Barbell Seated Overhead Press

A step-by-step form guide from the Ægir Iron exercise library: how to do the lift, what to watch for, and the muscles it trains.

HOW TO PERFORM

Set an upright bench in a rack with the hooks at about chin height when you are seated.
Sit with the back against the pad and the feet planted, and take the bar just outside shoulder width.
Unrack it to the front of the shoulders, brace the trunk and keep the ribs down.
Press straight up, moving the head back to let the bar pass and then forward under it once it clears the face.
Lock out with the bar over the shoulders, then lower it under control to the collarbones.

Keep the hips and upper back on the pad. Leaning back to get the bar up turns it into an incline press.
Set safety pins or have a spotter. Seated, you cannot step away from a missed rep.

Log it in Ægir Iron to track your PRs and estimated 1RM, and to see the sets each muscle gets every week. Free for individual lifters.