The overhead press is often performed incorrectly because of the high-degree of shoulder stability and mobility required. Improper technique not only leads to poor performance, but also shoulder joint misalignment and pain. However, performed correctly, the overhead press is great for developing stable, strong and healthy shoulders. In the video, notice how my body remains straight (no arching back) and the bar travels close to my center of gravity. You will also notice how much range of motion my shoulder blades have to complete. It is helpful to move slowly and focus on stabilizing the torso and upwardly-rotating the shoulder blades.
The deltoid, the most prominent and powerful shoulder muscle, does play a major role in the overhead press. But, since the shoulder is a fairly unstable joint, the pull of the deltoid needs to be balanced out by many, smaller muscles. Several other muscles that upwardly rotate the shoulder also need to function properly. Combined together, they allow the arm to move a full 180 degrees of motion.
In most people, the deltoid, pectoralis, and upper trapezius muscles are dominant, while many of the muscles that balance these muscles are weak (especially the ones that pull the shoulder blade down, and upwardly rotate it).. Commonly, this will be evident in poor posture at rest. And even more evident when the arms attempt to press overhead.
To press overhead properly, a trainee needs to understand proper shoulder mechanics in order to control the shoulder joint and shoulder blades. They also probably need more work to strengthen the shoulder stabilizer muscles. I regularly use a couple exercises that work well for this: the Inclined Scarecrow and the Inclined Stick Press (see video). These exercises work well, because they are able to challenge the shoulder stabilizers more than the shoulder prime movers (deltoid). Also, I am able to cue clients to lock the shoulder blades back by "puffing their chests out", and "bend the stick around your head like you are bending it against your forehead." These coaching cues help the client to activate the proper muscles and add stability to their overhead press.
Exercise programing or what types, duration, and frequency of exercise training you are doing must be balanced for optimal results and to keep your joints healthy. The biggest issue I see among people who workout regularly (without my supervision) is the blatant imbalance in exercise programing (180 minutes on the elliptical trainer or 20 sets of anything on a BOSU ball). What we decide to do when we exercise regularly has a positive and negative impact on our body. Here are a few examples:
A 45 year-old male former powerlifter and regular (five days per week) weight lifter was complaining to me the other day that he has been bothered by pain in both shoulders. He asked me if he should supplement with glucosamine. You know how I feel about supplements. But, I have seen this guy train week in, week out. I noticed a severe imbalance in his exercise training programing. He performed a lot of curls, chest presses, and shoulder lateral raises. He is very muscular, but I am sure he would be hard-pressed to move his arms through a full range of motion through the shoulder joint. He never performs any flexibility or mobility work. And his job is fairly sedentary. I recommended to him to work on his shoulder mobility every time he trains to balance out the tremendous volume of upper body strength training. It would also behoove him to cut down the frequency and volume of his current training and also add some more scapular stabilization and rowing exercises to balance the forces and demands on the shoulder joint.
A 33 year-old female runner with history of knee surgeries continues to run as her predominant mode of exercise training. While her overall mileage is down from years past, she continues to suffer from her imbalanced training. When I got a chance to work with her, I found many deficiencies. She had poor single-leg stability, a loss of knee range of motion, and hip weakness. Exercises like body-weight step-ups and single-leg hip bridges were extremely challenging and sometimes painful. I recommended that she spend her limited training time on knee, hip, and ankle range of motion, single-leg stability, hip strength, and shelf the running for the time being (this is wishful thinking, as runners will run no matter what).
These are two of many, many examples that I see. Training regularly is good, but as they say, you can have too much of a good thing (especially if it means you are ignoring other aspects of your training). You need to always move well. That means developing and maintaining adequate joint mobility, stability, strength, power, agility, balance, endurance, and coordination. We need to consider our individual background and needs, along with our goals. Then, program accordingly. Unsure, of what you need? Consult a knowledgeable trainer to help you develop a balanced exercise training program.
I have noticed an alarming trend in the adult population that I work with: a high prevalence of shoulder dysfunction. What I mean by dysfunction is significantly decreased range of motion, pain with specific motions, instability, compensation and asymmetries in muscular balance, timing, and control. I would estimate that greater than 50% of the people over the age 30 have some sort of dysfunction. Equally, men and women are affected.
I have to take these shoulder dysfunctions into consideration when designing exercise training programs. More often than not, I need to spend time helping clients simply regain shoulder range of motion before loading the shoulder. Many exercises will not be tolerated very well, such as a barbell overhead presses, push-ups, or bench presses. The shoulder is an interesting joint because it needs adequate mobility from multiple areas, not just the shoulder (gleno-humoral) joint. The upper (thoracic) spine needs to be able to extend and rotate adequately. If not, the shoulder blades (scapulae), which sit on the thoracic spine, cannot move to their proper position. The Reach and Rotate exercise on a roller is a great exercise to improve thoracic spine mobility. The shoulder blades range of motion and stability can also be limited by the muscles that have direct connections to them. These muscles have no direct connection to the shoulder joint, but influence the position of the shoulder blades and therefore the shoulder joint. These large, multi-joint muscles (including the bicep, tricep, pectoralis major, minor, and latissimus dorsi) generally are very tight and dominant. In addition to developing adequate activation, timing, and control of the smaller muscles that stabilize the shoulder joint (rotator cuff muscles) and shoulder blades, developing adequate flexibility of these large multi joint muscles is key to keeping the shoulder joint healthy and pain free.
If a client has a new shoulder injury, a recent surgery, or significant pain, I would recommend that they see an orthopedic physical therapist or physician. If a client is cleared to exercise but still has shoulder range of motion limitations (as many do), range of motion should be addressed prior to pursuing more challenging (strengthening) exercises. Interestingly, simply performing shoulder mobility exercises will improve shoulder function and can eliminate some aches and pains. There are many effective shoulder exercises, such as kettlebell arm bars, but here are two very effective ones that I use regularly with clients and myself:
