Stuck on overhead press?
fairweather2
Posts: 24 Member
Hello lovely MFPers,
Lend me your awesome expertise once more?!
I've been lifting for a little while now, and while my strength on all my other lifts is progressing nicely, I seem to have hit a bit of a brick wall on the overhead press :-( I don't expect to be lifting huge amounts but lack of progress is making me worried I'm losing strength/muscle!
Is it just a case of learning better form and/or being patient, do I need to eat more (currently in a very slight deficit) or are there other exercises/lifts that will help?
(In other news, finally squatted my own bodyweight today, small victories!!
)
Lend me your awesome expertise once more?!
I've been lifting for a little while now, and while my strength on all my other lifts is progressing nicely, I seem to have hit a bit of a brick wall on the overhead press :-( I don't expect to be lifting huge amounts but lack of progress is making me worried I'm losing strength/muscle!
Is it just a case of learning better form and/or being patient, do I need to eat more (currently in a very slight deficit) or are there other exercises/lifts that will help?
(In other news, finally squatted my own bodyweight today, small victories!!
)0
Replies
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Do not worry, over head pressing becomes the nemesis for most everybody. Did you entirely fail to get a weight, or was it missed reps. If this was a first time occurrence try it again next session. If you are actually stuck, just drop the weight down 10-20% and work your way back up.
You pretty much answered your own question with is it a matter of learning better form and having patience and possibly eating a little more. At your level of lifting, all you really need to do is keep working at it, the gains will come in time. Remember this, serious weight training is more akin to a marathon than a sprint. You have to be patient and in it for the long haul. If you are not on any specific programming, you are sure to have many suggested on this forum. No matter which you decide to go with, as a beginner you will see good results. Keep it simple and do not get caught up in all the nuances of minor details. Do not get discouraged and have fun with achieving small goals which ultimately result in achieving large goals. Your best bet is to do compound body lifts no matter which rep/set scheme you go for.
Congrats on your body weight squat. A victory is a victory even if small.0 -
fairweather2 wrote: »I've been lifting for a little while now, and while my strength on all my other lifts is progressing nicely, I seem to have hit a bit of a brick wall on the overhead press :-( I don't expect to be lifting huge amounts but lack of progress is making me worried I'm losing strength/muscle!
You're not losing strength/muscle since you're progressing on your other lifts.
Shoulders & arms are smaller muscle groups and don't progress as fast as, say, legs.
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What's your workout routine, and specifically what are you doing for shoulders/pressing? When does it fall in relation to other pressing moves? IF you are gaining elsewhere it's likely just a matter of programming.0
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I think I spent an entire year hardly progressing on OHP, I was stuck at like 65 pounds forever. But as I got stronger on other lifts I gained some confidence at OHP and am now doing my working sets at 80-85 pounds with a one rep max of 95. Don't rush progress, you don't want to get injured. Be patient!!0
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Most people have some difficulty progressing with the OH press. One thing that has benefited me is doing push presses with heavier weight vs doing a strict OH press every time.
Also, what program are you using? What rep range are you working in?0 -
Try prioritizing it. Make it your first exercise.
You might also try working in a lower rep range.0 -
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LifterDave wrote: »Do not worry, over head pressing becomes the nemesis for most everybody. Did you entirely fail to get a weight, or was it missed reps. If this was a first time occurrence try it again next session. If you are actually stuck, just drop the weight down 10-20% and work your way back up.
You pretty much answered your own question with is it a matter of learning better form and having patience and possibly eating a little more. At your level of lifting, all you really need to do is keep working at it, the gains will come in time. Remember this, serious weight training is more akin to a marathon than a sprint. You have to be patient and in it for the long haul. If you are not on any specific programming, you are sure to have many suggested on this forum. No matter which you decide to go with, as a beginner you will see good results. Keep it simple and do not get caught up in all the nuances of minor details. Do not get discouraged and have fun with achieving small goals which ultimately result in achieving large goals. Your best bet is to do compound body lifts no matter which rep/set scheme you go for.
Congrats on your body weight squat. A victory is a victory even if small.
Thank you!! I'm not in a rush but just don't want to be wasting time
Hopefully it will sort itself out eventually! All great advice 
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Cherimoose wrote: »fairweather2 wrote: »I've been lifting for a little while now, and while my strength on all my other lifts is progressing nicely, I seem to have hit a bit of a brick wall on the overhead press :-( I don't expect to be lifting huge amounts but lack of progress is making me worried I'm losing strength/muscle!
You're not losing strength/muscle since you're progressing on your other lifts.
