Top 5 Exercises to Help Improve My Overhead Press

Why Your Overhead Press Is Stuck (It's Not Your Shoulders)

The top 5 exercises to help improve my overhead press have almost nothing to do with your shoulders; they fix the 3 weak links that are actually holding you back: your triceps, upper back, and core.

You're here because the number on the bar isn't moving. You've been grinding away at the overhead press (OHP), maybe adding a few reps here and there, but when you try to add another 5 pounds, it feels glued to your chest. It's one of the most frustrating plateaus in lifting.

Here’s the secret most people miss: the overhead press is a full-body lift disguised as a shoulder exercise. Your shoulders (deltoids) are just one part of the equation. They initiate the movement, but they don't finish it. Trying to improve your press by only doing more pressing is like trying to build a faster car by only upgrading the tires. It ignores the engine and the chassis.

The real reason you're stuck is that a smaller, weaker muscle group is failing before your shoulders do. For 90% of lifters, this means your triceps give out at lockout, your upper back isn't stable enough to provide a solid platform, or your core collapses and leaks all the power you generate.

This is why just 'trying harder' on the OHP itself stops working. You're just repeatedly stressing the same strong muscles while your hidden weaknesses continue to hold you back. To break through, you need to stop hammering the press itself and start strategically strengthening its foundation. These five exercises do exactly that.

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The 3 Failure Points Killing Your OHP Progress

Your press doesn't fail randomly. It fails at a specific point for a specific reason. Understanding which of these three failure points is yours is the key to unlocking new strength. Your program must attack these weak links directly.

First is the Tricep Lockout Failure. If you can get the bar past your forehead but struggle to lock it out overhead, your triceps are the problem. Your deltoids did their job getting the lift started, but your triceps don't have the horsepower to finish it. The top 50% of the overhead press is almost entirely a function of tricep strength. Without strong triceps, you'll always have a weak finish.

Second is the Unstable Shelf Failure. The press begins from a 'shelf' created by your upper chest and front delts, supported by your entire upper back. If your upper back (lats, traps, rhomboids) is weak, that shelf is soft and unstable. Pressing from a weak shelf is like trying to shoot a cannon from a canoe. All your force gets absorbed by instability instead of being transferred into the bar. You'll feel shaky at the bottom and struggle to generate initial bar speed.

Third is the Core Collapse Failure. The OHP is a standing lift, meaning power is transferred from the ground up through your body. Your core is the transmission. A braced, tight core ensures that 100% of the force from your legs and hips gets delivered to the bar. If your core is weak, it's like a massive energy leak. You'll see this as an excessive lower back arch, which not only bleeds power but also puts your spine in a dangerous position.

You now know the three failure points: weak triceps, an unstable back, and a collapsing core. But knowing why you're stuck and having a plan to fix it are two different things. Look at your training log. Can you prove your triceps or back are stronger than they were 8 weeks ago? If you can't, you're not training, you're guessing.

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The 8-Week OHP Overhaul: Your New Accessory Plan

Stop randomly adding shoulder raises to your routine. For the next 8 weeks, you will replace your old accessory work with this targeted plan. On your main pressing day, perform your standard overhead press first. Then, choose two of the following five exercises. On a separate upper-body day, perform two others. Rotate them to ensure you're hitting all your weak points.

Exercise 1: The Push Press (For Overload)

This is your primary tool for getting your body used to heavier weight. By using a slight leg dip and drive, you can move 10-20% more weight than your strict press. This overloads the triceps and stabilizing muscles in the top half of the motion, conditioning your nervous system to handle bigger loads.

How to do it: Set up like a normal OHP. Dip your knees slightly (about 4-6 inches) and explosively drive up, using that momentum to launch the bar off your shoulders. Press it to lockout. Lower the weight under control. Perform 3 sets of 3-5 reps with a weight that's challenging but allows for explosive speed.

Exercise 2: The Z-Press (For Stability & Core)

This exercise is humbling, but it's the single best diagnostic tool for OHP weakness. Sitting on the floor with your legs straight out removes all possible leg drive and exposes any instability in your core and upper back. If you lean back or your back rounds, your core is the issue.

How to do it: Sit on the floor inside a power rack. Set the safety pins so the bar is at chest height. With legs straight, unrack the bar and press it overhead. Keep your torso perfectly upright. Start with just the 45 lb bar. Perform 3 sets of 6-8 reps. Focus on perfect form, not weight.

Exercise 3: Close-Grip Bench Press (For Tricep Strength)

This is the king of tricep mass and strength builders. It directly trains the primary muscle responsible for OHP lockout, and it allows you to use significantly more weight than isolation exercises like pushdowns or skull crushers. More weight equals more strength.

