Is the Overhead Press Good For Increasing Your Bench? 

Hey Greg, Another bench question....Why does the bench press usually increase when an individual simply gains weight? I've noticed that a lot of lifter's bench press numbers go up and down as their bodyweight goes up and down. (In a relatively short period of time. They aren't losing/gaining a considerable amount of muscle mass) I've also noticed that if you place 2 UNTRAINED individuals side by side, the heavier guy/gal will almost always be able to bench more. I understand this for the squat and the deadlift (mass moves mass) but why the bench press? (even when the lifter does not use leg drive) Thanks!

275 OHP "semi-respectable" lol that's strong AF Greg.

If your train both lifts, a typical OHP/Bench ratio will be 60-70%. Yours was down near 40% because you focused on bench and benching doesn’t carry over very well. Then once you starting training OHP, you went up 60+% which is a more typical. The OHP carries over to benching much better in the sense that you will always be able to bench a fair amount more than your OHP even with minimal benching.

First off, you're very well spoken on camera Greg. Love it! Keep this going. About the overhead press: from personal experience, I've found my tricep being my major weakness when improving my bench. I've found that heavy over head presses allow me to practice through a grinding sticking point (similar to my bench) for multiple reps with less weight. For the longest I was stuck at 297lbs, missing lockout at about the 90 degree point in my elbow. I'm sure it's shoulder weakness too. Also I'm reminded of the LTT8 seminar on accessory lifts done by Dave Tate, have you seen it? I'm guessing his philosophy is a lot different than yours, but he would track the progress of his accessory as a % of his main lift as he approached a meet. You title is perfect! It doesn't have to be sexy, just make sure it's relevant to what people want to know. Maybe another title option would be "How to bench press more with the overhead press." Maybe "How to increase bench press using the shoulder press." .. If you want to be super sexy you can write "Why the Shoulder Press is a Waste of time for benching more weight." .. okay now for my question: In your personal training history, What beer would you correlate to drinking the night before to having a great bench session the next day?" okay looking forward to more greg!!

Great to see a new video Greg, excited to see what's coming!

Hello Greg in regards to bench press and overhead as an accessory, I did some heavy shoulder presses for a couple of weeks and returned to the bench. From there I got a significant increase on the bench from 210kg to 220kg whith the bodyweight of 82.5kg for me it has worked wonders :)

Agree with this. I upped my OHP from 225 to 220x5 and my bench went nowhere (was training both weekly). Now I switched out OHP day for banded bench day and I'm already seeing the results.

Yay, a new video!

i personally find the ohp really works my triceps and as i guy who gets elbow pain with skullcrushers and pull downs its a good tricep worker. ill never forget the pump i got when i maxed on it

Good video, but I'd like to add (not implying you don't know this) that the bottom position isn't just about deltoid strength (not implying you were saying it's only about deltoids). It's where your chest is the strongest for shoulder flexion (the horizontal displacement of the bar in the bench press), as the shoulder is hyperextended at the bottom, which makes the inferior fibres of the chest have the opposite of their normal function (very strong shoulder flexors instead of shoulder extensors). This is why dips are so good for the chest, even though it's mostly shoulder flexion and not transverse flexion - all of the flexion is done from hyperextension to anatomical position, so the lower and middle fibres of the pec major are in a very strong position to flex the shoulder - in a stronger position than the anterior deltoids, even. This is also one of the reasons why pressing "back and then up" helps you bench a lot more weight - because you're taking more advantage of the chest ability to contribute to shoulder flexion at the bottom of the lift. So even at the bottom of the lift, chest still is the most important dealer when it comes to the shoulder joint movement in the bench press. The deltoid is also a primary mover, both for flexion and transverse flexion, but the chest just has better leverages/moment arms and is a larger muscle. Pics in this album imgur.com/a/5oyCJ show moment arm for shoulder flexion, but unfortunately do not include the moment arms when the shoulder is under hyperextension (couldn't find these on any studies yet) - only from the anatomical position onwards. Again, the lower fibres of the pec major have the opposite function under hyperextension, they perform flexion instead of extension. Even then, you can see that the middle and upper fibres of the pec major have a very decent moment arm for flexion even after the anatomical position (upper pec major has the higher peak moment arm, even). And this isn't even taking the size of the pec major when compared to the anterior deltoids in consideration. Another important detail to note in the pictures is how the middle fibres of the chest also help with flexion even when not under hyperextension, and how the anterior delts moment arm is weaker at lower angles (even weaker at hyperextension).

