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Overhead press and deadlift are the lifts that have transferred the most over to real world usefulness. Training them makes moving shit around so much easier.
Working in a shipping warehouse I've seen the same thing. Over the past year I've almost doubled my deadlift and overhead pressing strength from where I started and it has made it much easier to do my job without beating the hell out of myself, especially when I have to put something heavy up on a conveyor that's at eye level. Heavy boxes that I would have struggled with before, now I can just casually push-press them up over head and onto the conveyor.
Awesome man you'll get there soon. I'm strict pressing 285lbs. I'm trying to get to 315. 4 sets of 8, 5, 3, 12 OR 5, 3, 1, 10 were what helped me. Good luck.
75 kg overhead would smash the shit out of me :D can barely desdlift That for like 7 reps :D *175cm 67kg 1 month gym Am doing 25 kg overhead for 8-10 and i just love the movement it makes me wanna Go all out in Contras to Front Raises which are just boring in comparison
True, I don't even care about "it doesn't count when form isn't perfect" just grind and get another one. Also ultimately helps to get the time under tension up by a lot.
The fun part cannot be stressed enough. The OHP is my favourite lift because it's just so fun to lift heavy weights overhead. Lying on a bench and pushing a barbell just isn't as fun to me, so I will always choose the OHP.
Man, the OHP helped my shoulder issues. I started focusing on it last year, and gave it its own day of the week for a workout. My shoulders and arms look fantastic now too. I just hit a 150 lbs PR. I walk around at 185, so I'm super stoked to be able to OHP my body weight eventually 🎉
I'm about the same boat as you right now. I'm around 183 at the moment and just hit a 145pr yesterday. Here's to both of us getting that bodyweight pr soon!
Where exactly did you have shoulder pain? In my case, it's on the Backside. The Infraspinatus, and Teres major and minor on the left are often swollen and hurt. I tried a lot of different angles grip wide, etc. but can´t get rid of it. I would be glad If OHP is the solution to fix it.
I work at FedEx and I can 100% say my job has become a lot easier after working more shoulder strength over time. Bench I don’t think is too applicable for more general real world lifting
It really isn’t. This is why I find it annoying when people’s question is always “hey bro how much you bench?!? Duuuuuuhhhhh” Annoying af, it’s like when tf do you even use your chest muscles outside of benching on a day to day basis?!
@@StrongBodymindandspirit it’s because it’s the most fun for a lot of people. I definitely get why they ask about it. It’s a cool lift. Plus a big chest is incredibly aesthetic
I love strict pressing in the 5-12 range and push pressing in the 1-6 range. You’re absolutely right it’s so fun to throw 50 more lbs overhead with a little push
I’m nearly 50 years old, and I’m still a pretty strong bench presser, but I know several otherwise strong people about my age that simply cannot bench anymore due to shoulder pain. I think it’s a very good idea for younger people to really focus on shoulder strength now if they still want to bench as they get older
OHP helped me immensely in the past. Everyone would come and get me to put the 50kg boxes of frozen meat on the top shelf. For me bench is an accessory to my OHP.
Damn bro. I'm just getting into it with the barbell and I'm starting at a measly 90lbs for 5x5. I think I was doing 115-125 but I started with bench today with supersetting it with dumbbell press so I think it wore out my shoulders and I couldn't get the 115-125. But I'm hoping I can get to 150 at least in the next 3 months
@@ethanpeeler3147 I have a question. Do you think it would be dumb to constantly switch up my workouts? Like 2 weeks I do let's say barbell squat weighted pull ups overhead press then the next week goble squats dumbbell press lateral raises then maybe in 2 weeks after that I do Bulgarian split squats maybe dips pushups... Etc etc... That's just an example. In just saying I like variety. Do you think I can get strong that way instead of just sticking with a routine for a while, if you get me?
@@frankwhite555 generally it’s best to focus on whatever movement you’re prioritizing. If you want to build a better overhead press focus on overhead press instead of bench. Obviously you can and should use other lifts as an accessory to get stronger and strengthen surrounding muscles. Best suggestion I’d make is follow a program and stick to it. If you go to starting strongman there’s a 9 week program that worked for me really well.
@@ethanpeeler3147 oh no, no strongman for me Haha. Just really wanna be strong good physique and in good shape/healthy. I want a little size and a little toneness. But I will focus on specific areas. Thank you.
I had a pretty nasty shoulder “sprain” about 11 months ago. It hurt pretty bad. I couldn’t bench. For some reason, ohp doesn’t hurt. I can do lots of OHP with no pain, and I think it’s even helping me rehab my shoulder to the point my bench is recovering slowly.
Just got a barbell in my garage, been doing dumbell overhead press in the gym. I’m so excited to make the change to a barbell overhead press and watch the numbers grow! Thanks for the video!
