The Overhead Press is an exercise that incorporates a very functional set of muscles when considering performance training and in our everyday lives. We often are using our hands above our heads to do a number of tasks—especially depending on our professional industry. This is even more true when performance training. What this essentially means is we use our shoulders and upper backs more often than we consider, and while being able to bench press 405 lbs. does come in handy, the usefulness of a strong back and shoulders generally outweighs that of a strong chest in many people’s everyday lives. That said, the overhead press is a great way to focus and progress shoulder, back, and even chest growth.
The overhead press can be done sitting or standing. Doing either variation works arms and shoulders, but there is a difference. A sitting overhead press focuses more on the shoulders while a standing overhead press uses back, shoulders, chest and core muscles all while balancing, thus making a standing overhead press aid more in functional fitness. Specifically, a standing OP focuses on our pects (chest), delts (shoulders), triceps (arms), and traps (upper back). It’s a basic exercise that works a variety of important muscles, so we often implement here at Sports Reality in our performance training programs as it does the work of multiple exercises in one.
