National Strength & Conditioning Association

Volume 25, Number 4, pages 4449

A Progression for Teaching the

Overhead Lifts
Greg Frounfelter, DPT, ATC, CSCS
Agnesian Healthcare
Fond du Lac, Wisconsin
Keywords: overhead lifting; exercise instruction; exercise
progression; teaching.

BASIC STRENGTH AND CONDItioning programs emphasize

multi-jointed exercises that exercise a relatively large amount of
muscle mass. This is true regardless of what part of the body is
being trained. In terms of training
the upper body, the bench press
or one of its variations, such as
the incline press, dumbbell press,
or decline press, is often used.
However the bench press is not
the only core lift that can be used
to develop upper body strength.
Overhead lifts are sometimes underutilized as core exercises to develop upper body strength and
overall explosiveness at the high
school level of athletics. The overhead lifts discussed for the purpose of this article will be the overhead (military) press, the push
press, and the split jerk.
The purpose of this article is
to present a progression for instructing young athletes how to
perform the overhead lifts. Many
high school strength and conditioning programs can benefit
from such a teaching progression
in that high school weight training instructors may be able to
more safely and effectively teach

students the proper methods of

overhead lifting.

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Strength and Conditioning Journal

Safety Considerations
Special considerations must be
made when using overhead lifts.
Lifting an object overhead requires
balance of the objects center of
gravity (CG) over the CG of the
lifter. In addition to proper alignment, both CGs must be within
the base of support of the lifter in
order to provide balance and stability (4, 5). This is an important
safety factor to consider when
coaching the overhead lifts. For
these reasons, it is important to
coach athletes not to walk around
while they are still holding the bar
overhead. Allowing this might
cause the lifter to lose control of the
bar and injury could result. The
lifter is only stable and balanced
when all CGs are aligned and within the lifters base of support.
Overhead lifts where the bar is
placed behind the neck may be
potentially dangerous to the
shoulder complex (2). Reasoning
for this is the position of the
shoulder complex during the exercise. At some point during the
concentric and eccentric phases of

a lift done from behind the neck,

the glenohumeral joint is placed in
near maximum external rotation,
abduction, and extension with an
external load (2). In this position,
it only takes a minor loss of balance with the barbell to result in a
major injury such as an anteriorinferior subluxation or dislocation
of the shoulder (6). Keeping the
bar at the front of the neck is safer
because it prevents this potentially dangerous positioning, and the
muscle groups worked do not
seem to vary significantly (2).
Another important coaching
point is to tell the athletes not to
hold their breath while lifting.
Have them breathe out as they
push overhead and breath in
when the bar is being lowered. In
this manner, a Valsalva maneuver
can be avoided and the risk of an
athlete fainting while lifting can
be reduced.
Encourage the use of spotters
at all times. Although it is inherently difficult to spot some of the
overhead lifts, spotters help to remind those who are close by to
stay out of the way of the lift and
that the lift itself is serious business. If an athlete needs to dump
August 2003

Figure 1.

Military press/overhead lifts starting position.

an overhead lift, especially one

performed ballistically, he or she
should try to push away from the
weight and let the weight drop. In
this manner the athlete can ensure not getting hit by the barbell
and the weight will most likely
land on the lifters platform and
not on someone else in the training facility.
Power racks allow the athletes
to take the bar at shoulder height.
This seems to reduce fatigue and
promote proper overhead lifting
technique. If you do not have access to such a rack, instruction in
proper cleaning technique may be
used to get the bar to a chest high
position to begin overhead work.
Do not allow athletes to sacrifice good technique for the sake of
using more weight. Prevent injuries by starting every athlete
with a light load; many athletes
initially start with an empty bar. If
an athlete cannot safely handle a
standard 45-pound bar, a lighter
bar (in the 1528-pound range)
can be used. With these lighter
loads, athletes can build confidence and strength in their technique so they can eventually handle the rigors of the standard bar.
Athletes who have a history of
shoulder injury generally perform
these exercises to within their tolerance. Supplemental shoulder
work may need to be utilized for
their specific needs.

Methodology of the
Progression

Figure 2.

Military Press
Have the athlete assume an upright stance with a very light barbell (preferably stripped down)
held in a modified racked position
(Figure 1). Then have the athlete
press the bar to arms length overhead and pause. The bar should
be held over the crown of the head
for a count of one (Figure 2). The

Overhead lifts completion.

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45

bar is returned to the starting position emphasizing control. Make

sure the athlete does not lean
backward or hyperextend the low
back while performing this lift.
This exercise indirectly teaches
the athlete to keep his or her body
segments aligned and balance
maintained by having the athlete
bring the bar over the crown of the
head.
Push Press
Once the athlete is proficient at
the military press, he or she can
then progress to the push press.
The athlete should have developed
some sense of how to keep the bar
balanced overhead and should be
ready to move on to more ballistic
movements. The starting position
is the same as with the military
press. The start of the movement
involves the athlete bending both
knees and pushing upward with
them (Figure 3). After giving the
bar momentum with the legs, the
arms drive the bar overhead into
the finished position. This is again
held for a one-count and slowly returned to the starting position.
The push press is the same as a
military press where the lifter
cheats by using the legs.
Split Jerk
After the push press is mastered,
the athlete is ready to move on to
the split jerk (jerk). Footwork is an
important component of this exercise. In the jerk, the feet move into
a split position where one foot is in
front, one is in back, both legs are
bent at the knees, and both lower
extremities are moved slightly laterally from the starting position
(Figures 4 and 5).
Start the teaching process by
having the athlete stand with
hands on the hips. The feet are
about shoulder width apart (Figure 4). The athlete is then instructed to quickly move one foot
46

Figure 3.