The OHPs have become my favorite for sure. I do all of them but now that they have a Viking press in my gym I’m always looking forward to that session. Oleksii Novikov was asked why he’s so good at the dumbbell press , his answer? “It’s my favorite “. Proof that fun makes success 💪💪💪
My ultimate goal is to strict press 1.5bw Personally i just love the way shoulders look Whether its comic books or dragon ball z most of the time the shoulders are the freakiest feature they have and it looks awesome I did the 3x a week bench routine from greg knuckles and got pretty far but started getting aches and pains so now im gonna try the 2x bench routine but for ohp
Perfect timing Alex! I literally just hit a BW OHP 5 hours ago, which has been a goal of mine, since I started lifting around 2 years and 3 months ago. 💪
Having just changed my split from push/legs/pull to chest/back, shoulders/ arms, legs, have upped the volume in shoulder workouts, now doing 2 sets of OHP, 2 sets behind the neck, 2 sets bent over laterals, 2 sets of laterals, I noticed my first AMRAP set of OHP went from 10 reps to 15 just 7-8 days later. (As I am 59, I decline to list the actual weight used only 65 lbs) looking to build back up to my former 115 lbs of decades ago… :)
OHP is literally the ultimative upper body strength exercise. It’s also one of the best exercises for carry over strength to almost any other push movements
7:43 my guess here is that overhead pressing tends to be more of an open chain movement meaning the scapula is more free to move whereas it’s locked in the bench. I’ve learned to love benching recently especially Larsens. But if I have to pick one between overhead pressing and benching, I’ll choose overheads all day since I also love weightlifting as well.
I started barbell overhead pressing 6 months ago after a shoulder impingement injury on the bench press. Not only has the shoulder pain gone away, I've added 30 pounds to my overhead press, plus another 20-30 on my bench press. Great video! My goal is to push press my body weight (100kg). Hope I reach that goal in my lifetime. I can rep out 100kg nearly 20 times on the flat bench, but who cares. 1 - 100kg overhead press is so much more impressive.
This has me inspired to add this back into my routine. We did this when we were doing spring training in high football. I kept it up in martial arts training in my 20s. I started bouncing in my mid 20s and having good upper body strength definitely helped getting people out the door and definitely added to your punches along with technique. Great video!
I've struggled with bicep tondonitis (I think, never got it diagnosed) over the years, where benching, even simple pushups inflamed it to the point where I had pain lifting my arm above parallel. Strict overhead pressing fixed my shoulders to the point where I can do all of these movements and the pain I used to feel is just a faint memory.
@@benchgod2170 For the recovery from the tendonitis, yes. Also did a shit ton of horizontal pulling (barbell rows and the like). Eventually put incline bench back in the mix and progressed slowly, then was able to do normal bench press again after about 3 months.
I have a 190kg bench and 110kg seated OHP. Given the disparity and my shoulder issues I've started to focus on OHP a lot more. Been thinking of running the same type of high frequency programs for it that blew up my bench.
Bro I can’t believe this is still talked about. I used to be a non believer in the OHP. Then I got semi strong at the seated version and my delts blew up. If you haven’t tried at least getting strong at the movement, then you should consider it!
This is well timed. I'll be in the Waco HOT Classic with you in August as a Novice LW. Been training with a jerk, push press, and strict as accessory. This video helps give context for my methods. Thanks.
With respect to hypertrophy it gets a bad reputation but like you said it's a "bang for your buck" kind of thing. Depending on equipment, split, frequency, etc. it can absolutely be the single best shoulder exercise for getting size and there is almost certainly a variation out there for your situation
I legitamatly get exited for ohp, I do it standing with a barbell, it greatly improved my pain with front squats, and it really improves stability and overall strength more so than the benchpress.
Man this video came out after I mentioned that the big 3 should be the big 4 and include the OHP. It really is a great movement and contributes so much to people’s overall health and stability. So many little benefits that add up BIG. Rock on brother.
Overhead pressing already belongs to the sport of weightlifting. It’s just not a competitive lift anymore (the clean and press was abolished in 1972 by the IWF).
I too find the barbell OHP supremely fun. After 4 months of specialization I unfortunately started getting some biceps tendonitis, and then bursitis of the shoulder. In the rehab process now and hoping to rebuild the lift from zero with dumbbells
The real world carry over is what convinced me. Doing heavy physical work one will carry stuff, lift over head, drag, throw and lift from ground. I had done heavy kettlebell (32 kg - 70.4 LB) work for many years before I got my own barbell. One day on the field with my brother who is not a weak guy himself we hammered 2.5 m fence posts into ground with a big sledgehammer. He was quite reluctant to pick up the sledge after a while. I had not trouble fielding it over head hammering for hours. For real world usable strength: Deadlift and it's relatives has to be #1. Overhead pressing or kettlebell pressing will be close #2 (Weighted) pull-ups are balancing all the pressing and compressing, thus very relevant #3 (Weighted) dips (on gymnastics rings) are great too, it easily replaces bench pressing for the muscle development side and requires unique core activation.
I finally got access to barbells late January and started the Bullmastiff program. Ngl my ohp is super weak (inspite if many other shoulder movents and work I've done prior) and it's discouraging, but I have to remember I've only been doing ohp for 3 weeks total haha. I can already see an improvement in my shoulder musculature and it won't be long before my ohp really picks up.