Shoulders & arms are smaller muscle groups and don't progress as fast as, say, legs.
True! Squats and deadlifts always give me a morale boost haha, thanks 0 -
What's your workout routine, and specifically what are you doing for shoulders/pressing? When does it fall in relation to other pressing moves? IF you are gaining elsewhere it's likely just a matter of programming.
At the moment just doing deadlifts, squats, bench press and overhead press. And throwing in the occasional other thing if I have more time. So I try to spread out the bench press and overhead press so they're not one after the other but definitely worth fiddling around with to see if that helps 0 -
Try prioritizing it. Make it your first exercise.
You might also try working in a lower rep range.
That makes sense! Sometimes gets left till further down the list depending on which equipment is free but I'm sure that would help
At the moment only doing 5x4 because I was so bored of being stuck at the last weight!! But maybe worth doing fewer sets to take it up a notch? Great advice thanks
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LifterDave wrote: »Did you entirely fail to get a weight, or was it missed reps. If this was a first time occurrence try it again next session. If you are actually stuck, just drop the weight down 10-20% and work your way back up.
Oh and I forgot to answer this part - struggling to get even a couple of decent reps on the next weight up and don't want to get injured/drop it on my head haha 0 -
Try throwing in some pull ups, rows or other upper back work. Sometimes you need to balance your pushing movements with some pulling movements.
Mark Rippetoe has some pretty good detailed videos on the internet to teach proper form and technique. I can't remember if they are on YouTube or his Starting Strength website.0 -
I like many struggled with the press. WHat helped me advance was doing better with mental cues for core stability (squeezing stomach, legs and butt) as well as pulling from a higher hook on a rack and using stetch response for the first rep. I feel like press is pretty technical and initially I was just trying to lift it straight up without much thought to technique. I still struggle with it and have had to delaod a couple times on it, but now I am struggling with it at 95# instead of 65#. 0
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Have you tried undulating the weight? so for example one day doing 5x5 next time doing 3x8 at a lower weight. The heavy push presses would be good too a few guys in the gym with 80kgx5 OHP's have recommended them to me.0
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If the the first rep is the issue, then creating a slight "bounce" might be enough to get it started. Lift an inch or two above normal start position, let it drop and use the bounce to get it all the way up (pretty much same principle you use for the other reps of the set).
If you've been going at this for six months or more, might want to consider some assistance exercises for your triceps (skullcrushers, dips, etc.). Before that, it's more a matter of technique.0 -
Try throwing in some pull ups, rows or other upper back work. Sometimes you need to balance your pushing movements with some pulling movements.
Mark Rippetoe has some pretty good detailed videos on the internet to teach proper form and technique. I can't remember if they are on YouTube or his Starting Strength website.
Yeah I feel like maybe strengthening nearby muscles might help a lot Could definitely use some help on form as well so thanks for that, will give him a look! 0 -
jenglish712 wrote: »I like many struggled with the press. WHat helped me advance was doing better with mental cues for core stability (squeezing stomach, legs and butt) as well as pulling from a higher hook on a rack and using stetch response for the first rep. I feel like press is pretty technical and initially I was just trying to lift it straight up without much thought to technique. I still struggle with it and have had to delaod a couple times on it, but now I am struggling with it at 95# instead of 65#.
Yeah my technique is definitely far from perfect, I think I'm still where you were at! Encouraging that you got past it though definitely gonna be watching some videos on form for gym homework!
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dwolfe1985 wrote: »Have you tried undulating the weight? so for example one day doing 5x5 next time doing 3x8 at a lower weight. The heavy push presses would be good too a few guys in the gym with 80kgx5 OHP's have recommended them to me.
I haven't but that sounds really interesting, haven't heard of that before! Gotta be worth a try, thanks for the tip 0 -
Try doing seated for a while and it will isolate your shoulders. Switch to standing version then. It is one of the lifts that improves very slowly.0
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My OHP didn't really improve till I changed to an intermediate programme. I don't know if it was the slower progression or adding assistance exercises. It it wouldn't do any harm to add some assistance - pull-ups, lat raises etc.0
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If the the first rep is the issue, then creating a slight "bounce" might be enough to get it started. Lift an inch or two above normal start position, let it drop and use the bounce to get it all the way up (pretty much same principle you use for the other reps of the set).
If you've been going at this for six months or more, might want to consider some assistance exercises for your triceps (skullcrushers, dips, etc.). Before that, it's more a matter of technique.
Yeah I guess it gets easier once you get past the first rep? Is 1 rep at a higher weight better than 4 reps 5kg lower? Must be right?