My bench press was 575-600 back in the 90s. My favorite lift for my bench we’re behind neck press to my traps. No half reps. My best numbers were 405 for 4 almost 5 to my traps with a few pauses. I didn’t use heavy gear. For back barbell bent rows and deadlifts. As far as other assistance work for bench. Nose busters with bar. One handed dumbbell over head press. I preferred to do incline on bench days more than flat bench. I would not go behind neck ever week do front press every other week. I did destroy my right shoulder over Time . Just be careful and warm up

I've got a practical programming question! I've read the articles on Strengtheory about counting volume as the number of hard sets, and why sets x reps x weight might not be the best way to count volume. Let's suppose volume *and intensity as a percentage of 1RM* are equated on a given exercise with different sets and reps (so not like the Schoenfeld 7x3 vs 3x10 study where the 7x3 was heavier). So let's say I'm doing 40 total reps of squats. I know what weight to use for a 5x8, but I also *hate* doing that. I've used the same weight for 8x5 with shorter rest periods instead, and although it is slightly less time efficient, I would rather do more sets for less reps at a lower RPE. I find it easier to maintain form, bar speed, and concentrate on each rep. In terms of hypertrophy and strength, will there be any differences between the 5x8 and 8x5 *using the same weight*?

Ran your intermediate twice per week bench program with candito's 6 week and had a 10lb PR after over 6 months of stalling with candito's bench regimen! The added volume from close grip I think definitely helped!

I have done overhead press-only programs that raised my bench press, but mostly by what they did for the upper back/traps. I only benched 355 raw/paused and strict pressed 190.

Bro you are a natural at talking to the blank gaze of a camera lens. Strengtheory is THEE BEST aka u da best.

I've found dips to be a pretty good accessory for both bench and overhead pressing.

Great to see you back. Keep it on. My Question: a) Best exercise for the mid-range bench press? b) best program to increase my bench press?. Thanks and greetings from Kuwait.

I failed a PR attempt of 295 on the bench press the other day despite doing 285 easily, only got 295 about an inch off my chest. Recently started OHP suspecting my shoulders were quite weak as I never directly train them, glad to hear it will likely carryover to my bench press sticking point.

I've just started doing the OHP after giving up on it for a long time. It used to cause all kinds of problems, but I recently watched a video that showed using a narrow grip (thumbs about the center of the shoulder) and keeping your elbows straight out for the bottom part of the press and not letting your elbows flare out until the upper part of the press. I have been doing this on a separate day from my bench day (to reduce the amount of shoulder stress in one day) I have not had any shoulder problems since I have been doing this. I find it also gives me a very good upper chest pump, which was a bit surprising. I also just started doing 5/3/1 after finding an app for it that doers all the calculations for me and so far I'm loving it. It's funny because the first weights it said to use looked real light, but by the end of the workout I was pretty sure that they were dead on.

Yes! A new video! I love these well-educated discussions on strength.

Overhead press and dumbbell pullovers, perfect combo for both ovh press and bench press strength gain.

a)Would you rather recommend keeping the competition lift in a hypertrophy phase (ex. wide grip bench, lowbar squat) or rather switch it to something with a higher range of motion like oly squats and medium grip bench or something. b) And If you would switch to for example highbar squats during those phases.. would you rather keep the stance as specific as possible, or rather go narrower than usual, if your comp. squat is maybe one foot length outside your shoulders? Thanks in advance!

What if you're able to PR on almost every single exercise, almost every single week, but consistently fail to PR and sometimes even regress in weight and/or reps on overhead press only?