Had shoulder pain doing OHP for a bit, lat raises to a good height fixed it. I only have wrist issues from time to time, I think the heavyish dumbell shoulder press is fixing that slowly. The trick to longevity is finding what reduces pain, which reduces anxiety, improves recovery, improves training intensity, etc
Alex you’re a real OHP monster. Man you are strong in everything but I think relatively you’re strongest in OHP. Don’t think many people can keep up with you
Doing shoulder press builds muscle around your rotater cuff less problems I've had shoulder problems and I shoulder press all the time no more problems at all
I have tiny pea shoulders to catch up on. I used to press but stopped due to shoulder impingement. This recent bulk I’ve made progress everywhere, but lateral raises got me no where so my shoulders are way behind. Started dumbbell shoulder presses though, it’s easier on my joints and I’m making progress
I've got rotator issues in both shoulders, so certain movements I can't do, or limit as a result. Overhead press though, always makes them feel better if they are aching for whatever reason. So overhead press for me is a staple. I love it as well, so it works out.
ran this pretty happily n productively , injury-free for a few years , religiously. continued somewhat haphazardly (due to bizness travel) for a few more. went from a 315sq275bp315dl135pr @220lbs to to 555/405/615/285 @280. this was mid 30s thru late 40s. very pleased, doug hepburns one of my fav lifters great story there
A few years ago I did an experiment. I stopped completely benching for about a month and instead I was pushing hard on military press and weighted dips. End result.... my bench went up!
I have standing / barbell OHP as my main press movement right now. I'm probably going to keep it that way for maybe 6 months to see what happens. Pretty fun so far 💪
@@danielwebb9188 So, maybe at 5 or 6 months into doing OHP first (and just OHP for my vertical presses, usually about 10 sets a week)... I hit a pretty hard wall. I love the movement but just by itself wasn't enough to keep some momentum. I swapped in a different vertical press (also as the first press in my upper workouts), and started making pretty immediate progress. A couple months ago I did a couple sets of OHP just to see how it was coming along. I was a little surprised at how fast what used to be a 3RM moved, it was an easy set of 5 now. Could probably hit 6...maybe... 7. It probably wasn't a plateau... just a stale lift that I needed a break from and an alternate stimulus. With a smaller exercise selection you might find it useful to pay attention to what work is being productive. Slow, gradual work can still be really useful. Don't ditch a movement when the progress gets hard...figure out a way to get it moving again. You're going to have to figure out what works for you. Sometimes it's almost an unrelated movement that builds up a weak area (traps, upper back, triceps, working on bracing through a different compound, etc)💪
I love military press!! Did shoulders today and did 225 for 9 good reps....almost 10. I've gone up to 265 but I start to cheat a bit. My shoulders have grown a ton with shoulder press. I weigh 275 and am 6'3". Max bench press is right around 405. Not bad for 55.
I’ve always use dumbbells but recently I’ve been using the smith machine and I’ve noticed a big difference, although I had to drop down in weight, it’s apparent that my form is better and it targets the front delts a lot better, not to mention the pump 👍😁💪🏻
I bench and overhead press in equal amounts. At 205 lbs, my Bench isn't as good as I'd like. 300 eludes me. But I've gotten 225 up on the Press a couple of times over the past few years, and it felt great. Pressing was my go to for about 6 months when I injured my shoulder on Bench in 2018. The first few months after the injury, it hurt to even do pushups. I quickly discovered that Overheard was fine, so I did that more. Eventually, I could do Incline bench pain free, so did that as well. Then I started to work flat bench in as a secondary after a few months, starting out with just the bar for sets, and adding 10 lbs. at a time to build back up.
Same thing happened to me. I injured my ac joint and couldn’t flat bench press no matter what grip I tried even close grip. Always caused pain but incline bench never bothered it so I stuck with incline both barbell and dumbbell and OHP no pain ever now
I don’t feel safe on the bench in my gym. As a novice I’m OH pressing 3x times a week instead. My neck and upper traps blew up. I’m very happy with my improved aesthetics
I personally like overhead press as a main pressing movement rather than bench press. Especially for hypertrophy. The beach gives you a big chest but the overhead press gives you upper chest shoulders and also big long head of tricep aka more aesthetics.
Love ohp. I sometimes do seated ohp in smith machine as an accessory and variety. I saw the legend BigZ do this in training. He held the WR in log lift for a long time. 224kg.
I want to push press (and front squat) but I have no idea how to get into a front rack. It's not like anything hurts. My elbows just don't want to go up.
I do clean an presses into press > cleans > BoR(bent over row) > deadlifts. Its a wonderful movement. Do the full movement and then break it down from top to bottom. Incorporate into a workout or just straight destory yourself on this alone. Either way OHP is amazing
I have shoulder pain from a job I had. Started lifting a few months ago I use light weight on the shoulders and I find it reduces the pain and when I don't train them for a week the pain came back.