Only been stuck for a month or so and progress has always been slow-ish with OHP but can't hurt to throw in some extra things on days when I've got a little more time!0 -
MB_Positif wrote: »
Personally, I would not do it first - as prioritizing it will effectively impact the priority of the other lifts.
OP: OHP is notoriously slow going, especially for women. It depends on your current routine, but some things to consider are:
- varying your rep ranges
- adding more sessions
- doing additional assists - for example, DB press, push press and incline.
Above all - be patient.0 -
My OHP didn't really improve till I changed to an intermediate programme. I don't know if it was the slower progression or adding assistance exercises. It it wouldn't do any harm to add some assistance - pull-ups, lat raises etc.
I've literally never tried to do a pull-up in my life haha, but I guess if you can do bodyweight on a pulldown you can do pull-ups right? I think I'm definitely gonna have to throw in a bit of variation and see if that helps
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fairweather2 wrote: »My OHP didn't really improve till I changed to an intermediate programme. I don't know if it was the slower progression or adding assistance exercises. It it wouldn't do any harm to add some assistance - pull-ups, lat raises etc.
I've literally never tried to do a pull-up in my life haha, but I guess if you can do bodyweight on a pulldown you can do pull-ups right? I think I'm definitely gonna have to throw in a bit of variation and see if that helps
That theory sounds about right - I've no idea though, I have no access to machines. I use assistance bands and negatives and can only actually do 1 unassisted ATM.
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MB_Positif wrote: »
Personally, I would not do it first - as prioritizing it will effectively impact the priority of the other lifts.
OP: OHP is notoriously slow going, especially for women. It depends on your current routine, but some things to consider are:
- varying your rep ranges
- adding more sessions
- doing additional assists - for example, DB press, push press and incline.
Above all - be patient.
Thanks so much for this - I'm totally fine with being patient as long as I know I'll get there in the end! Just don't want to be doing it wrong all this time haha Seems like lots of people have this problem so that definitely makes me feel better
Plan of action is definitely a bit more (more varied) upper body work and see if it gets me anywhere! Probably also get a bit samey in the rep routine too which I hadn't considered so appreciate the tip 0 -
That theory sounds about right - I've no idea though, I have no access to machines. I use assistance bands and negatives and can only actually do 1 unassisted ATM.
I was using them quite a bit back when I was even more of a newbie and scared of freeweights haha I'll have to give the pull-ups a go when nobody's looking they always look impressive so congrats for that! 0 -
To everybody else's point the Press can trail behind other lifts depending on how your training is programmed. If you can post a video that might help a little. Make sure your elbows aren't flared out. Also, make sure when you press the bar isn't getting out in front of you as you're losing strength when you do that. Breathing is perhaps one of the bigger difference makers because it can be hard to breathe during the Press. Before your first rep suck in a belly full of air, hold it and press then you can release it during the top, on the way back down take in another big belly of air, repeat. This one of the biggest things that helped me get my press up.
The Lats are often forgotten about in pressing exercises, but their important as they help support the eccentric motions. You may want to do 2 or 3 sets of Lat Pulldowns, heck you can even super-set them with your Press to save time.0 -
Sam_I_Am77 wrote: »To everybody else's point the Press can trail behind other lifts depending on how your training is programmed. If you can post a video that might help a little. Make sure your elbows aren't flared out. Also, make sure when you press the bar isn't getting out in front of you as you're losing strength when you do that. Breathing is perhaps one of the bigger difference makers because it can be hard to breathe during the Press. Before your first rep suck in a belly full of air, hold it and press then you can release it during the top, on the way back down take in another big belly of air, repeat. This one of the biggest things that helped me get my press up.
The Lats are often forgotten about in pressing exercises, but their important as they help support the eccentric motions. You may want to do 2 or 3 sets of Lat Pulldowns, heck you can even super-set them with your Press to save time.
I definitely need to be more conscious of form/breathing! Totally guilty of just pushing up and hoping for the best sometimes
I don't have a video to hand but these are great tips, might help to pay proper attention to a mirror from time to time
I have been neglecting lats recently but was quite a fan of pulldowns so yeah might throw them back into the mix! 0 -
One week I did 5/5/4/4/2 for my sets/reps. The next week, I did 3/2/1 and couldn't successfully lift the bar again...at the SAME weight as the previous week. Sometimes that just happens. You are using a rack, right? I had been lifting the preform bar from the floor, then discovered that it was much easier to set it up on a squat rack...and I could press more this way.0
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