Whenever you hear about getting stronger you probably think of 1 rep maxes, “strong men” and other power athletes. However increasing strength in any capacity is only going to help develop more muscle. Within Y3T training I focus on making clients get stronger in all rep ranges to generate overload across multiple mediums. Overhead pressing is one area which people tend to become stuck on at a certain point which is why I’m going to give you 3 quick tips to address this.
Shoulder Mobility
If you’re suffering with excessive internal rotation at the shoulder joint it is very likely your shoulder pressing will be compromised. This is because you haven’t got the shoulder mobility to press upwards without restriction.
Doing 3-4 short stretching sessions throughout the day on your shoulders can drastically help loosen up your anterior/pec minor area which usually causes this issue. This alone can help you move more freely and as a result, press bigger overhead! It’s also key to remember that general shoulder integrity is paramount when it comes to getting stronger on overhead press.
Back Strength & Activation
If the mid region of your back is weak, around your rhomboids, trap 3 muscle and even where your lats tie in then your ability to bear heavy weight overhead will become limited. This means your foundation to press from will become a limiting factor. Developing the mid region of your back is essential for this purpose!
Posture
Above I mentioned about developing the mid region of your back to maximise your shoulder press. Adding to this, I’d recommend making more of a conscious effort to develop a better posture using plenty of cable face pulls and seated variants. The key is to get your shoulders sitting further back so you’re able to move more freely above. This ties in to stretching your shoulders daily as I’ve already discussed.
Neil Hill