As a sousaphone player I think I’ll start doing these to help with the shoulder pain I get from my instrument. Last year my New Years goal was fitness so I went from 220 pounds to 200 pounds. This year my goal is to go from 200 pounds down in 185 while gaining more muscle and flexibility. I really want to be flexible with the legs.
As I always say, if in the powerlifting change the bench press for the ovh press (and ban the sumo) will be a very very interesting sport and a truly test of strength
The press used to be part of weightlifting but they removed it because of excessive leaning. The same would happen in powerlifting for sure competitors would find a way to bastardise it just like the bench/dead and even squat
@@user-lb3jm7ul7x but the press still requires a lot of strength, even with the leaning, that doesn't apply to the bench with less than a inch of range of motion.
As someone who's only interested in exercise that will help me in the real world, the OHP makes a lot of men because we all need to be able to pick this up and put them up over our heads all the time.
I stopped doing OHP because everyone was telling me it was bad for shoulder health. But my shoulders are weaker and hurt more now that I'm not doing them, after watching this I want to add OHP back in. Thanks Bromley!
Back squats have been hurting my lower back and knees lately so I've been trying variants. Let me tell you, front squat into a push press is fun AF and looks awesome. Very whole body workout and you're kind of doing a super set with 1 exercise. Would recommend.
With shoulder issues, i have not done overhead press in years. Today, at this moment, is my 1st time in years. Wow, it feels strange and weak. But nowhere to go but up.
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OHP does help with the pain. Also its fun when people think you're setting up for front squats and start pushing weights overhead.
I OHP more than I front squat :/
@@paulwhite9242 ? why ?
@@paulwhite9242, Same. I need to work on my front squat.
@@paulwhite9242 damn that's crazy
@@paulwhite9242 it's okay, front squats are bs anyways unless you need it for a very specific purpose.
Overhead press and deadlift are the lifts that have transferred the most over to real world usefulness. Training them makes moving shit around so much easier.
Yep, at work I have to do OHP and DL movement patterns all the time
i also found heaps of arms work too
Working in a shipping warehouse I've seen the same thing. Over the past year I've almost doubled my deadlift and overhead pressing strength from where I started and it has made it much easier to do my job without beating the hell out of myself, especially when I have to put something heavy up on a conveyor that's at eye level. Heavy boxes that I would have struggled with before, now I can just casually push-press them up over head and onto the conveyor.
My two favorite exercises. Nothing makes me feel stronger than doing those two. Feels like "RAH now I can move furniture!" 😂
And rdl for me. If somethings not too heave and I don't want to get my body low I'll rdl it, feels good
It is not much, but I hit a 95Lbs PR on my seated OHP yesterday. Time to get to 115.
Bro you are beasting it. I am in the same boat with you.😅😊💪👑💯🔥✅🦍🦏🏋️🤸
Keep up the good work
Improved performance 🍻
Hey! If it’s heavy for you and you pushed yourself to lift it then it’s a ton. Great job and keep up the great work
Fuck that, it IS much because it's YOUR PR. Keep applying pressure.
My biggest current goal is a 100kg strict OHP. I've reached the 75kg mark so far.
Absolutely my favorite movement ever.
You shoulders big?
Awesome man you'll get there soon. I'm strict pressing 285lbs. I'm trying to get to 315. 4 sets of 8, 5, 3, 12 OR 5, 3, 1, 10 were what helped me. Good luck.
75 kg overhead would smash the shit out of me :D can barely desdlift That for like 7 reps :D
*175cm 67kg 1 month gym
Am doing 25 kg overhead for 8-10 and i just love the movement it makes me wanna Go all out in Contras to Front Raises which are just boring in comparison
@@naughtiousmaximus7853
Yeah, they're one of my best muscle groups for sure.
how long did u take to go from 60 to 75?
Grinding that last rep on a ohp is one of the best feelings.
This is absolutely the truth
True @@trippydee0330
True, I don't even care about "it doesn't count when form isn't perfect" just grind and get another one. Also ultimately helps to get the time under tension up by a lot.
This is the truth ☝️😂 feels so accomplishing
The fun part cannot be stressed enough. The OHP is my favourite lift because it's just so fun to lift heavy weights overhead. Lying on a bench and pushing a barbell just isn't as fun to me, so I will always choose the OHP.
Amen brother💪🏋️
Amen brother same here. And OHP is so fine for my shoulders. I banged up my shoulders with incline DB benchpress but I healed it with OHP
Always benched never OHPd, front delts didn't grow up until I started OHP properly. It's a bit rough at first but the fun part comes very fast!
This!
I personally think a more shoulder dominant physique looks better rather then chest
Absolutely, but simple side raises are just better for that purpose.
It’s not ridiculous to say that but why not both
@@Wuchtamsel For me it's Biceps Curl, Raises, Triceps overhead, and then OHP. Works just fine in a tour.
@@Wuchtamsel yeah and you can do both at the same time so your point?
I love the overhead press. You cannot be weak and press a huge weight overhead.