Hi Greg, while on the subject of bench press, how can we increase bench press strength while losing weight? My bench goes up during bulk and then backwards during cut which leads to some wheel spinning. Thanks

Couldn't agree more, there is only so much pressing you can do in 1 week and if you want to get better at bench, then bench more. when I started training OHP seriously my bench never changed and vice versa.

This was nice to see. Bout to buy your new books when they come out

In my experience it's not a good accessory lift for the bench press. However, when my bench goes up, so does my OHP. Right now, my OHP max is around 180 and my bench max is around 255. I've always been naturally better at the OHP, so for me personally my weakness is in the pecs.

Hey Greg, what are your thoughts on training muscle groups based on their muscle types? Examples, generally speaking calves are 90% slow twitch, while hamstrings are 70% fast twitch. It is said the more fast twitch the lower the reps, the more slow twitch the higher the reps. It makes sense to me in theory and practicality.

How often do you think people should deload as part of a planned program? A lot of people advocate every 4-6 weeks while some don't at all until post meet recovery. Obviously it depends on the competency/competitive level of the lifter?

interesting commentary. i feel like benching with a powerlifting bar path takes stress off my anterior delts, personally.

Great video Greg! Fun and informative, what a gifted talker!

Damn it G. Nucks, why you so cool? good to see you back and thanks for the knowledge.

Why did you raise your shoulders while flaring the elbows? Don't you need to keep them tucked while pressing or am i miss understanding that part?

Many people have knee pain when starting their squat with the knees. Why? My squat looks better if I start with the knees but it's quite unconfortable until I've warmed up and I wonder why.......

How best to unrack the bench press by yourself. Such as staying tight and not expending lots of energy to get the bar in place and so forth

Is there anything wrong with OHP-ing with a suicide grip? I've seen people say it's unsafe to OHP with a suicide grip, but honestly it feels way more secure and sturdy than wrapping my thumb around the bar, and I never considered using suicide grip for flat bench.

Loved the video and looking forward to the upcoming ones!! My question for the next one is your take on how to fix an uneven squat?

125kg overhead press "semi respectable"..FML I just got 110kg and felt great. LOL my standards are too low Greg!

Hi Greg, do you know anything about pain in the biceps tendon during the deadlift?(Where does it come from, how to get rid of it...) To be more precisely: The pain is located in the spot where the brachioradialis "starts". (Arms are always locked out during the entire lift) Sorry for possible writing mistakes, I`m from Germany. Thanks for your great work!

A squat question: My front squat is very strong (120 kg max) compared to my back squat (135 kg max). That's more than the usual 80% ratio you mention in your "How to squat" seminar. What could be the reason for this and what can i do carry my front squat strength over to my back squat better?

What should you do if your sticking point is in the middle? Any spesific excercises or muscle groups that need strengthening? Also, could weak upper back muscles hinder your bench gains? I noticed my upper back on my left side is quite weak, and its way harder for me to lift up with left arm than with my right.

I have a question. I am doing an AB style general mass/just for health purposes program. I do squat bench and deadlift on both days and on A I then do seated db press, close grip pull down, ez tricep extension, standing ez curl and seated calf raise. B I do push press, low row, tricep pull down, hammer curl and calf raise. My question is for the B workout bicep exercise I was doing single arm isolation curl where you rest the elbow just above the knee but had to switch exercises because on my right arm when my arm came to just above parallel the ligament that runs down the pinky side of my fore arm would pop and feel like it was going to snap even with really light weights?? Any idea what may cause this, some kind of imbalance I have going on and any suggestions for exercises that will help this?? Thank you for the really good info you continue to share.

I'd like to hear more about the OHP on an anatomical level. I used to use it as an accessory exercise when I first started benching because I missed at the bottom of my bench, but I stopped doing it after getting some shoulder irritation. I cycled in some shoulder rotation work and more pulls to alleviate that in the past year, but I'm convinced if I try to go for OHP for too high of volume I'll get a slap tear again.

say someone has little room in their shoulder because of the acromion process. what would this feel like? i stopped OHpressing months ago due to should pain during the movement and don't want to reaggravate it. my poor delts not getting any love nowadays

Video request:Does training different lifts in different rep ranges affect the strength of those particular lifts.For example training the bench press in the 1-5 rep range and keeping the intensity fairly high.Then training the squat in the 8-12 rep range with lower percentages.How does the rep range effect maximal strength in those lifts.

