Stop Doing Overhead Presses Until You Fix These 3 Huge Mistakes, Says a Personal Trainer

Introduction to the Overhead Press

The overhead press, shoulder press, or military press looks simple—but it’s surprisingly easy to lift with bad form, and many more people than you'd think end up on the physical therapy couch because of poor lifting mechanics. To maximize the benefits of this weightlifting move, learning how to overhead press before bad habits set in is essential. As a trainer, addressing these form flaws can supercharge the muscle and strength-building benefits of the exercise.

How to Overhead Press (And Why It Matters)

As a common compound exercise cropping up in functional training workouts and strength programs everywhere, the overhead press is one of the big five lifts that works the upper body to build strength and muscle in your triceps, shoulders, upper chest, upper back, and core, while developing explosive pushing power and overhead strength. The move recruits the upper pectoral muscles, anterior deltoids, and triceps, and it also strengthens your upper traps. When done correctly, you can expect to develop maximal strength when you work to failure.

Your core muscles engage throughout to stabilize your torso, and your shoulder stabilizers support this exercise, so they require proper activation and positioning; it’s a surprisingly technical foundational lift.

3 Huge Overhead Press Mistakes to Avoid

1. Hunching as You Lift

Commonly, people will start the lift with their shoulders by their ears, meaning the rotator cuff (shoulder stabilizer muscles) can't properly activate. Not only does this increase injury risk, but it means less stability, overfiring of the bigger, powerful muscles, and under-firing of the muscles that keep the move safe, causing imbalances.

The Fix: Draw your shoulder blades back and down and slightly together to 'set them in place' and keep your shoulders away from your ears while you perform reps.

2. Arching Your Spine

Pushing your hips forward hyperextends the spine and puts more pressure on your lower back. It can also signal you might be lifting too heavy for your core to properly engage and support the lift.

The Fix: Learn to brace your core properly, imagining you're expecting someone to punch you in the gut; breathe toward your diaphragm, not your chest. Next, slightly tuck your pelvis under so that you don't stick your butt out or flare your ribcage.

3. Rushing Your Reps

Evidence suggests eccentric loading and time under tension are great ways to build control, stability, and muscle mass. In this case, the eccentric phase is the lowering of the weights.

The Fix: Focus on a three-to-four-second tempo down, then press up for one second, rather than getting your reps out as quickly as possible.

Why Form Perfection is Non-Negotiable

In short, you're wasting your time if your form is off. Leaning back too far removes tension from your upper body and overloads your lower back. Keep your torso static—don't swing or use momentum to push the weight upward. Draw your ribcage down, engage your glutes, and slightly tuck the pelvis to keep everything locked in place.