Man, the OHP helped my shoulder issues. I started focusing on it last year, and gave it its own day of the week for a workout. My shoulders and arms look fantastic now too. I just hit a 150 lbs PR. I walk around at 185, so I'm super stoked to be able to OHP my body weight eventually 🎉
I'm about the same boat as you right now. I'm around 183 at the moment and just hit a 145pr yesterday. Here's to both of us getting that bodyweight pr soon!
@@nomaderic im 185 and pr is 150lb too =)
@@adamhinkle5580 let's eat!
Where exactly did you have shoulder pain? In my case, it's on the Backside. The Infraspinatus, and Teres major and minor on the left are often swollen and hurt. I tried a lot of different angles grip wide, etc. but can´t get rid of it. I would be glad If OHP is the solution to fix it.
@@JohnDoe-fz7hz mine was on the side and front delts
Only time I've ever had achy shoulders was when I decided to cut out OHP. Definitely something to it for shoulder health.
I work at FedEx and I can 100% say my job has become a lot easier after working more shoulder strength over time. Bench I don’t think is too applicable for more general real world lifting
Fedex gang 😎
Yeah, if you work in the hub it helps a lot for sure
It really isn’t. This is why I find it annoying when people’s question is always “hey bro how much you bench?!? Duuuuuuhhhhh”
Annoying af, it’s like when tf do you even use your chest muscles outside of benching on a day to day basis?!
@@StrongBodymindandspirit it’s because it’s the most fun for a lot of people. I definitely get why they ask about it. It’s a cool lift. Plus a big chest is incredibly aesthetic
@@blubbermammoth8426 i get that
I love strict pressing in the 5-12 range and push pressing in the 1-6 range. You’re absolutely right it’s so fun to throw 50 more lbs overhead with a little push
I’m nearly 50 years old, and I’m still a pretty strong bench presser, but I know several otherwise strong people about my age that simply cannot bench anymore due to shoulder pain. I think it’s a very good idea for younger people to really focus on shoulder strength now if they still want to bench as they get older
maybe tell your friends to look into deadhangs... dr kirsch...
@ALAN H what's dead hangs?
@@4EVER_KlNGhanging without depressed shoulders
OHP helped me immensely in the past. Everyone would come and get me to put the 50kg boxes of frozen meat on the top shelf. For me bench is an accessory to my OHP.
focus on close grip bench
Love strict press, my favorite lift. Chasing 275 right now. Never really enjoyed bench and always found overhead press much more impressive.
Damn bro. I'm just getting into it with the barbell and I'm starting at a measly 90lbs for 5x5. I think I was doing 115-125 but I started with bench today with supersetting it with dumbbell press so I think it wore out my shoulders and I couldn't get the 115-125. But I'm hoping I can get to 150 at least in the next 3 months
@@frankwhite555 just keep at it. When I started overhead pressing I was doing reps with 90 lbs as well.
@@ethanpeeler3147 I have a question. Do you think it would be dumb to constantly switch up my workouts? Like 2 weeks I do let's say barbell squat weighted pull ups overhead press then the next week goble squats dumbbell press lateral raises then maybe in 2 weeks after that I do Bulgarian split squats maybe dips pushups... Etc etc... That's just an example. In just saying I like variety. Do you think I can get strong that way instead of just sticking with a routine for a while, if you get me?
@@frankwhite555 generally it’s best to focus on whatever movement you’re prioritizing. If you want to build a better overhead press focus on overhead press instead of bench. Obviously you can and should use other lifts as an accessory to get stronger and strengthen surrounding muscles. Best suggestion I’d make is follow a program and stick to it. If you go to starting strongman there’s a 9 week program that worked for me really well.
@@ethanpeeler3147 oh no, no strongman for me Haha. Just really wanna be strong good physique and in good shape/healthy. I want a little size and a little toneness. But I will focus on specific areas. Thank you.
I had a pretty nasty shoulder “sprain” about 11 months ago. It hurt pretty bad. I couldn’t bench. For some reason, ohp doesn’t hurt. I can do lots of OHP with no pain, and I think it’s even helping me rehab my shoulder to the point my bench is recovering slowly.
Just got a barbell in my garage, been doing dumbell overhead press in the gym. I’m so excited to make the change to a barbell overhead press and watch the numbers grow! Thanks for the video!
The OHPs have become my favorite for sure. I do all of them but now that they have a Viking press in my gym I’m always looking forward to that session. Oleksii Novikov was asked why he’s so good at the dumbbell press , his answer? “It’s my favorite “. Proof that fun makes success 💪💪💪
Added this to the rotation last month, and it has helped my bench. This on top of my shoulder accessory lifts.
Love OHP and bench. Definitely less shoulder pain on the OHP !
My ultimate goal is to strict press 1.5bw
Personally i just love the way shoulders look
Whether its comic books or dragon ball z most of the time the shoulders are the freakiest feature they have and it looks awesome
I did the 3x a week bench routine from greg knuckles and got pretty far but started getting aches and pains so now im gonna try the 2x bench routine but for ohp
Great sources of inspiration! That first picture of Goku going Super... (In the manga) My 12 year old self was hooked on training for life.
