If we treat the three basic functional movements from a therapeutic perspective, we can start to see the validity of their mastery regarding all movements. The squat helps illuminate all manner of ankle, knee, hip, hamstring, hip flexor, spine and neck weakness/tightness to achieve a strong accurate position. The deadlift can show how strong and supple someone’s posterior chain can be, and how accurately they can manage their spinal alignment and core stability under load. The overhead press requires good shoulder mobility, shoulder girdle control, and core awareness to lock out each repetition in a good position.
This therapeutic perspective is important when dealing with your own mentality and emotionality as well. Strong emotions can be (and should be!) expressed in high intensity movement safely, but your emotionality cannot overshadow your technique. You cannot become too primal that you’re unscientific, nor vice versa. You want the perfect balance between raw emotional energy and conscious control. This is mastery of technique.
The overhead press (also known simply as the press, shoulder press, strict press or military press) is seemingly very basic, almost nonsensical to perform; press weight straight up and then return it back down. While viewed as a shoulder isolation exercise the overhead press is in fact a very inclusive neck, arm and core workout, and the lockout position at the top is a full body exercise where the biomechanics of your body really shine. If you lock out properly you can hold more weight over your head than you can physically overhead press, which gives rise to the more advanced overhead techniques that are touched on in the videos below; the push press and the push jerk (or split jerk in some videos.) It’s these more advanced overhead movements that start to develop your overhead potential, but the press is the foundation for the overall biomechanics.
The emotionality that can be expressed in the lockout position of a weighted overhead press is fantastic. Balanced and strong, you’re literally positioning yourself underneath a heavy load that you must hold up. If you’ve never held an overhead press rep at full lockout to failure, I suggest you try it. Even with a PVC pipe it is demanding! Under load, your entire body will begin to break down and survivalist panic begins setting in as your mind wrestles with being directly under a load that will smash you if you fail to hold it up. Your mind will play tricks on you, your emotionality will counter with added energy, and your body will be caught in between them, trying its best not to fail as it rapidly listens to one then the other. As always stillness is the best training tool for form.
When beginning with any loaded movement make sure that you can achieve proper form in the absence of a load. If your body cannot hold the correct position, I promise that putting extra weight on it is not going to correct anything. So grab your PVC pipe, and once more dive into the world of video coaching to learn about the wonderful overhead press, the push press, and the push jerk. Bask in the wisdom of the great coaches, take what works and discard the rest.
Your Homework:
Learn how to Overhead Press properly with a PVC pipe.
Overhead Press Videos
And continue to:
1. Play; both inside the gym and outside.
2. Learn new skills or continue to master known ones (or both!)
3. Grow tall at least once a day for 5 consecutive minutes.
4. Perform core workouts daily.
5. Get breath!
6. Wake up!
7. Perform the 10 minute Squat test regularly!
8. Visit stillness in movements to master them.
9. Master the three basic functional movements!
