How to Improve Overhead Press

Shoulder exercises, especially exercise that requires you to push the weight upwards are commonly avoided by both trainers and trainees in a thought that it may harm the shoulder. Possible rotator cuff tear or shoulder impingement are some common concerns. These concerns are there when technique and requirement for the overhead press is not well understood by the trainers or trainees, just like any other exercises. In fact overhead press is the great resource to identify what issue(s) the individual has within their shoulder complex.

Anatomy of the Shoulder

Shoulder structure includes 4 joints. Sternoclavicular joint, acromioclavicular joint, scapulothoracic joint, and glenohumeral joint. Muscles that are responsible for stabilizing and moving those joints are pectoralis major (chest muscle), deltoid (shoulder muscles), trapezius (upper back muscle), and latissimus dorsi (mid-lower back muscle). Latissimus dorsi is not commonly thought as main shoulder muscles, however, it is important muscles in overhead press movement pattern along with it tightness in this muscle may hinder the overhead press mechanic.

Pectoralis major muscles move the humerus or upper arm bone towards the mid section of the body and internal rotation at the glenohumeral joint. Deltoid is responsible for flexion of arm and internal rotation at the glenohumeral joint. Trapezius is responsible for elevating shoulder blade and rotating as the arm moves outward. Latissimus dorsi is responsible for moving the arm towards the body.

There are 4 other muscles that need to be addressed. They are called rotator cuffs. Rotator cuffs can be found in ball and socket joints and for shoulder rotator cuffs, it consists of 4 muscles called, subscapularis, infraspinatus, teres minor, and supraspinatus. These muscles are set on scapula, or shoulder blade, and connected to top portion of humerus, or upper arm, forming a cuff at the shoulder joint. You can find similar structure in other ball and socket joints such as hip.

Mechanics of Overhead Press

When raising the arms vertically, the shoulder blade will also go through lateral rotation along the thoracic region, especially when the hands travel above the head. Because of this rotation in scapula, arms can be raised freely. Therefore, glenohumeral joints along with scapulothoracic joints need to be loose in order for the arm to be raised above the head.

If the muscles surrounding the shoulder blades are tight (from computer work, long distance driving, poor posture, etc.), rotational movement of scapula can be limited and may impact the range to raise the arms. This may also place more workload on rotator cuffs to compensate and may lead to injury such as inflammation and tear. Some of the muscles that gets tight to limit the rotation of shoulder blades are trapezius and latissimus dorsi. Some of the activities that can lead to tight trapezius and latissimus dorsi are computer work, and long distance driving. Another possibility is not exercising the back muscles compared with chest muscles. This may lead to kyphotic posture where the shoulders are rounded forward and thoracic are also rounded forward. This will limit the shoulder blade movement and may lead to shoulder issues.

Improving Overhead Press

To improve your overhead press you will need to have mobility around arms and shoulder blades and strengthen the muscles surrounding them. To loosen up the shoulder blade I like to use banded lats stretch. This will allow the lats to stretch and create more movement in shoulder blade.

Rotator cuff will also need to be prepared to work. Banded face pull can be good exercise to start. This can be done with cable face pull, but just for the convenience I like to use the band.

Overhead press can be improved by strengthening individual arms and opposite movement, which will be pulling work. In my personal training, I use single arm dumbbell press and pull ups. These exercises can be substituted with other exercises such as lat pulldown, trx row, cuban press, and so on.

Here is the sample overhead press routine.

Warm up

2 sets

60 seconds per side Banded Lat Stretch

15 reps Banded Face Pull

Strength

Barbell or Dumbbell Overhead Press - if shoulder issue is present, instead of barbell, PVC pipe can be a good place to start.

Accessory Exercise

3-5 sets

15 rep single arm over head press

3-6 Pull Ups

To push object above your head is the skill that we all should be able to do. If you travel frequently, carry on luggage can be up to 35lb and need to be stored in overhead bin. At home, you may need to store things into cabinet above your head. May not be as heavy as 35lb but when the movement is restricted, even coffee cup can feel challenging. I do realize there are trainers avoiding overhead presses due to possible injury. However, with proper application, overhead press can be performed properly without issues.

Kota Shimada