I also came here to give props for the DBZ comment lol
OHP doesn't grow your shoulders to look freaky. Delt isolations do.
@@jason2014 Nah, it just takes more time but also build strength
Perfect timing Alex! I literally just hit a BW OHP 5 hours ago, which has been a goal of mine, since I started lifting around 2 years and 3 months ago. 💪
Having just changed my split from push/legs/pull to chest/back, shoulders/ arms, legs, have upped the volume in shoulder workouts, now doing 2 sets of OHP, 2 sets behind the neck, 2 sets bent over laterals, 2 sets of laterals, I noticed my first AMRAP set of OHP went from 10 reps to 15 just 7-8 days later. (As I am 59, I decline to list the actual weight used only 65 lbs) looking to build back up to my former 115 lbs of decades ago… :)
OHP is literally the ultimative upper body strength exercise. It’s also one of the best exercises for carry over strength to almost any other push movements
OHP is one of the most fun exercises I've ever learned to do.
7:43 my guess here is that overhead pressing tends to be more of an open chain movement meaning the scapula is more free to move whereas it’s locked in the bench.
I’ve learned to love benching recently especially Larsens. But if I have to pick one between overhead pressing and benching, I’ll choose overheads all day since I also love weightlifting as well.
I started barbell overhead pressing 6 months ago after a shoulder impingement injury on the bench press. Not only has the shoulder pain gone away, I've added 30 pounds to my overhead press, plus another 20-30 on my bench press. Great video!
My goal is to push press my body weight (100kg). Hope I reach that goal in my lifetime. I can rep out 100kg nearly 20 times on the flat bench, but who cares. 1 - 100kg overhead press is so much more impressive.
This has me inspired to add this back into my routine. We did this when we were doing spring training in high football. I kept it up in martial arts training in my 20s. I started bouncing in my mid 20s and having good upper body strength definitely helped getting people out the door and definitely added to your punches along with technique. Great video!
Yes, I am a victim of ignoring my delts. But NOT any more! Thank U 4 the information that makes great sense!
Bro came to answer my question as I finished the meanest set of overhead press to failure🙏
I've struggled with bicep tondonitis (I think, never got it diagnosed) over the years, where benching, even simple pushups inflamed it to the point where I had pain lifting my arm above parallel. Strict overhead pressing fixed my shoulders to the point where I can do all of these movements and the pain I used to feel is just a faint memory.
while doing ohp did you quit the chest (horizontal push) exercises?
@@benchgod2170 For the recovery from the tendonitis, yes. Also did a shit ton of horizontal pulling (barbell rows and the like). Eventually put incline bench back in the mix and progressed slowly, then was able to do normal bench press again after about 3 months.
I have a 190kg bench and 110kg seated OHP. Given the disparity and my shoulder issues I've started to focus on OHP a lot more. Been thinking of running the same type of high frequency programs for it that blew up my bench.
Bro I can’t believe this is still talked about. I used to be a non believer in the OHP. Then I got semi strong at the seated version and my delts blew up. If you haven’t tried at least getting strong at the movement, then you should consider it!
This is well timed. I'll be in the Waco HOT Classic with you in August as a Novice LW. Been training with a jerk, push press, and strict as accessory. This video helps give context for my methods. Thanks.
With respect to hypertrophy it gets a bad reputation but like you said it's a "bang for your buck" kind of thing. Depending on equipment, split, frequency, etc. it can absolutely be the single best shoulder exercise for getting size and there is almost certainly a variation out there for your situation
I legitamatly get exited for ohp, I do it standing with a barbell, it greatly improved my pain with front squats, and it really improves stability and overall strength more so than the benchpress.
I'm glad that you validated my love of the OHP. Never cared about big bench numbers.
Good man, my favourite lift. I see bench, especially pause-reps as an accessory for (strict) OHP and no more
Man this video came out after I mentioned that the big 3 should be the big 4 and include the OHP. It really is a great movement and contributes so much to people’s overall health and stability. So many little benefits that add up BIG. Rock on brother.
Overhead pressing already belongs to the sport of weightlifting. It’s just not a competitive lift anymore (the clean and press was abolished in 1972 by the IWF).
@@09thespecialone didn’t know that! Thank you
Do you think incline bench can replace OHP?
Or Vice versa. I’d rather do ohp and bench, but I feel like if I do that then I should take out some Incline workouts.
I'm just doing standing dumbbell overhead presses instead of bench because pec growth can push silicone out of alignment 😅
I too find the barbell OHP supremely fun. After 4 months of specialization I unfortunately started getting some biceps tendonitis, and then bursitis of the shoulder. In the rehab process now and hoping to rebuild the lift from zero with dumbbells
The real world carry over is what convinced me. Doing heavy physical work one will carry stuff, lift over head, drag, throw and lift from ground.
I had done heavy kettlebell (32 kg - 70.4 LB) work for many years before I got my own barbell.
One day on the field with my brother who is not a weak guy himself we hammered 2.5 m fence posts into ground with a big sledgehammer.
