Overhead press: technique step by step

Setup

• Bar in the front rack on the front delts, grip just outside the shoulders, elbows slightly in front of the bar.
• Feet hip-width, knees extended but not locked.
• Squeeze glutes and abs hard — that is your "floor". Wrists straight above the elbows.

The movement

1. Breathe into your belly, move your head slightly back and press the bar straight up.
2. As soon as the bar passes your forehead, move your head forward "through the window" — at the top the bar is over your ears, mid-foot and hips in one straight line.
3. Lower with control along the same path back to the front rack.

Common mistakes

• Over-arching the lower back: compensating for a weak press or tired shoulders. Squeeze glutes/abs and lower the weight.
• Pressing the bar forward in an arc: the path should be nearly vertical; move your head, not the bar.
• Grip too wide or too narrow: the elbows should be able to stay under the bar through the whole lift.

Variations

Dumbbell pressing demands more stabilization and allows a more natural path; seated pressing removes leg drive and isolates the shoulders harder.