Practice › Gym › Overhead press
Overhead press form check: a live coach on your phone
The overhead press builds the shoulders and upper body, and it is judged at the lockout: arms fully straight with the hands over your head, and the torso upright. Leaning back to finish the rep is the most common fault.
No equipment needed. Practise at home. Just do the rep properly in front of your phone. Bodyweight squats, push-ups and lunges need nothing at all, and you can check the hinge and press patterns with a very light weight or none: the coach judges your movement, not your kit.
What good looks like
- Start with the weight at your shoulders, elbows slightly in front of the bar or weights.
- Brace your abs and keep your ribs down, so your lower back does not arch.
- Press straight up, moving your head slightly back and then through at the top.
- Finish with the arms fully straight and the hands over the middle of your body.
Common mistakes and how to fix them
Leaning back
It turns the press into an incline press and stresses the lower back. Brace and keep the ribs down.
An incomplete lockout
Press until the arms are straight and the hands are overhead.
Pressing in front
The weight should finish above the middle of the body, not in front of it.
What Formanti checks on your overhead press
The top of every rep, judged the same way.
- Elbows: 158–186°. arms locked out overhead
- Hands overhead: at least 0.6× your torso above the shoulders. hands clearly above the shoulders, arms by your ears
- Back angle: -10–10°. ribs down: no leaning back to finish the press
Your rack
The low point of every rep, judged against the guide ranges.
- Back angle: -8–12°. tall, ribs down, bar over your midfoot
What you hear and see when you are off
Don't lean back at the start
The coach says: “Ribs down”
On screen: Don't lean back at the start.
Drill: Set up against a wall: heels, hips and shoulder blades touching, then press.
Stand tall in the rack
The coach says: “Stand tall”
On screen: Stand tall in the rack.
Drill: Hold the rack position for 5 seconds before each press, chest up.
Press all the way to lockout
The coach says: “Lock it out”
On screen: Press all the way to lockout.
Drill: Overhead holds: press to lockout and hold 5 seconds, then pause presses with a 2 second hold at the top.
Finish with your hands over your head
The coach says: “Hands over your head”
On screen: Finish with your hands over your head.
Drill: Press and shrug at the top: hold the lockout with your biceps beside your ears for 2 seconds.
Don't lean back: ribs down, glutes tight
The coach says: “Ribs down”
On screen: Don't lean back: ribs down, glutes tight.
Drill: Press with your back and heels against a wall so you can't lean back, or press half-kneeling.
Stand tall: don't fold forward
The coach says: “Stand tall”
On screen: Stand tall: don't fold forward.
Drill: Press with your back against a wall, brace your abs and keep the wall contact.
Drills you can do alone
- Strict press with a light weight, filming from the side to check the lean.
- Wall check: stand with your back to a wall to feel your ribs stay down as you press.
- Half-kneeling press: kneel on one knee to take the legs out of it and keep the ribs down.
How to set up your phone
Phone at chest height, 2 to 3 metres to your side, with room above your hands. Film from the side: back and hip angles cannot be judged head-on. It all runs on your phone and nothing is uploaded.
New: ranges from standard coaching references, not yet checked against real lifters.
Frequently asked questions
How do I stop leaning back on the overhead press?
Brace your abs, squeeze your glutes and keep your ribs down. If you still lean, the weight is probably too heavy.
What does the camera check on the overhead press?
The lockout (are the arms straight with the hands overhead) and the torso lean.
More lifts to check
Deadlift · Squat · Push-up · Lunge · Bent-over row · Romanian deadlift