A bit wobbly when doing OHP

fglover84

Hi I'm a bit new to all this but have started SL 5x5 and I've just complete workout no.10. I have just gotten to a weight on the OHP where I am starting to find it reasonably heavy and all of a sudden my balance has gone. When pressing upwards i find myself taking a step back/forward and just feel unsteady in general. Has anyone else experienced this? When pressing I do tightening my core and try to ground my feet but it still happens.

DaniH826

Deload until you can do the entire movement with good form from start to finish. If you're losing your balance, it may mean your body is somehow trying to make up for an amount of weight it's not ready for, regardless of how heavy it "feels".

I usually lean my upper body back just a little when starting the OHP by looking towards the ceiling and then drive the bar straight up, using my hips to adjust backwards under the bar and gradually lowering my gaze also, in one fluid movement, while driving my arms, and the bar, on up to the ceiling. The bar ends up just sort of grazing my nose. Aim for a perfectly vertical up-and-down bar movement and adjust your body around it, as you would with the squat also. You may be trying to subconsciously getting away from the bar being that close to your face, and that's when you lose your balance. All it takes is a split second, so start at a lower weight, be mindful of what is happening the entire time, and allow yourself to develop muscle memory and having that bar travel so close to your face without flinching or whatever. Maybe practice with a broomstick until you have it down.

Also, maybe check your stance (your feet may be too close together) and see if you can widen it somewhat in order make yourself a bit more comfortable so that your base is stable to support the weight you're demanding of your body to move through space. Your feet should be about hip distance apart (somewhere around there), for stability's sake.

bumblebums

Deload until you can do the entire movement with good form from start to finish. If you're losing your balance, it may mean your body is somehow trying to make up for an amount of weight it's not ready for, regardless of how heavy it "feels".

I usually lean my upper body back just a little when starting the OHP by looking towards the ceiling and then drive the bar straight up, using my hips to adjust backwards under the bar and gradually lowering my gaze also, in one fluid movement, while driving my arms, and the bar, on up to the ceiling. The bar ends up just sort of grazing my nose. Aim for a perfectly vertical up-and-down bar movement and adjust your body around it, as you would with the squat also. You may be trying to subconsciously getting away from the bar being that close to your face, and that's when you lose your balance. All it takes is a split second, so start at a lower weight, be mindful of what is happening the entire time, and allow yourself to develop muscle memory and having that bar travel so close to your face without flinching or whatever. Maybe practice with a broomstick until you have it down.

Also, maybe check your stance (your feet may be too close together) and see if you can widen it somewhat in order make yourself a bit more comfortable so that your base is stable to support the weight you're demanding of your body to move through space. Your feet should be about hip distance apart (somewhere around there), for stability's sake.

All this. I have only one thing to add: OHP is the kind of lift on which you might find that you make very slow progress indeed. There is very little muscle mass involved in the lift, compared to other compound exercises, and women have less upper body strength than men so the standard "5 lb a workout" increments will not be feasible for most of us. It is also important to be extremely careful with form on this lift, because shoulders get injured easily. (Look up "shoulder impingement".) So slow and easy does it, and good form beats lifting gains every time.

BikerGirlElaine

Those were awesome replies already. What I would add is that I found it very helpful when I focused on tightening my entire body -- legs, glutes, core -- and feeling that the press came from the ground up.

fglover84

Thanks, this is all very helpful advise. Bumblebums that was a very good description and makes a lot of sense, I think it must be my technique and that I'm not moving the bar vertically up and down, so its just throwing me off! I'll put the weight weight back down and focus on form. I had been putting the weight up very gradually in 1kg and 1.5kg increments starting at around 10kg and working my way up to 20kg, but maybe it was also a mental thing cause up until then it was a weight I had lifted before I started SL. I'll give everything mentioned a go though and see how I get on! But so far loving SL 5x5. I've made more progress in the last 3 weeks than I have in yrs worth of monotonous cardio! And I can't wait to see where its going to take me.

lwoodroff

check out the stickies with videos too, there's a very good one about hip shift (I'm still trying to get the hang of...)

fglover84

Had a look at the videos, they are good Mark Rippetoe's one especially. Think I just need to work on it and practice lots till I get the hang of it!

inkysmurf

The ripptoe one really helped me a lot - and its amazing what a slight tweak can make - whether its your grip or your stance, even where your looking to making a huge difference (as I've been learning!)

Happy lifting