I can guarantee that by the end of this post you will be lifting more weights in your overhead press movement and that too, safely and effectively.
Bracing is a technique in which all the core muscles get engaged so that we can leverage the maximum amount of force to lift heavy weights efficiently. If you have not been using this technique in your bigger lifts like squats, bench press and deadlifts, then you are missing out so many gains on the table. Because bracing is a technique which will make you twice as stronger as you currently are, in just 3 seconds.
Bracing does two things with our body-
1. Stabilization
By bracing your entire body gets stabilize, hence reducing the chances of injuries. Because you are now more stable, your body won’t move around like a jelly in space.
2. Plugging the Energy Leaks
Most of the energy gets wasted or leaks out from our body via our core, because it is not properly engaged. What bracing does to your core is, it engages the core muscles and makes it more stable and hence you are not going to leak out any energy from your body, causing you to lift more weights efficiently.
Shoulder overhead press is one of the best exercises for your shoulder’s complete development. Overhead press doesn’t just target your shoulders but your entire upper body including your triceps, middle back, traps and rhomboids.
By lifting heavy in this exercise (overhead press) you will not just maximize your upper body’s muscle and strength, but it will also increase your bench press, and who wouldn’t want to lift heavy in their bench press.
Before jumping into how to lift heavy in overhead press, let’s first learn the common mistakes to avoid in the gym when you are doing an overhead press movement.
MISTAKES TO AVOID WHILE PERFORMING AN OVERHEAD PRESS
Gym is a crowded place and most of the times what happen is that you don’t get a rack readily available for you to perform your exercise, and guys most often set up the barbell on a bench and lift off from there. Never commit this mistake guys because it will not only deter in your ability to lift heavy but also can pose some serious injuries, as your body is in a jeopardizing position while initiating the lifting movement from the bench. It’s okay until you are lifting a lighter weight but when you go on to the heavy ones, then the problem starts to occur.
The Bench has a different purpose; to support your body when you lying on it. Don’t use it as a weight holder.
Whenever you are doing a Barbell Overhead Press, always lift off or un-rack the bar from a Rack. If it's not free then kindly wait for a movement, I promise it will be worth the wait.
2. Never wear Running shoes
While performing an overhead press never wear running shoes, if you do so then you would be countering the purpose of using the bracing technique. Running shoes have a completely different purpose, they are intended for running and giving your feet some support when you are running on a hard surface.
Running shoes have soft foam in their sole which absorbs the force from the ground and keep your foot off of any injury.
Whenever you wear sports or running shoes while doing overhead press or any compound exercise in general, the running shoes actually hinders in the energy transfer from ground to your body.
Making your lift inefficient by causing, energy leaks and disbalancing.
So always wear lifting shoes, or shoes with flat sole or best if you don’t have anything and don’t want to invest in shoes then always perform the compound movement like overhead press barefoot. Doing this will ensure you generate maximum amount of force from the ground.
You see if you commit these two mistakes then in a way or another you are counter acting the purpose of bracing. You will lose balance and not effectively plug the energy leaks. Moreover you will end up injuring yourself, which will keep you off from the gym for quite some time; this again is another reason for losing your gains.
Bracing technique will work as a conduit to energy or force transfer through your body further it will make your upper body more stable which allows you to generate more force and lift heavy eventually.
Okay enough talk, let’s learn how to actually perform the Bracing Technique to lift heavy.
HOW TO APPLY BRACING TECHNIQUE TO LIFT HEAVY IN OVERHEAD PRESS OR IN ANY OTHER COMPOUND LIFT
Step 1
Unrack the rod and place it on your upper chest and pack your shoulder blades
Step 2
Take a deep breath and remember to take all the air inside your stomach and not in your chest.
Step 3
Squeeze your glutes so that your entire body gets strong and stable.
Step 4
Lift the barbell upwards.
Until you get the bar back to the starting position, you are not supposed to exhale. Once you finish the rep completely, i.e. you got the bar down, then reset by taking in air in your stomach and repeat all the steps from 3 to 4.
IMPORTANT WARMUP EXERCISE BEFORE PERFORMING OVERHEAD PRESS
The two most important warm up exercise you should be doing as prior to performing this movement (Overhead Press) are-
1. Band Pull Aparts
2. Shoulder Dislocations
These two exercises will make your shoulders more mobile and flexible to move in any direction.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Before doing the actual lift, always warmup your body first.
Always wear Lifting shoes or Lift barefoot. Unrack the bar from a rack and take a deep breath in your stomach while keeping your glutes squeezed, and lift the bar up. Don't exhale until you complete your rep. Come back down again and reset your breath and repeat the movement.
So there it is guys, your step by step guide on how to do bracing to lift heavy in shoulder overhead press.
I hope that you learned how to perform bracing the correct way and will apply it in your overhead press exercise to lift heavy weights more safely and effectively.
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