Overhead Press

What it is

This foundational strength exercise involves pressing a barbell directly overhead from your upper chest. It primarily develops your shoulder muscles, specifically the deltoids, and also heavily engages your triceps. This compound movement is excellent for building significant upper body strength and stability.

Technique tips

• Grip the barbell slightly wider than your shoulders.
• Maintain a stable base with your feet shoulder-width apart.
• Brace your core tightly to protect your lower back.
• Exhale as you press the weight up, inhale as you lower it.
• Press the bar directly overhead in a straight vertical line.
• Briefly move your head back slightly as the bar passes.

How to track your progress

Log the weight and reps of each set. Straddly turns every set into an estimated one-rep max, so a heavier single and a strong set of eight both count as progress, and it flags a personal record the moment you beat your best.