The overhead press is also great at working the medial and lateral heads of our triceps. However, note that the overhead press doesn't work the long head of our triceps (full explanation).
Mid Range Motion
As the weight moves past shoulder level: Deltoids (all three heads - anterior, lateral, and posterior) continue to work. Triceps become more active in extending the arms. Trapezius muscles (upper back) engage to stabilise the shoulder blades.
Muscles Worked by the Overhead Press
Deltoids: Primarily works the shoulder muscles, including all three heads of the deltoids. Triceps: Engages the back of the upper arms to assist in extending the elbows. Upper Chest: Involves the upper portion of the pectoral muscles. Trapezius: Helps stabilize the shoulder blades.
Using the shoulder press will target all 3 heads, however, the anterior and lateral heads will be used most. During the upward pressing movement, the anterior head will take most of the weight while the load is focused in front of your centre of gravity.
In summary, while 135 lbs is a reasonable starting point for a novice lifter of the same weight, ensuring proper form and gradually increasing the weight as strength improves is essential for safe and effective training.
Even among the guys who have been lifting for over a decade, only 2% of them have ever pressed 225 pounds overhead.
You'll fit in just fine at any casual commercial gym. Most experienced lifters do their working sets with 135–200 pounds on the bar. If you want a more impressive bench press, aim for at least a few casual reps with 225 pounds.
Overhead pressing can be challenging due to the potential strain it places on your shoulders. If your shoulders lack external rotation, pressing heavy weights overhead can lead to shoulder impingement and discomfort. Before incorporating any overhead pressing movement, assess your shoulder mobility and range of motion.
Unlike your other shoulder press variations, such as the military press and overhead press, which focus more on the anterior and lateral deltoid heads, the Arnold Dumbbell Press activates all three deltoid muscle heads: Anterior (front) Lateral (outer) Posterior (rear)
The press isn't just for the shoulders and arms—the standing overhead press is also a great way to work the abdominals and hips, as well as helping to improve your leg strength. The overhead press may be the most effective exercise for developing bigger shoulders, upper back, and triceps.
During the recovery phase of a rotator cuff injury, avoiding overhead lifts with any weight is highly recommended.
The main function of the triceps is to extend the elbow, moving the forearm away from the upper arm. The overhead tricep extension trains this movement in an overhead position, targeting all heads of the tricep with a particular focus on the long head, and helping to strengthen shoulder stability.
The shoulder press is one of the best exercises for strengthening your shoulders and upper back. The biggest benefactor of the shoulder press is the front portion of your shoulder muscle (anterior deltoid) but you'll also be working out your deltoids, triceps, trapezius and pecs.
If you're chasing strength and functional fitness, the Overhead Press is your go-to. For enhancing aesthetics and shoulder width, the Lateral Raise shines. Including both in your routine ensures a balanced approach to strength, mobility, and definition.
The Weighted Chin Up is the best biceps exercise for hitting all three functions (elbow supination, elbow flexion and shoulder flexion) of the biceps with overload. This exercise will help you build strong arm muscles as well as build muscle mass and should be a mainstay in all your upper body workouts.
The best foundational exercise for shoulders is the Barbell Overhead Press because we can create overload and scale with heavier weights over time.
Close-grip bench press
By taking the bar in a narrower grip than your traditional bench press grip, your elbows are much closer to the body when you bring the bar down. This puts much more load through the triceps, making it one of the best tricep exercises for targeting all three heads.
It was too ambiguous. Nobody could agree how much to allow an athlete to lean back. So, they decided to scrap overhead press from competitive weightlifting entirely, leaving only the clean & jerk and the snatch. Shortly after, powerlifting began as an offshoot of weightlifting.
Overhead presses are a classic strength training exercise that help build stronger shoulders and also improve muscle growth in the shoulders. You use your entire body for barbell pressing, but this is also an excellent exercise to work shoulders, upper chest and triceps.
Having a weak overhead press can be the result of many things, such as poor mobility, instability of the shoulders, previous injury, or simply lack of strength.
I've been consistent by several years and I'm still lifting around 190-200 lbs. Giuseppe Dedomenico he asked how rare it was, not how hard is it. Studies say only about 0.4% of the population can bench 225. So the answer is very rare.
Fully grown silverbacks are in actually stronger than 20 adult humans combined. How strong is a Mountain Gorilla? – A Silverback gorilla can lift 4,000 lb (1,810 kg) on a bench press, while a well-trained man can only lift up to 885 lb.
For men, a good starting point is to bench press your own bodyweight. The average American male weighs about 200 pounds. An untrained 198-pound man can usually lift around 135 pounds. Women should aim to bench press 50-75% of their bodyweight.