Want A Better Bench?... Then Overhead Press!

The overhead press... the act of putting an object over head. Yeah it's pretty bad @$$. And to start this article off lets piss off a bunch of bench press fan boys for a second. The overhead press is the number one developer of overall upper body pressing strength. Yes, not the bench press.

Now don't stop reading just yet. There are a few key reasons as to why it is the number one exercise for pressing strength, but let's talk history for a moment.

The overhead press is a very broad term and combines a number of different exercise. military press, log press, stone press, keg press, and the list goes on but the basic thing is putting a heavy object over head. Now do you think benches, barbells , metal plates, and collars were used in ancient history? No, they had stones, and wood that they used to train. Now the only pressing they could do were push ups and pressing objects overhead, History favors this movements but modern gym rats do not.

No one wants to do anything hard and skill full, Having to learn how to press over head can be a daunting task and no one has the time to learn anymore or they are just lazy. So they move to the bench press where 90% of the gym is congregated around. Now I am not hating on the bench press. Do not get me wrong. I am simply stating when it comes to building overall upper body pressing power that there is not one movement better than pressing over head. Here are a few reasons as to why if you want to increase your bench press you should be adding in overhead press to your workout regimen. It is important to note that these points are for standing overhead movements.

Active front delt and triceps recruitment

The bench press is a very front delt dominate exercise and so is the military press. The only difference is the majority of the overhead press involves a significant more front delt recruitment as well as lateral delt.

The triceps activation in the bench press is predominately dependent upon hand position. The triceps also have to go through an eccentric phase before they go through a concentric phase. Where in the overhead press the triceps must be in a constant isometric contraction in order to help stablize the elbow and then go through the concentric phase. This causes a extended period of time under tension for the triceps which should lead to growth in size and strength.

Involuntary posterior chain activation

When performing a overhead press the posterior chain automatically is called into action, Because if the muscles of the back, butt, and legs do not work then chances are you are about to fall flat on your face or butt. Now having a solid posterior chain while doing any pressing movement is crucially important. It is just more important during an overhead press which will carry over easily on to the bench press.

Psychological preparedness

If you have ever taken a heavy weight off the rack in order to complete a static/standing overhead press you know how hard it is to breathe, think, and get organized. Thoughts of the weight being to heavy, and thoughts of how am I going to get this weight over my head and so on. This movement is the squat of the pressing world. Just like the squat it demands both physical and mental strength to complete and this movement will both help solidify and encourage mental readiness. And getting under a heavy weight on the bench will just seem that much easier!

The Olympic weightlifter comparison

If you have watched the Olympics you know that these athletes have some serious pressing capabilities, Yes i know they use a jerk, push press, or whatever else you want to call it but facts are leg drive is not all responsible for the amount of weight going over their heads. Now if you take a weightlifter that barely touches the bench press and you stick him or her under the bar you will notice 2 things. Form will be almost perfect, and the strength level will be more than adequate. Why?

Because they have conditioned here shoulders, triceps, and posterior chain by the way in which they train. However take a powerlifter and make them overhead press and chances are they will fail in comparison due to the lack of overall shoulder development.

Final words

Want a better bench press... then overhead press. Learn to love it and learn how to get the most out of it. It will drastically change the way your bench press feels as well as increase the amount of weight you bench press at the end of your training cycle. Remember that the overhead press is the best developer of overall upper body pressing strength. Don't believe me? Spend 12 weeks doing overhead press with only minimal benching and watch your bench press improve in one way or another!