A typical weightlifting diet often involves taking a barbell overhead. The classic lifts, known as snatches and cleans and jerks, both share the functional purpose of lifting and finishing the barbell overhead. It’s an integral part of a weightlifting sport that is harder than it looks.
Lifting overhead is an expression of the strength of both the shoulders and the core. The exact technique used in overhead lifting brings the perfect balance of straight arm barbells.
By practicing proper lifts, overhead strength can be your strongest asset. These eight lifts are great for getting a lot of overhead.
The best overhead exercise for weightlifting
Barbell Strict Press
The Strict Press is a classic overhead lift. It’s simple yet effective. The lift uses only the power of the upper body to carry the bar from shoulder to overhead. For pure overhead strength, the tighter the press, the better.
Benefits of Strict Press
How to do a rigorous press
Place the barbell on the squat rack and start rigorous pressing. Place the bar on your shoulder and move it to the front rack position. Stand on your straight legs, with your legs separated by the width of your hips.
Support the core and push it up perpendicular to the barbell. When the bar cleans her head, push her head in while straightening her arms to finish the lift. Carefully lower the barbell to your shoulders and repeat 3-10 times per set.
Note: You can also use dumbbells for rigorous pressing.
Barbell push press
The push press takes the overhead press to the next level. The strength of your foot affects this lift by creating speed with the first dip and drive of the bar. This is a very powerful lift and you can gain weight when going overhead.
Benefits of push press
- Adding weight to the press increases the capacity of the overhead strength.
- Drive timing can be transferred to jerk timing.
Push press method
Bring the barbell from the squat rack to the front rack position. Stand on straight legs with a tight core. With your torso upright, immerse your feet in a quarter squat position. Quickly turn around and move the barbell from your shoulders up while stretching your toes up. Return your heels to the floor and at the same time press the barbell overhead against your straight arm to finish the lift.
Press jerk
Jerk carries the barbell from shoulder to overhead in one quick move. The lift mainly uses leg strength to drive and catch weights. This allows you to add more weight than a press.
There are several different styles of jerk, but push jerk is the best way to target true overhead stability and balance. Push jerk keeps your feet stationary, allowing you to pin the lift’s focus over the head of a perfect vertical drive.
Benefits of push jerk
- The high power of the lift adds strength to overhead work.
- Training fast catches will improve your lifting speed.
- Bent leg catches enhance your balance.
How to do push jerk
Start the push jerk with the barbell in the front rack position. With your upright torso and elbows up, sink to a quarter squat position and quickly remove the barbell from your shoulders. When the bar passes your forehead, drop it under the barbell to catch it and stand up.
Single arm press
Proper overhead strength requires balance and symmetry. In the presence of imbalances, two-sided movements with barbells can now fully address one-sided weaknesses. This one-sided movement trains each arm individually for valuable overhead stability and strength.
Benefits of single arm press
- Addresses potential weaknesses on one side.
- Overhead requires additional stabilization, which translates to other barbell lifts.
- Train the core to withstand the overhead of uneven weight distribution.
Single arm press method
Find the selected dumbbell. Do this exercise while standing for maximum overhead strength results. Put your weight on your shoulders and support your core. Move the weight vertically overhead. Carefully return your weight to your shoulders.
Note: You can also perform a single arm push press for increased strength.
Behind the neck press
Lifting from the back of the neck is a staple of overhead strength training for weight lifters. Starting from this position, stack the barbells directly above your spine to help the bar path. The unique starting placement lays a strong foundation for your agility and strength.
Benefits of behind press
- Encourage pushing up under the barbell with proper head placement.
- It works with slightly different muscles than the front rack press, resulting in more hypertrophy.
How to do the back side of the neck press
Place the barbell behind your neck in a trap located on the horizontal bar. Place your hands on the outside of your shoulders or in a wide snatch grip. Stand on your straight legs and point your elbows to the floor. Push the barbell over your shoulders and overhead with or without a leg drive.
Overhead squat
You will never make a mistake by using overhead squats as a strategy to improve overhead lifting. Not only does it hold the weight overhead, but it also holds the weight firmly while squatting to full depth. It demands absolute strength while maximizing your full mobility.
Benefits of overhead squats
How to do overhead squats
Start by taking the barbell behind your neck. Find the snatch grip. Do a push press on the back of the neck to hold the barbell overhead. Adjust your legs to the proper squat position.
Push the barbell up with your straight arm to complete a complete squat before returning to your standing position. Balance under the barbell, keep you tall, and keep your arms straight.
Snatch balance
Snatch balance is tremendously rewarding when you are ready to be fast and aggressive under the barbell. This lift quickly drops under the barbell and catches in a deep squat position overhead.
Benefits of snatch balance
- It imitates and trains snatch footwork.
- It enhances the way to properly drop under the barbell of the snatch.
- Improves reliability when the overhead is heavy.
How to balance the snatch
Bring the bar on the back of your neck to the snatch grip on your straight leg to find the starting position. Perform the same dip and drive as a push press.
When the barbell is off your shoulders, slide your foot into a squat position and squat deep under the barbell. You need to catch the lift quickly with your straight arm. Balance and hold the bar above the bottom catch and stand up to finish the lift.
Isometric overhead hold
When going overhead, you must be able to grab the bar in the first place. Especially in competitions, a thorough lockout is required to complete all overhead lifts. This isn’t as easy as it sounds, so some additional exercises can be very helpful.
Benefits of isometric overhead hold
How to do an isometric overhead hold
For barbell overhead hold, start from the front rack position and push the bar overhead. Hold the weight for the desired time. For example, do 4-5 sets for 30 seconds. You can also do an overhead hold with the snatch grip. In this variation, start with the barbell behind the neck before pushing overhead.
Overhead hold is also possible with dumbbells. Practice both arms with a dumbbell in one hand, or hold one arm for stable work.
How to Program Overhead Strength Work
If you are a weight lifter, these overhead exercises are probably already somehow already in your program. Some levels of experience are more difficult than others. However, overhead strength training should be personalized to your goals.
Start by assessing the mobility of the overhead. Grab the dowel rod and handle some presses, squats, and passthroughs. When it’s comfortable, proceed to the press with the bar from the front and rear rack positions. If this feels good, proceed to the overhead squat. After mastering the press and overhead squats, you are ready to introduce high power lifts such as push presses, jerks and snatch balances.
While training the overhead lift for days or weeks Observe your strengths and weaknesses It is related to overhead. Identify which exercises require the most work and discuss with your coach about including those combinations in your plan.
Choose the 3-5 best exercises for you and repeat them.
How to warm up for an overhead lift
Get ready to lift overhead with a full warm-up. You should start with light aerobic exercise to prepare your body for exercise.
As your arms extend overhead, start with dynamic shoulder stretches and exercises such as band pulls, arm loops, overhead reach, and side bends. If your shoulder muscles are tight, use a foam roller or massage ball to release the tissue. At the end of the warm-up, your shoulders should feel “revitalized” and warm.
Warm up the lift with a couple of sets of empty barbells. Especially when going overhead, start lightly and gradually gain weight. For best results, jump step by step to your working weight.
Other overhead training tips
Now that you have become an expert on these overhead lifts, check out these other resources to maximize your overhead strength capacity.
Featured Image: Srdjan Randjelovic / Shutterstock
