The Overhead Press: Is it Worth It?
The growing trend in the fitness industry or social media is to find the exercise that produces the greatest hypertrophy, aka Muscle Growth. When it comes to building size in the shoulders, lateral delts seem to be done more in attempting to create greater width, while the anterior deltoid tends to gain more girth with all the types of different pressing action individuals perform during resistance training.
When it comes to the overhead press most pundits discard it as just another anterior deltoid movement and opt to perform a flat press instead targeting the same anterior area and the sternal head of the chest as well, conceivably getting more back for their buck. Do you?
Another reason that the overhead press is sometimes neglected or strayed away from---PAIN. The overhead press and flat press are the biggest culprits of pain due to the pinching of the supraspinatus muscle in the shoulder, and which one do most individuals discard, the overhead press of course, and keep doing the flat press.
Which brings us to the questions, do you get more back by doing the flat press versus overhead press? Is the overhead press optimal? Is the military press efficient? Should I perform this type of exercise and if so, why do it?
Before I break down the benefits, let us first understand that the muscles of the body are nonuniformed and the overhead press is a good "all-rounder", meaning it targets many different areas and could be considered a complex exercise. There are many muscle groups that are activated: upper chest, anterior deltoid, medial deltoid, upper trap, mid trap and triceps. The next exercise I can think of that is similar is the deadlift, being a jackal of all trades but a master of none.
While in the influencer/fitness rating systems of S-Tier or good versus great the overhead press not being labeled as great doesn't mean it isn't good, and it definitely doesn't come to the conclusion that it is bad because it doesn't particularly target that medial deltoid as well as the lateral raise. The overhead press is ultimately great for so many other things that you can't train.
This pursuit of the most efficient "good vs great" for optimal hypertrophy can also come with a cost. Losing an optimal exercise for the delts but losing the ability to push SHIT over your head, which most of us are WEAK at.
I personally feel the overhead press is unfairly criticized by beginners and intermediates as it is such a global movement pattern that gives you great room or runway to progress.
The overhead press is a phenomenal exercise as you are going to get strong, you are going to build muscle in your shoulders, chest, and triceps by overloading it. If you just focus on this one movement instead of the WILLY NILLY approach with other movements, you will make serious progress in pure strength and ability.
Below is a list of benefits, negatives, how to train the overhead press, and why you shouldn't do it.
BENEFITS:
1- Pure Overload
2- Various Muscle Groups Activated
3- Strength Gains
4- Muscle Gains Due to Greater Time Under Tension
5- Many Different Movements and Degrees of Exercise Paths
6- Clavicular Head Development
7- Stability
8- Concentric and Eccentric Movements are Performed
9- Lift SHIT Over Your Head
NEGATIVES:
1- Lateral Raise is Better for Capping Shoulder
2- Pain- might need modified or altered due to Supraspinatus
3- Fatigue at the Core- which is probably an actual benefit!
4- Slow Progress (Week to Week)
HOW TO TRAIN FOR GREATEST BENEFIT:
1- Pause In Stretch Position
2- Train At Different Degrees/Angles
3- Slow It Down/Eccentric/But Not Too Slow
4- Keep Feet Close if Standing, Removing Momentum with Wider Stance and Leg Push
5- LOAD IT -LOAD IT-LOAD IT
WHY SHOULDN'T YOU DO IT:
1- If you don't want to get stronger
2- If you don't want to move better
3- If you don't want better mobility in the shoulders
4- If you don't want to move SHIT
5- If you have too much shoulder discomfort and limitations of range of motion.
6- Pelvic Floor Issues
BOTTOM LINE and in my humbled opinion:
If you are a female and have experienced pelvic floor issues in the past, you might want to opt for the seated version to support the core region more and remove some of the intraabdominal pressure that will occur from supporting the weight above your head.
For all other lifters, the overhead press and/or the military press are excellent muscle builders for hard to train area and is different than a push press which is performed for strength, velocity, speed, and uses momentum and a wider leg stance.
Don't mistake the two different movements and choose which one suits your goals most and always train like an athlete.
-Jesse
Disclaimer: Sharing a study in NOT an endorsement. You should read the orginal research yourself and be critical.
