Get a stronger overhead press by learning how to "lockdown" your scapulae (via lower lats and lower traps).
For overhead press, you need to retract AND depress the shoulder blades to set a stable base for your press.
If you've been stuck on your overhead pressing strength, this can be a gamechanger for you. You'll feel more stable and just stronger when overhead pressing.
This method will help you learn it, train it and strengthen it so it becomes easier to do "in the wild" when you're actually training the full overhead press.
Definitely watch the video for this one... still pictures don't really convey how it works to the fullest extent.
Start with an empty bar. We're not trying to work the shoulders yet...just learn the position.
You're going to set a bar in the rack and use a very short pull-up-like movement to engage the lower traps and lower lats to "set" the shoulder girdle for a stronger base to press from.
This is the same concept that you use for the bench press...that retraction stabilizes the shoulder joint. This retraction and depression does the same here.
You'll set the rails of the power rack to the same height as your shoulders. You want about an inch of room between the bar and where you'd normally start the press off your upper chest.
Grip the bar (as normal), then do the bottom inch of a pull-up, coming up on your toes. Pull down HARD against the bar with your lats and lower traps. It should be hard enough to be almost painful. Hold for a few seconds and really feel it.
THIS is the bottom solidly stabilized position we want for overhead pressing.
Once you've got it fully locked in, come back down from your toes and press the bar up overhead.
When you start the press, your scapulae DO move. They don't stay locked down, just like with bench press.
The key is to stabilize the shoulders out of the bottom position.
Repeat this for a few sets of 5 reps...still the empty bar.
Once you get a good feel for it, then try it with weight and see how it feels.
An excellent bodyweight exercise for the shoulders is the Elevated Pike Handstand Push-Up
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