The barbell shoulder press is a GREAT exercise for the delts...one of the best, in fact.
And if you're looking to build bigger, wider, stronger shoulders, this is one of the basic exercises that you should be doing.
Here's the problem...while it's an excellent exercise for building overhead pressing strength and building the shoulder muscles, it does have its limitations, especially when done with standard form.
I've got a few tips and techniques for you here that will help you maximize the power you get from this exercise.
Power Shoulder Press Tip #1 - Use the Power Rack
The rack will be necessary for several of the techniques I'm going to talk about here. Now, don't get me wrong..the standing overhead press is a GREAT exercise and can be used in conjunction with these techniques as well.
But as far as this "perfect" power shoulder press goes, I recommend the rack because of the stability and "reset" capability that it allows you.
Power Shoulder Press Tip #2 - Use the Preacher Bench Backwards Instead of the "Normal" Shoulder Press Bench
This is one of my favorite tips for the shoulder press just in general, whether it be barbell or dumbbell pressing. Set the Preacher Bench arm pad low so that when you sit on the seat facing AWAY from the bench, the pad hits you just below the shoulder blades.
I find this is the perfect support position for the shoulder press.
It braces you to keep your torso vertical yet supports the upper back from the back and below, helping you maintain a solid arch in the lower back. When using the normal shoulder pressing bench that just has a vertical back rest, I find this puts me out of position very easily and compromises form.
The seated position allows you to dig in with your feet and drive with your legs out of the bottom (just like leg drive in the bench press) to better stabilize the core and upper body for the press so that you can put maximum force into the bar. This is something that's harder to do with standing presses.
One thing you DO need to watch out for with the Preacher version is that you don't let yourself slide forward in the seat, turning it into an incline press.
Now, for this perfect power press, set the rails in the rack to just slightly above shoulder height when sitting in the bench. That's key for the NEXT tip.
Power Shoulder Press Tip #3 - Do a Small Pull-Up to Lock the Lats in For Stabilizing the Shoulder Joints
This is one of THE single best shoulder press tips you can put to work. And once you learn how to do it in the rack setup like I'm going to show you, it'll teach you the proper feel on how to do it in regular pressing ALL THE TIME.
Essentially, at the bottom of every rep of the shoulder press, you want to contract the lats and lock them down. This locks the shoulders down, preventing the traps from raising the shoulder girdle and providing a solid shelf from which to press.
This simple tip can have a BIG effect on your shoulder press strength and shoulder joint stability.
But it's tough to learn how to do when you have nothing to pull against to teach the lats how to do that.
So what I want you to do is at the bottom each rep, do a VERY small pull-up...basically just pulling your butt up off the seat an inch or so. This fire the lats, locking them into the contracted position.
It's tough to see in this still picture (watch the video), because the movement is so small.
Its imperative to KEEP them locked and in position when you set yourself back down on the bench, but just having that bar set up to pull against is going to be a MAJOR help in learning how to lock down the lats.
NOW you can press with your lats locked in. Push powerfully out of the bottom, so you blast right through the sticking point.
Which brings us to the next tip...
Power Shoulder Press Tip #4 - Perform Sets of Multiple Single Reps (a.k.a. Cluster Training)
Single Rep Cluster Training is one of my VERY favorite strength and power-building techniques.
Eseentially, what you're doing is a series of single reps with relatively short rest periods (e.g. 20 seconds) in between, then taking a longer rest period between those "Clusters."
This allows you to work at relatively high intensities (which is a measurement of % of 1RM, not how loud you can scream).
For this shoulder press movement, try doing 4 to 6 single reps with 20 seconds in between each rep. When you've done 6 reps, then take 2 to 3 minutes rest and do it again (longer rest periods are necessary for building strength and power effectively).
Don't push to absolute failure...that will actually slow down your strength gain. You always want to keep that do-or-die rep in the tank.
The beauty of this style of training when used in conjunction with this shoulder press technique is that it allows you to reset your body position on every single rep.
This means there is no degradation of body position as you go through a set, which happens to some degree on every regular multiple-rep set you perform.
This reset should include the lat pull-up contraction tip as well as making sure your torso is vertical, your core is tight and your lower back has a solid arch.
Power Shoulder Press Tip #5 - Bring Your Head Under the Bar
Once the bar clears your head, move your head forward under the bar so that it ends up directly over the top of your head, in line with your ears at the top. This ensures full involvement of the rear delts as well.
Conclusion
Try this exercise and put all 5 of these tips to work next time you hit shoulders. You will notice a big difference in strength and stability...which will lead directly to putting more weight on the bar for you.
Try this simple wrist extension trick for more effective lateral raises and wider shoulders.
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Want more unique and challenging exercises to work your entire body with simple equipment? All you need is just a barbell, dumbbells and a bench. Check out The Best Home Gym Exercises You've Never Heard Of!
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