I bench 3 times a week. I choose in accessories overhead press and floor press. With that, I train shoulders and triceps ugly but what to take for my chest ? I think u promote dumbbel press but my gym just have max 40 kg dumbbell. I can do a lot of reps with that. :-/ I tested "deep dips" but it hurts shoulders. So, shall I go to just pec flies ? I could bench press more I know. ^^

most effective ways to autoregulate training volume? mike tuchscherer has TRAC and fatigue percents, others have used HRV. how valid are these methods?

how did u manage to add 90lbs to your OHP? How long did it take you to add the extra 90lbs to your OHP

Greg why dos pressing overhead hurt my neck? Even when looking forward? Also when doing barbel rows. Can you address the neck? Do a neck video?

Just out of interest, is it possible to have an acromion that is better suited to overhead pressing than bench pressing? For me, shoulder pressing makes my shoulders feel supple, but I get shoulder problems quite easily from benching.

Do you think there is a difference when lifting with or without music? I feel when lifting with music I enjoy it more and feel stronger.

Which one do you think is better for fat loss...fasted cardio or HIIT cardio at the end of an intense weight training sesh? Thanks G

My question is, if overhead pressing is not best accessory movement to increase bench press for most people, what is? Obviously, pin press, spoto press or floor press are great, but theyre just different variations of bench basically. Is there some specific accessory movement that you would recommend for most people that fail the lift somewhere on a midway up, like you said? Thanks in advance

Hi Greg I've got another question on accessory. You mentioned the fact that overhead press wouldn't be a very efficient accessory for simply improving the bench press. I would like to know your opinion on using front squat to improve back squat and how much carryover is there? A short response will be greatly appreciated! Thank you in advance!

Sorry if the question has already been asked but in what scenarios would you deem direct ab training useful for hypertrophy?

Hey Greg! I have a question on core bracing on the squat: How would you advise a lifter to improve their core bracing before descent? I find that on squats near max intensity, it becomes difficult to brace correctly, particularly on low bar. To explain the sensation: it sometimes seems as though the bar compresses the chest cavity enough such that it becomes difficult to get a full breath in. I generally brace before unracking, and take another bracing breath before I squat down. It is the second breath that is compromised at higher intensities. Thanks so much!

You've mentioned that most people get stuck in the mid range in the bench. What are some good accessory to target that weak point? Thanks Greg!

Could you talk a bit about rotator cuff pain, injuries and exercises that have more or less impact on them?

Nice one! Another binch question, do you recommend trying to put some external rotation on your shoulders when you lower the bar? Getting a cranky shoulder on the eccentric (without trying to "bend the bar") and some people seem to recommend this but haven't heard you say this before.

More videos G Nuckols!

When would you want to incorporate incline press? I rarely see it used as an accessory.

So running off this video, are there any accessory movements to help with the middle of the press besides something like board or pin presses?

So what should one do to increase the bench if they miss in the "normal" mid-range? Are partial range of motion exercises such as pin and board presses the go-to, or is just more bench pressing better?

Hi Greg, really interesting video! Would be great to hear your opinion on the most useful exercise to help with the more common sticking point in the bench. Thanks!

Is direct core work necessary from a powerlifting standpoint? If so, what exercises do you recommend, and with what frequency, volume, time, etc.

Would you periodize the focus on the individual lifts througout a training period? And if so, how?

Hey, I can't dip with enough weight comfortably to make an impact; I fail at locking out. I've found that throwing in push presses really helped me.

hey greg, I have been trying to write my first volume block (2 months) of my first powerlifting program. I am an experienced lifter with very good form in all versions of the compound lifts including clean and jerk and snatch and have a 505 lbs Deadlift no belt at 190 lbs to give you an idea of where I am at. I would like to know what you consider to be the most important things to consider when making a volume block for powerlifting style training?

