× | 1.2–1.5× | |
| Elbow at top | 175° | 170–180° (no snap) | |
| Bar at top | over shoulder joints | over ears to over back of head line | |
| Bar at bottom | 4 cm above clavicles, under chin | chin height to touching clavicles | |
| Neck extension as bar passes face | 10° | 5–15° | |
| Knee angle (seated) | 90° | 80–100° |
The targets our 3D demo was built to, from the references below. Bodies differ, so treat the ranges as a guide for your own build.
For coaches
Use this demo in your clients’ programs
The Seated Barbell Overhead Press is in Trainaq’s exercise library. Add it to a workout, and your client sees this demo in the free Trainaq app above the sets they log.
Sources