He was quite reluctant to pick up the sledge after a while. I had not trouble fielding it over head hammering for hours.
For real world usable strength:
Deadlift and it's relatives has to be #1.
Overhead pressing or kettlebell pressing will be close #2
(Weighted) pull-ups are balancing all the pressing and compressing, thus very relevant #3
(Weighted) dips (on gymnastics rings) are great too, it easily replaces bench pressing for the muscle development side and requires unique core activation.
Yeah, I could press with a tweaked shoulder, while forget benching. An defo agree on the fun part, such a cool lift to both watch and perform.
I had impingement from OHP. What helped was dead hangs and massage gun to the pec minor.
I finally got access to barbells late January and started the Bullmastiff program. Ngl my ohp is super weak (inspite if many other shoulder movents and work I've done prior) and it's discouraging, but I have to remember I've only been doing ohp for 3 weeks total haha. I can already see an improvement in my shoulder musculature and it won't be long before my ohp really picks up.
I really like pressing stuff above my head and thanks to the strength i developed, I'm able to do all sorts of crazy stuff with my kid.
OHP is super fun, I felt really proud when I finally hit 100lbs because it does feel like a feat of pure strength
The press is goated. Shoulder health and gains like crazy since giving it equal attention with the bench
I've always felt the same about presss vs bench. Few movements in life duplicate a chest push with the back supported while lying down.
Had shoulder pain doing OHP for a bit, lat raises to a good height fixed it. I only have wrist issues from time to time, I think the heavyish dumbell shoulder press is fixing that slowly. The trick to longevity is finding what reduces pain, which reduces anxiety, improves recovery, improves training intensity, etc
Alex you’re a real OHP monster. Man you are strong in everything but I think relatively you’re strongest in OHP. Don’t think many people can keep up with you
Man I’m loving how often you post vids now
Definitly re-focusing more on overhead pressing, convinced!
Doing shoulder press builds muscle around your rotater cuff less problems I've had shoulder problems and I shoulder press all the time no more problems at all
I’ve coached football for 10 years and we do OHP weekly. Never coached a kid that could OHP 250
I have tiny pea shoulders to catch up on. I used to press but stopped due to shoulder impingement.
This recent bulk I’ve made progress everywhere, but lateral raises got me no where so my shoulders are way behind. Started dumbbell shoulder presses though, it’s easier on my joints and I’m making progress
I've got rotator issues in both shoulders, so certain movements I can't do, or limit as a result. Overhead press though, always makes them feel better if they are aching for whatever reason. So overhead press for me is a staple. I love it as well, so it works out.
i started ohp and other variations like 4-5 months ago and man... life changing.
Well made video bro!
I plan to spend some more time on my overhead press.
I want that bodyweight strict press!
ran this pretty happily n productively , injury-free for a few years , religiously.
continued somewhat haphazardly (due to bizness travel) for a few more. went from a 315sq275bp315dl135pr @220lbs to
to 555/405/615/285 @280. this was mid 30s thru late 40s. very pleased, doug hepburns one of my fav lifters great story there
Its a convenient time-saver to set the rack up for squats and do OHP sets as you warm up for Squat sets.
Just found your channel, really like it!
A few years ago I did an experiment. I stopped completely benching for about a month and instead I was pushing hard on military press and weighted dips. End result.... my bench went up!
Loving the shout out for Sam. What a homie you both are
I have standing / barbell OHP as my main press movement right now. I'm probably going to keep it that way for maybe 6 months to see what happens. Pretty fun so far 💪
I started power to the people . Deadlift and ohp daily . What is your thoughts now on the ohp as main press ?
@@danielwebb9188 So, maybe at 5 or 6 months into doing OHP first (and just OHP for my vertical presses, usually about 10 sets a week)... I hit a pretty hard wall. I love the movement but just by itself wasn't enough to keep some momentum. I swapped in a different vertical press (also as the first press in my upper workouts), and started making pretty immediate progress. A couple months ago I did a couple sets of OHP just to see how it was coming along. I was a little surprised at how fast what used to be a 3RM moved, it was an easy set of 5 now. Could probably hit 6...maybe... 7.
It probably wasn't a plateau... just a stale lift that I needed a break from and an alternate stimulus. With a smaller exercise selection you might find it useful to pay attention to what work is being productive. Slow, gradual work can still be really useful. Don't ditch a movement when the progress gets hard...figure out a way to get it moving again.
You're going to have to figure out what works for you. Sometimes it's almost an unrelated movement that builds up a weak area (traps, upper back, triceps, working on bracing through a different compound, etc)💪
Impressive OHP clips, brother!
My favourite movement, standing or seated - both are fantastic 💪
I love military press!! Did shoulders today and did 225 for 9 good reps....almost 10. I've gone up to 265 but I start to cheat a bit. My shoulders have grown a ton with shoulder press. I weigh 275 and am 6'3". Max bench press is right around 405. Not bad for 55.
