How to do it
- Set the bar at collarbone height with a grip just outside shoulder width, elbows slightly in front.
- Brace hard, tuck the chin and press the bar in a straight line past your face.
- Push your head through at lockout so the bar finishes over the mid-foot.
Cues that matter
- Squeeze the glutes to stop the lower back arching.
- The bar path is vertical — move your head, not the bar.
Common mistakes
- Leaning back excessively and turning it into a standing incline press.
- Pressing around the face in an arc.
Muscles worked
Primary
- Shoulders
- Front delt
- Side delt
Also works
- Triceps
- Core
- Upper traps
Sets and reps
What to do with it depends on what you are training for. These are the ranges MuscleMap uses when it puts Standing Overhead Press in a session, with 150 seconds between sets.
- Strength
- 4–6 reps
- Build muscle
- 6–10 reps
- Endurance
- 12–20 reps
Same muscle, different kit
Movements that train the same part of the shoulders with different equipment — for a day the barbell is taken, or a gym that does not have one.
- Pike Push-UpBodyweight · Intermediate · Compound
- Seated Dumbbell Shoulder PressDumbbell · Beginner · Compound
- Machine Shoulder PressMachine · Beginner · Compound
- Cable Front RaiseCable · Beginner · Isolation
- Band Overhead PressResistance band · Beginner · Compound
- Kettlebell Overhead PressKettlebell · Intermediate · Compound