Knee bending in preparation of the push press.

Figure 4.

Starting position for learning the jerk footwork.

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August 2003

forward and one foot backward

while keeping the heels the same
distance apart. The athlete should
land with both knees bent and the
toes of both feet pointing slightly
toward the midline of the body
(Figure 5). The front foot should be
flat on the ground. The back heel
should not be in contact with the
ground. The toes of the back foot
should be slightly pointed toward
the midline of the body and not
pointed out (Figure 6). By pointing
the toes in, excessive stress on the
back knee is reduced and balance
is aided (1).
A cross can be drawn on the
lifting surface to provide feedback
for the athlete in regard to foot
placement (3) (Figures 49). The
athlete should not perform the motion as to make the base of support
too narrow. This can make the
athlete look like he or she is trying
to walk a tight rope (Figure 7). This
is inherently unstable and the athlete should be encouraged to keep
the distance between the feet constant from start to finish during
the lift. Work on the lateral foot positioning by cueing the athlete to
shoot his or her feet towards their
respective front and back corners
of the platform; the correct motion
foot placement usually occurs
quite naturally with this technique. In final preparation for performing the jerk with a barbell, the
athlete assumes the same starting
position but initiates a small jump
before performing the proper footwork.
Once the athlete is proficient
with the footwork, it is time to perform the jerk with an empty barbell. The athlete stands in the same
starting position as with the push
press. However, as the athlete dips,
he or she is not preparing for a
slight leg push, but rather the legs
are preparing for a tremendous upward drive with the arms (Figure
8). As the athlete drives upward
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with the legs and arms, the bar

gains inertia and continues overhead. It is at this time that the athlete performs the split with the legs
as practiced and the arms are
thrust upward as they catch the
bar at arms length over the crown
of the head (Figure 9). Once the bar

is properly positioned, the athlete

straightens the front knee (Figure
10) and takes small steps alternately with both feet until he or she
is in the finished overhead position.
Taking these small steps will allow
the athlete to be able to maintain
segmental control and balance

Figure 5.

Finished position for learning the jerk footwork.

Figure 6.

Incorrect rear foot positioning (back toes are pointed out).

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47

during the completion of the lift.

Again, the barbell is held over the
crown of the head for a one count
and the athlete returns the bar to
the starting position. Although the
bars return doesnt need to be performed as slowly as with the military or push presses, it should be
done in a controlled manner to reduce the risk of injury. Getting the
bar up overhead is only half the
battle; the lift is not finished until
both feet are aligned with the barbell overhead.

Conclusion
The goal of any type of exercise
progression should be for progressive instruction and mastery of the
exercise as safely as possible. This
progression for training/teaching
the overhead lifts accomplishes
this by allowing the athlete to develop and master particular skills
before progressing to more complex lifts. Safety concerns are inherently incorporated in the progression secondary to light starting
loads and gradual load increases
as technique and strength improves. After trying this method,
you will find that your athletes
learn how to do overhead movements more quickly and safely.
This progression may require an
initial investment of time in instruction; however, the athletes
will learn proper lifting technique
first, and this technique will allow
them to safely gain strength and
power. This increase in upper body
strength and power will hopefully
allow them to perform at their optimum and perform well within all
their athletic endeavors.

Figure 7.

Incorrect foot placement (base of support too narrow).

Figure 8.

Start of the jerk (dip and drive).

References
1. Baker, G. The United States
Weightlifting Federation Coaching Manual, Volume 1: Technique. Colorado Springs, CO:
United States Weightlifting
Federation, 1989.
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August 2003

Figure 9.

Catching the bar during the jerk.

2. Durall,C.J., R.C. Manske, and

G.J. Davies. Avoiding shoulder
injury from resistance training. Strength Cond. J. 23(5):
1018. 2001.
3. Jones, L. Senior Coach Manual. Colorado Springs, CO:
United States Weightlifting
Federation, 1991.
4. Kreighbaum, E., and K.
Barthels. Biomechanics: A
Qualitative Approach for
Studying Human Movement
(3rd ed.). New York, NY:
Macmillian Publishing Co.,
1990.
5. Norkin, C.C., and P.K. Levangie. Joint Structure and Function: A Comprehensive Analysis (2nd ed.). Philadelphia, PA:
F.A. Davis Co., 1992.
6. Roy, S., and R. Irvin. Sports
Medicine: Prevention, Evaluation, Management, and Rehabilitation. Engelwood Cliffs,
NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1983.

Frounfelter

Greg Frounfelter works as a

physical therapist and Certified
Athletic Trainer for Agnesian
Healthcare in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. He serves as vice president
of the WSCA and is an adjunct
anatomy and physiology instructor at Moraine Park Technical College in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin.
Figure 10. Recovering from the jerk by straightening the front knee first.

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