I’ve always use dumbbells but recently I’ve been using the smith machine and I’ve noticed a big difference, although I had to drop down in weight, it’s apparent that my form is better and it targets the front delts a lot better, not to mention the pump 👍😁💪🏻
Great advice. Thanks!
I bench and overhead press in equal amounts. At 205 lbs, my Bench isn't as good as I'd like. 300 eludes me. But I've gotten 225 up on the Press a couple of times over the past few years, and it felt great.
Pressing was my go to for about 6 months when I injured my shoulder on Bench in 2018. The first few months after the injury, it hurt to even do pushups. I quickly discovered that Overheard was fine, so I did that more. Eventually, I could do Incline bench pain free, so did that as well. Then I started to work flat bench in as a secondary after a few months, starting out with just the bar for sets, and adding 10 lbs. at a time to build back up.
Same thing happened to me. I injured my ac joint and couldn’t flat bench press no matter what grip I tried even close grip. Always caused pain but incline bench never bothered it so I stuck with incline both barbell and dumbbell and OHP no pain ever now
My favourite exercise (all variations) and my priority for a very long time
I don’t feel safe on the bench in my gym. As a novice I’m OH pressing 3x times a week instead. My neck and upper traps blew up. I’m very happy with my improved aesthetics
I personally like overhead press as a main pressing movement rather than bench press. Especially for hypertrophy. The beach gives you a big chest but the overhead press gives you upper chest shoulders and also big long head of tricep aka more aesthetics.
My favorite video yet!
Love ohp. I sometimes do seated ohp in smith machine as an accessory and variety. I saw the legend BigZ do this in training. He held the WR in log lift for a long time. 224kg.
Bro, do seated military press good or standing military press
I want to push press (and front squat) but I have no idea how to get into a front rack. It's not like anything hurts. My elbows just don't want to go up.
I do clean an presses into press > cleans > BoR(bent over row) > deadlifts. Its a wonderful movement. Do the full movement and then break it down from top to bottom. Incorporate into a workout or just straight destory yourself on this alone. Either way OHP is amazing
I like doing behind the neck, it's a bit more dangerous but I like how it targets the rear and side delts more than the military press.
Barbell BTN with light weight and BTN wide grip lat pulldowns made me flexible enough to scratch the middle of my own back again.
I had severe pain in my upper arms for a year while benching but OHP always worked painlessly.
I do single arm ohp with dumbbells to help with stabilizing my core.
I have shoulder pain from a job I had. Started lifting a few months ago I use light weight on the shoulders and I find it reduces the pain and when I don't train them for a week the pain came back.
I’m a huge fan of the dumbbell over head press, yes when I am at the gym I do like the barbell version so I do like both
Lmfao. I know the guy at 0:15. In fact we were both modeling for the same shoot that day.
I don't OHP or flat bench. I only do moderate incline pressing variations to try to get the best of both
As a sousaphone player I think I’ll start doing these to help with the shoulder pain I get from my instrument. Last year my New Years goal was fitness so I went from 220 pounds to 200 pounds. This year my goal is to go from 200 pounds down in 185 while gaining more muscle and flexibility. I really want to be flexible with the legs.
As I always say, if in the powerlifting change the bench press for the ovh press (and ban the sumo) will be a very very interesting sport and a truly test of strength
They have Strength-lifting meets which have those rules
Cant wait to see what bs equipped lifters come up to "lift" 800lbs a quarter of an inch
The press used to be part of weightlifting but they removed it because of excessive leaning. The same would happen in powerlifting for sure competitors would find a way to bastardise it just like the bench/dead and even squat
@@user-lb3jm7ul7x but the press still requires a lot of strength, even with the leaning, that doesn't apply to the bench with less than a inch of range of motion.
@@holisticjake I know but there are like 4 lifters in those competitions...
Could you please discuss some of the pros and cons between seated and standing versions
Been doing a lot of strict overhead barbell presses from a long time, now thinking to shift to push press
I too love the overhead press
As someone who's only interested in exercise that will help me in the real world, the OHP makes a lot of men because we all need to be able to pick this up and put them up over our heads all the time.
Thank you Alex.
I stopped doing OHP because everyone was telling me it was bad for shoulder health. But my shoulders are weaker and hurt more now that I'm not doing them, after watching this I want to add OHP back in. Thanks Bromley!
People told me the same with this and straight leg deadlifts. Which are two of my favorites and he helped me the most with old injuries treatment.
Those people have weak shoulders 100%
Back squats have been hurting my lower back and knees lately so I've been trying variants.
Let me tell you, front squat into a push press is fun AF and looks awesome.
Very whole body workout and you're kind of doing a super set with 1 exercise. Would recommend.
Someone give this man a million followerssss jeez. Such quality content, keep it coming it’s always appreciated.
Standing OHP always messed my lower back, nowadays i only do it seated at 60-70 degrees angle and i thinks it does all the good things but better
With shoulder issues, i have not done overhead press in years. Today, at this moment, is my 1st time in years. Wow, it feels strange and weak. But nowhere to go but up.
what was your max strict ohp before you got on test vs after?