Whether you’re chasing huge shoulders and wide delts, or smooth, rippling well-toned arms, working your shoulders has the power to completely transform your physique. It’s a focal point that makes your entire body look better. And the overhead press, which is by far the most complete lift to target this muscle group, should be the centerpiece of your shoulder workouts.

If you’ve been using the overhead press for a while, however, you may may have noticed a common problem: progression on the overhead press can be far more frustrating than other lifts. It’s much easier to hit a plateau and feel stuck here, unable to move up in weight.

The reason is twofold – this lift uses every muscle in your body and (if strictly executed) allows no compensation for weaknesses. But, the primary muscles doing the work are much smaller muscles than the ones engaged in the other major lifts [squat, deadlift, bench press].

So it’s harder to compensate for weaknesses in these primary muscle groups, or in the stabilizers that assist, without deviating from good form. Your deficiencies quickly become apparent, and inescapable.

In addition to all that, the shoulder is an extremely complex mechanism. Any issues you have there – whether it be a lack of mobility, a strength imbalance, or weak accessory muscles – can lead to a plateau in the overhead press.

how much should I be lifting in the overhead press?

You should be able to overhead press, on average, 60-70% of your bench press. Anything outside that range is displaying a weakness in one lift or the other.

Follow these tips and methods to overcome the stagnancy and get there!

How to break the overhead press plateau

Focus on your form

Yeah, we’re coaches, so we’re always gonna be sticklers for form.

Keep a rep in reserve – training to failure is not worth the breakdown in form that often comes in the overhead press. Performing a lift with poor form always leaves a lot on the table, by engaging the wrong muscle groups to do the work. There’s also the injury risk poor form often comes with.

And the overhead press brings out the most egregious of form deviations – people love to lean back, bend their knees, thrust their hips, anything to get that last rep or two.

It’s not helping. We promise. Rest, recharge, and hit that next set.

Progress, even incrementally!

As mentioned, progress comes slowly in the overhead press, by its nature. Don’t fight it, roll with it.

Progressive overload – the gradual increase of the stress on your muscles – is one of the most basic and important concepts in strength training. To go up in weight, you must go up in weight!

Use fractional plates to increase your load in the overhead press. Even if you’re adding 1lb plates – or less – you’re doing the thing you need to do to keep getting stronger.

accessorize

Keep in mind, your entire body really is working during this lift. And we’ve said this already, but the shoulders are small muscles doing big things.

Using variations of the overhead press and accessory lifts along with the press can give some work to the stabilizing muscles that aid in the overhead press. This can also provide a stronger base that can allow you to lift more weight. The push press is a good variation that can acclimate your muscles to moving heavier weight.

And don’t neglect all the accessory muscles that work to get the job done. Triceps are hugely important to the overhead press. Give them some love. Strengthening those tris will get you through the overhead press plateau. And your core plays a significant role in the overhead press, stabilizing your body in the way a bench would if you were seated. Strengthen your core and you’ll open the door to overhead press progress.

The Turkish Get-Up can be a great accessory. On top of blasting your core, it dramatically increases the stability of each your shoulders individually, giving you a better base when it’s overhead press time.

warm-up and work on shoulder mobility

The overhead press will expose poor shoulder mobility quickly. This should be obvious, but if your shoulders are stiff and you can’t get them fully vertical over your head, you’ll struggle trying to push a barbell overhead. Make sure you warm up first and loosen everything up, and take some time to do mobility exercises like band stretches. It will work wonders for your overhead press.

Vary your rep count

if you grab the same weight and hit the same reps every time, don’t ask us why you’re stuck. Your muscles adapt to the work you give them. If you lift the same weight for the same number of reps, it’s no longer stimulating your muscles, it’s just something they have to do. If you’re not ready to move up in weight after a few weeks, drop weight and hit higher rep sets.

FREQUENCY

If you can, step up the frequency! You should be hitting the overhead press no less than twice a week. If you’re already doing it twice, squeeze in a third. This will also give you more room to mix it up with a variation. Just make sure you’re not cutting your recovery short to do it!

The overhead press may seem simple, but progress can come with more difficulty than other major lifts. The quickest way to break through plateaus is to have an expert coach by your side, to structure your program, fix your form, and push you past what you thought your limits were! Join Stronglab now for expert guidance through every step your fitness journey! Get started with our quiz, get your free assessment of needs and program outline, and find the best program for you!

Follow us on Instagram @Stronglabxyz for more tips and articles to come, check out our Overhead Press Plateau Instagram reel, and comment those new PRs as you blast through!