Please do a shoulder impingement video. I love OHP but anything over 135 hurts.

do you think snatch grip deadlifts are comparable to deficits for ppl with extremely short arms and struggle with conventional

Any advice/cues to help incorporate upper back rounding in the deadlift? I'm used to pull with straight back and have hard time actually rounding it now when i want to.

Greg, When you have a rotator cuff injury, or other shoulder injury, do you recommend avoiding benching completely until the shoulder has fully recovered? Should you bench light to retain good technique? Switch to dumbbell benching until healed? What's you're recommended course of action?

Rule of thumb, whatever you can strict press you can automatically bench at least 20% more weight regardless of if you've ever benched before. So shoulder press has carry over to the Bench, however doing bench press doesn't have carry over to strict press. The ultimate statement of strength is lifting a weight above the head because with the bench leverage is a big factor.

Strengtheory podcast please!

Greg what's your thoughts on back of sets for example i doing a volume block at the moment working up to a top set of 6 followed by taking 10% of the bar for 2 sets of 8 love the content keep it coming

I really love your videos (and articles) Greg. By the way, the Bulgarian Manual changed my life :D

Hello Greg. Love your work!!! 5 lbs in 6 weeks? Would you not consider this good progress? Personally, if I could increase my bench by 5lbs every 6 weeks, I would be extremley happy. Rich.

Hey Greg, I have a question, recovery seems to make a big difference in programming. So my question is, how does the nonprofressional trainee who writes the program know how certain lifts might effect recovery (e.g. push press versus ohp). Push out more vids! Good job so far!

What different accessory lifts do you recommend for the different sticking points in the deadlift and why? Just off the floor is the most relevant for me but I imagine more would get something out of the video if you covered all of them.

It's helped me. I struggle with bench more than my other lifts.

one more question. if the ohp didnt really do much to help you increase your bench, what accessory exercise did you use to help increase your bench? thanks

How do you push through the mid range sticking point of the bench?

How significant is the impact of attempting to achieve maximal hypertrophy by adding heaps of volume in the form of accessory work on the overall effectiveness of strength programming

Is push press any good as an accessory for strict press ohp? I always finish off a couple more reps pushing after I've failed at a high weight on strict. I imagine it doesn't since I'm shoving it past the sticking point but I like doing it.

Squatting and deadlifting the same day. Does it have good carryover to being able to have a good squat and deadlift on the platform?

Yes Greg returns! My favorite cute guy that could break me in half.

My left elbow pops Everytime I try to do anything overhead with a minimal load, any ideas on why this is and what I can do fix it as I would love to over head press.

What effect does stretching have on strength and power output?

Will you be doing a no weak links for the overhead press anytime soon?

dope vid... your humanity is understood.

What about bicep tendonitis? Can OHP cause issues with tendonitis of the long head of the bicep? I'm having terrible pain and strength loss due to tendonitis. Ways to rehab would be a great video. Thanks for the info.

Hey Greg, can you use frequency as a form of periodization?

Good video thanks man

@Strengtheory why is there still no acceptence of a plant based Diet amoung athletes or so little even tho the WHO and pretty much all big medical science institutions approve that you should minimize animal products for optimal funktion and against chronik disease? thx

What's your take on occlusion training? Is there real science behind it?

"String Theory"

I’m the complete opposite. My strict ohp touching the chest no bounce at all, is 265 1rm. My bench is 330 for 1rm, why is that? I haven’t been taking my ohp serious at all just for the past year or so of my almost 4 years of lifting. I always liked the bench a lot more. I have videos of some of my ohp on my ig for proof @mouhamad_maz

Does a bigger back really help for a bigger bench

Any benefits for push press?

Greg, I doubled my volume at a given intensity for squats and two weeks later have had to stop squatting because the area above my kneecaps was traumatized. Is this likely caused simply by adding too much too quick? The only other change I made was using an elevated heel squat shoe. Thanks in advance for your thoughts....or anyone else for that matter!