One of the most popular gym exercises is the world is the military overhead press. It is popular because of its ability to build strength while working out multiple muscle groups. But, like most weighted exercises, it can potentially hurt if performed incorrectly. That’s why today we’ll be looking at the safest way to perform this exercise.

Military Overhead Press Benefits & Muscles Worked

Let’s examine the benefits that the overhead press provides.

• First, it works your arms and shoulders, helping you increase muscle tone and definition.
• It also helps you improve your core strength.
• Another benefit is an increase in bench press strength, as the overhead press strengthens muscles in your back.
• Finally, this exercise can help athletes improve their athletic performance in other sporting areas. For example, it will strengthen their core to help them jump higher, and it may also help football players resist being tackled.

Now that we know a little more about the benefits of the overhead press let’s look at how to perform this exercise correctly.

How To Overhead Press

It is essential to learn how to perform weighted exercises correctly, as the incorrect technique may potentially cause injuries. So, let’s look at the best way to perform the military overhead press. This move involves two positions.

1. In the starting position, hold a weighted bar with your hands a shoulder-width apart.
2. Then, press the bar overhead and bring it back to the starting position. This is one repetition.
3. A common mistake to avoid when performing this exercise is tilting your hips forward. Make sure to keep them straight.

Now that you know how to perform this exercise safely let’s look at some tips you can use to improve your performance.

Workout Tips & Alternatives

The goal of any exercise should be to improve your performance, there are several ways of doing this, and we have compiled a list of excellent tips.

• First, you can use your shoulders to give you the power needed to start the lift. This will help improve your shoulder and back muscles and strength.
• You can also keep your chest up, which will ensure that all the muscles get the best possible workout.
• Another critical tip is to keep your wrists mobile, which will help you achieve a stronger upwards push.

Using Dumbbells

Though it is most common to use a weighted bar, there are a few other ways of performing this exercise. First, you can use dumbbells. This ensures that both sides of your body are working equally hard. It also ensures you can use smaller muscles in the arm to provide stability.

1. To perform this, start holding the dumbbells above your shoulders.
2. Then lift them into the air and back down to shoulder height. This is one repetition.

Using Kettlebells

The second alternative is an overhead kettlebell press. The shape of the kettlebell ensures that you are performing the move correctly.

1. To do this, hold the kettlebell in your hand at shoulder height, then lift it overhead.
2. At the top, your palm should be facing upwards.
3. Finish by bringing it back to shoulder height. This is one repetition.

The overhead press is a gym staple, and we discussed the best way to perform this move safely. So, add this exercise to your regular gym routine and see the benefits it provides for yourself. To further maximize your bodybuilding efforts, we highly recommend adding an all-natural supplement to your routine. CrazyMass is a leading bodybuilding supplement company with thousands of happy customers who have seen fast results while using our products. You can learn more about our stacks and supplements here.