How to do it: Lie on a bench and grip the bar with your hands just inside shoulder-width. Lower the bar to your lower chest, keeping your elbows tucked at about a 45-degree angle. Press explosively to full lockout. Perform 4 sets of 5-8 reps.

Exercise 4: Pendlay Rows (For Upper Back Shelf)

Unlike bent-over rows, the Pendlay row starts from a dead stop on the floor for every single rep. This builds explosive power in your lats and rhomboids, the exact muscles that create a rigid 'shelf' to press from. A strong Pendlay Row translates directly to a more stable OHP base.

How to do it: Hinge at your hips with a flat back, parallel to the floor. Grip the bar slightly wider than your shoulders. Explosively pull the bar to your lower chest. Lower it back to the floor under control. Let it come to a complete stop before starting the next rep. Perform 4 sets of 6-8 reps.

Exercise 5: Single-Arm Dumbbell Press (For Imbalances)

A barbell can hide strength imbalances between your left and right sides. A heavy dumbbell press forces each shoulder and its surrounding stabilizers to work independently. This shores up weak links and builds a more resilient shoulder girdle. You can do this seated or standing.

How to do it: Grab a heavy dumbbell. Clean it to your shoulder. Brace your core and press the dumbbell straight overhead to lockout. Lower it with control. Perform 3 sets of 8-10 reps per arm. The weight should be heavy enough that the last 2 reps are a real struggle.

What 10 Pounds on Your Press Actually Feels Like

Progress isn't linear, and adding these exercises will feel strange at first. Here is the realistic timeline for what to expect over the next 8 weeks. Trust the process.

Weeks 1-2: The 'Weaker' Phase

You will likely feel weaker on your main overhead press. This is normal. Your body is dealing with the new stimulus and fatigue from the accessory work. The Z-Press will feel awkward and you'll use embarrassingly light weight. Your job is to focus on form and execute the plan, even if your main lift numbers temporarily dip. This is the adaptation phase.

Weeks 3-4: The Stabilization Phase

The accessory lifts will start to click. You'll be adding 5 pounds to your Close-Grip Bench or Pendlay Row. Your main OHP will feel more solid and stable, even if the weight hasn't gone up yet. The bar path feels smoother. This is a sign that your foundation is getting stronger. You might add 2.5 lbs to your OHP working sets and find it moves better than before.

Weeks 5-8: The Breakout Phase

This is where the magic happens. The strength you've built in your triceps, back, and core will finally transfer to your main lift. You'll attempt a weight that used to crush you, and it will go up. The goal is to add 5-10 pounds to your working sets or 10-15 pounds to your one-rep max by the end of week 8. If you've been eating and sleeping properly, this is an achievable target.

A warning sign something is wrong is sharp, pinching pain. Muscle soreness is expected; joint pain is not. If you feel that, stop and assess your form. If your accessory lifts are not getting stronger after 4 weeks, you are not recovering enough. The two most common culprits are not eating enough calories or not getting at least 7-8 hours of sleep per night.

Frequently Asked Questions

Crucial Overhead Press Form Cues

Your feet should be shoulder-width apart. Squeeze your glutes and brace your abs as if you're about to be punched. This creates full-body tension. Grip the bar just outside your shoulders. Keep your elbows slightly in front of the bar, not flared out. Press in a straight line, moving your head back slightly to clear a path for the bar, then pushing it through at the top to finish directly over your spine.

How Often to Train the Overhead Press

For most people, pressing twice a week is the sweet spot for strength gains. One day should be your heavy overhead press day, followed by 2-3 of the accessory exercises. The second day can be a lighter pressing day (like dumbbell OHP) or a bench press focus, followed by the other accessory lifts. This provides enough frequency to drive progress without over-fatiguing your shoulders.

Dumbbells vs. a Barbell for OHP

A barbell allows for the most absolute weight to be lifted, making it superior for building top-end strength. Dumbbells are better for identifying and fixing muscle imbalances, as well as increasing stabilization demands. A good program uses both. Use the barbell for your main strength work and dumbbells for accessory work or on a lighter day.

The Role of Leg Drive

In a strict press, there should be zero leg drive. Your legs are purely for stability. However, using a push press (which incorporates leg drive) is a valuable tool to handle supramaximal weights and overload your triceps and lockout. Use the push press as a specific accessory lift, but keep your main OHP strict.

What If I Don't Have a Barbell?

You can still build a powerful press. Your primary movement will be the Seated Dumbbell Overhead Press, which allows you to go heavy. You can substitute the Close-Grip Bench Press with weighted dips or diamond push-ups. For rows, heavy dumbbell rows can replace Pendlay rows. The Z-Press can also be done with dumbbells. The principles of targeting weak points remain the same.