Barbell Overhead Press

Muscles worked by the Barbell Overhead Press

Primary

Front DeltsAnterior DeltoidSide DeltsLateral Deltoid

Secondary

TrapsTrapeziusTricepsTriceps Brachii

Also called: front deltoid, anterior delt, front delt, anterior deltoid, side deltoid, lateral delt.

Equipment

Barbell

Also called: bar, olympic barbell, straight bar, olympic bar, power bar.

How to do the Barbell Overhead Press

1. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, bar at collarbone level.
2. Brace your core and press the bar overhead.
3. Lock out at the top with the bar over your mid-foot.
4. Lower the bar back to collarbone height.
5. Repeat.

Form tips

• Do not lean back excessively.
• Squeeze your glutes for stability.

At a glance

Barbell Overhead Press in German & Spanish

Descriptions, instructions and tips ship in all three languages in the JSON.

Related exercises

• Arnold Press
• Behind the Neck Press
• Bodyweight Overhead Press
• Double Kettlebell Overhead Press
• Dumbbell Shoulder Press
• Machine Shoulder Press
• Push Press
• Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press

Exercise data (JSON)

The record below is exactly what exercises.json ships for this exercise — names, descriptions, instructions and tips in English, German and Spanish.

{
  "id": "ohp",
  "name_en": "Barbell Overhead Press",
  "name_de": "Langhantel-Schulterdrücken (OHP)",
  "name_es": "Press Militar con Barra",
  "description_en": "A compound overhead pressing movement targeting the shoulders and triceps.",
  "description_de": "Eine zusammengesetzte Überkopf-Drückbewegung, die Schultern und Trizeps beansprucht.",
  "description_es": "Un movimiento de empuje compuesto por encima de la cabeza que trabaja los hombros y el tríceps.",
  "category": "strength",
  "force_type": "push",
  "mechanic": "compound",
  "difficulty": "intermediate",
  "equipment": "barbell",
  "body_part": "shoulders",
  "primary_muscles": [
    "anterior_deltoid",
    "lateral_deltoid"
  ],
  "secondary_muscles": [
    "trapezius",
    "triceps_brachii"
  ],
  "goals": [
    "hypertrophy",
    "strength"
  ],
  "tags": [
    "push_day",
    "knee_safe",
    "lower_back_safe",
    "shoulder_safe",
    "no_axial_load"
  ],
  "variation_group": "overhead-press",
  "is_unilateral": false,
  "is_bodyweight": false,
  "instructions_en": [
    "Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, bar at collarbone level.",
    "Brace your core and press the bar overhead.",
    "Lock out at the top with the bar over your mid-foot.",
    "Lower the bar back to collarbone height.",
    "Repeat."
  ],
  "instructions_de": [
    "Steh schulterbreit, die Stange auf Schlüsselbeinhöhe.",
    "Spanne den Rumpf an und drücke die Stange über den Kopf.",
    "Strecke die Arme vollständig aus, Stange über dem Mittelfuß.",
    "Senke die Stange zurück auf Schlüsselbeinhöhe.",
    "Wiederhole."
  ],
  "instructions_es": [
    "De pie con los pies a la anchura de los hombros y la barra a la altura de las clavículas.",
    "Contrae el core y empuja la barra por encima de la cabeza.",
    "Bloquea los codos arriba con la barra sobre el punto medio del pie.",
    "Baja la barra hasta la altura de las clavículas.",
    "Repite."
  ],
  "tips_en": [
    "Do not lean back excessively.",
    "Squeeze your glutes for stability."
  ],
  "tips_de": [
    "Nicht übermäßig nach hinten lehnen.",
    "Gesäßmuskeln anspannen für Stabilität."
  ],
  "tips_es": [
    "No te eches demasiado hacia atrás.",
    "Aprieta los glúteos para mayor estabilidad."
  ],
  "met": 6.0,
  "images": {
    "flat": {
      "start": "images/flat/ohp-start.webp",
      "peak": "images/flat/ohp-peak.webp"
    }
  }
}

Fetch just this exercise

const { exercises } = await fetch(
  "https://exercise-dataset.com/exercises.json"
).then(r => r.json());
const ex = exercises.find(e => e.id === "ohp");

Free for personal and commercial in-app use with attribution (“Exercise data by RepDB”) — see the license and ready-made attribution snippets. Redistributing the data as a dataset or API is not permitted.