5 REASONS TO OVERHEAD PRESS

Walk into a standard commercial gym and observe how many people perform a barbell overhead press. You will soon find that you can count the number on less than half your hand.

With any exercise people refrain from doing, there are usually two reasons for it: one, they don' t know how to do it. And two, it is 'too hard' - as we clearly know from experience that doing hard things is to be avoided like the plague.

Below are five reasons why the overhead press should not just be a seasonal exercise which you sprinkle over your workout, but why it is a key component for getting stronger and improving your quality of life.

HEALTHIER SHOULDERS

First, let's determine what constitutes a 'healthy' shoulder. We can make a case for a healthy shoulder being one which a) doesn't cause consistent pain to the point where it results in psychological distress or sleeping problems, and b) one that is less susceptible to injury, especially when impact is involded (i.e. falling down and landing on your shoulder as you're skiing).

The first scenario involves the nature of human evolution: our physical existence has been characterised as such that most of our life is anterior (i.e. forward) dominated: walking, reaching, grabbing, pushing things away from us. This scenario has been exacerbated over the last two decades by the introduction of technological gadgets where many of us now find ourselves spending hours in front of a laptop, phone, or other device which encourages a 'rounded' posture and forward-tilted shoulders.

The outcome? Stiffness and pain in areas involving the neck, upper back, and shoulders. The product of weakened muscles supporting the shoulder girdle, dehydration of the fascial system, as well as overactive muscles at the front of the shoulder which pull it into a 'rounded' position. This can result in adhesions (i.e. laying down of 'glue') in the shoulder joint, as well as increased tension in the anterior shoulder capsule.

A correctly performed overhead press 'opens up' the shoulder by strengthening muscles which counteract its tendency to collapse forward (i.e. both of the pectoralis muscles). The entirety of the shoulder structures - muscles, ligaments, cartilage, tendons, capsules - are being strengthened in a full range of motion press which starts just below the chin and finishes above the head with locked-out elbows. Less adhesions, less stiffness, greater range, stronger movements. You see where this is going.

The second component of having healthier shoulders is their ability to withstand or reduce the impact of injuries. Herein lies one challenge: the shoulder is a joint with a very small attachment point connecting two bones. The head of the humerus is a relatively small bony piece which sits on another relatively small bony piece called the glenoid fossa. Imagine a golf ball sitting on a tee. This is what the configuration of the shoulder joint looks like.

As a consequence, the shoulder joint heavily relies on the support of its surrounding muscles to maintain stability. The muscles which perform this job are strengthened to a high degree in the overhead press: rotator cuff, deltoids, as well as triceps. In combination, these muscles keep the humerus drawn into the glenoid fossa and thus create shoulder stability.

MAINTAINING MOBILITY

As we age, performing simple tasks overhead becomes increasingly difficult. Weakened muscles, reduced tissue flexibility, as well as an accumulation of type 3 collagen fibers which act like concrete inside a joint take their toll. All of this because you have developed a deficiency in pressing strength over many years. The good news is that guilt can be easily corrected through making better life choices.

Performing the overhead press ensures that we stay strong and mobile in such a vital movement as we age: putting on a t-shirt, combing our hair, or simply reaching for an item on top of the kitchen shelf which had been tucked away for twenty years.

STRONGER BONES

Trips and falls can be detrimental to our life if our bones do not have the strength to absorb sudden impact. What may be a minor nuisance for a 20-year old can prove debilitating for a 70-year old: a fractured wrist, elbow, or collar bone can put a severe limitation on how a person of this age can function in their everyday life.

Doing our presses ensures that we increase the density of the bones in our hand, wrist, elbow, and shoulder joint. Just in case the floor is pulled away underneath us like a carpet.

BETTER SPORTS PERFORMANCE

Pitching, throwing, striking, or fending off an opponent are key skills in a variety of sports. The stronger the muscles in our upper body, the greater the speed and accuracy with which these skills can be performed. Stronger athletes always perform better than weaker ones. Would you agree?

BIGGER SHOULDERS AND ARMS

In order to lift heavier weights, our muscles have to get stronger. And in order to have stronger muscles, they have to get bigger. In other words: 'more mass can move more mass.'

The common notion is that a rep range of 8-12 performed over a high number of sets with a variety of exercises is required for hypertrophy (i.e. an increase in muscle size). What most people fail to understand is that muscles grow as a result of producing tension. As tension is a product of weight on the bar, stronger lifters grow muscles easier than weaker ones. Now, what do you think happens to the amount of tension your shoulder muscles produce when you double the weight on your overhead press? It goes up, right? Over many years, I have observed how people training at gyms have failed to build significant amounts of muscle mass because their muscles aren't strong enough to generate sufficient amounts of tension to do so.

The solution? Get your numbers up on the press to double the weight your are currently operating with, and see what happens to the size of your shoulders over time. Sets of 3 or 5 make you stronger, not sets of 15. And stronger means bigger.

Remember: we are dealing with a pressing issue here (no pun intended).

So get under the bar, pick it up, and throw it over your head.

Your shoulders will thank you.

#strengthtraining #barbells #overheadpress #hamptonwick #teddington