Overhead Press Foot Stance Modification?

[Vicuna]

Due to a low ceiling and my height, I need like 3 - 4 more inches to do an overhead press with a barbell with full extension.

Would you prefer:

Split Stance with one foot forward

or

Wider stance

[Get-n-fit]

seated, no point in doing standing OHP with poor form, quick way to an injury.

[euro7muscle]

Yeah do seated, I would have anxiety knowing I can't extend too much therefore not allowing me to go all out and knock out some heavy reps.

[Vicuna]

isn't seated putting too much load on my spine? if you did seated would you do it on a bench with no back support or with it at a 90 degree angle or what?

[chazzy1864]

kneel / sit on your feet. Will give you a stable base and lower your height.

+ why would sitting affect the spine that much more?
++ how much weight are you putting overhead that you'd be worried about overloading the spine?

Use anywhere some 60-90 degree seat angle. All will have an emphasis on front delts. Or use no seat. You're overthinking this.

[Vicuna]

+ why would sitting affect the spine that much more?

you will have less activation of your spinal stabilizer muscles when seated...so more pressure on your bones / joints rather than on the muscle.

why would kneeling be better than widening my stance a few inches?

[doughnut91]

you will have less activation of your spinal stabilizer muscles when seated...so more pressure on your bones / joints rather than on the muscle.

why would kneeling be better than widening my stance a few inches?

You're thinking about this on completely the wrong level, and really overcomplicating it. Just because you're sat down, doesn't mean your core muscles will switch off. You can still brace them. There won't be any more pressure on your bones or joints than if you were to do it standing.

[IDrinkBloodLOL]

Personally I am a growing fan of seated presses with no back support. Space efficient, takes the lower body out of the equation too.

[ironwill2008]

Due to a low ceiling and my height, I need like 3 - 4 more inches to do an overhead press with a barbell with full extension.

Would you prefer:

Split Stance with one foot forward

or

Wider stance

Neither; trying to put heavy weight overhead with some sort of odd foot positioning is an injury looking for a victim.




Do your presses from a seated position, preferably on a bench with a back; your back muscles will still be just as involved as if you were standing, and maybe even more so since it's harder to cheat the bar overhead if you can't Push-Press it or otherwise lean backwards to turn it into a sort of Incline Press and have your pecs help.

[rodertoro]

if this doesn't work: move to a room with higher ceiling, remove shoes, bend knees

then seated press :P But i like to make all my exercises as compound as can be.

[sowilson]

rip the drywall off of the ceiling and make sure your weights are moving in the space between the rafters.

[chazzy1864]

why would kneeling be better than widening my stance a few inches?

It would give you a very stable base to push from.

[Vicuna]

rip the drywall off of the ceiling and make sure your weights are moving in the space between the rafters.

yup! its actually in my basement with an exposed ceiling already...and I can use a bunch of 25 lbs plates and stuff

Neither; trying to put heavy weight overhead with some sort of odd foot positioning is an injury looking for a victim.


Do your presses from a seated position, preferably on a bench with a back; your back muscles will still be just as involved as if you were standing, and maybe even more so since it's harder to cheat the bar overhead if you can't Push-Press it or otherwise lean backwards to turn it into a sort of Incline Press and have your pecs help.

you back muscles and glutes and other stabilizers are def not as involved when you are sitting...so the force on the actual bones and joints will be greater sitting than standing where some of the force is dispersed onto the muscles.

I'm really shocked that spreading your feet out a little wider is being considered so odd...or one foot forward
(I'm not saying you are wrong..I just am trying to understand why).

I know it's a different movement but don't olympic lifters do the press overhead with one foot forward to end their clean and jerk?

thanks for all the replies

[chazzy1864]

you back muscles and glutes and other stabilizers are def not as involved when you are sitting...so the force on the actual bones and joints will be greater sitting than standing where some of the force is dispersed onto the muscles.

I'm curious how much weight you're lifting that you are concerned it will be damaging to your spine.

[Vicuna]

I'm curious how much weight you're lifting that you are concerned it will be damaging to your spine.

tbh, i can explain but it's not a very interesting story so I will "cool story bro" myself before

I am just starting out power lifting right now (after a few years layoff) and am getting a power rack. I will be doing all the movements inside of a power rack shortly and I'm going to lose 2 inches of height. I currently do have enough room and may very well have enough room for a normal stance. I was wondering if there was an alternative that I could practice a little just in case I hit.

For now I'm doing this without a cage so I have only used like 100 lbs or so on a barbell. I am just working my form. I am doing reps of 8-10 with 70 lbs dumbells though. so it's not a lot of weight...I used to do clean and presses with like 180-220 for a bunch of reps. So I'm sure I'll be pressing 200+ over my head within a year or two of getting my rack. I just would rather do things correctly from the beginning and get my technique down as good as possible...I might never lift heavy-heavy but who knows...why not doing things as safely as possible is what i'm thinking.

[chazzy1864]

tbh, i can explain but it's not a very interesting story so I will "cool story bro" myself before

I am just starting out power lifting right now (after a few years layoff) and am getting a power rack. I will be doing all the movements inside of a power rack shortly and I'm going to lose 2 inches of height. I currently do have enough room and may very well have enough room for a normal stance. I was wondering if there was an alternative that I could practice a little just in case I hit.

For now I'm doing this without a cage so I have only used like 100 lbs or so on a barbell. I am just working my form. I am doing reps of 8-10 with 70 lbs dumbells though. so it's not a lot of weight...I used to do clean and presses with like 180-220 for a bunch of reps. So I'm sure I'll be pressing 200+ over my head within a year or two of getting my rack. I just would rather do things correctly from the beginning and get my technique down as good as possible...I might never lift heavy-heavy but who knows...why not doing things as safely as possible is what i'm thinking.

I gotcha.

Overall, you can do a split stance and press. But IMO, it would compromise your balance, which might not be much of an issue for a single rep (i.e., olympic lifting) but if you're holding it for 8-10 reps, I dunno. Sitting shouldn't cause any grievous issues to your spine. Honestly, I've never heard anyone really get concerned with this until your post. I know people have worried about doing box squats and stuff, but mainly you want to make sure you aren't "plopping" down on the bench / seat / box with the weight on your back. But if you set the bar up on the catches and sit on the bench inside the rack, I honestly don't think you'd have an issue.

On my suggestion of kneeling, I got the idea from a guy while i was in Iraq. He was doing OHP on the smith, but got rid of all benches and sat on his feet. I was curious and asked him about it. He said he gave him a very stable base so he could focus on just the pressing and his shoulders, as opposed to worry about balancing and everything else.

[Vicuna]

thanks for the idea...I feel like kneeling is going to be way better than sitting for your spine so I'll give that a shot with a yoga mat or something under my knees.

and yeah it's not so much a huge huge concern of mine where i'm losing sleep hah...just thought i'd see if anyone more experienced had any ideas

[EjnarKolinkar]

isn't seated putting too much load on my spine? if you did seated would you do it on a bench with no back support or with it at a 90 degree angle or what?

People do seated press all the time. You could us a flat bench, or one with a back support.

Dont make it complicated. Just stay tight and get your pressing done.

[Vicuna]

i'm not sure why everyone is saying I'm making this complicated / overthinking. how would placing my feet 4 inches wider than shoulder width be complicated? just wondering if that's ok or not. i'm trying to avoid seated presses.