Standing Barbell Overhead Press
front deltoid
What moves the load, and what it costs
6.0MET
ಮುಂಭಾಗದ ಡೆಲ್ಟಾಯ್ಡ್ is the prime mover, with the triceps, side deltoid, abs assisting. The most complete upper-body pressing exercise, because nothing supports you. It builds shoulders, triceps and a trunk that can hold position under load.
Cue: Squeeze the glutes and abs before the bar leaves the shoulders — a standing press is a moving plank with arms.
Written on other cards as: Military press · Strict press · OHP
ಮೂಲ.2024 ವಯಸ್ಕರ ದೈಹಿಕ ಚಟುವಟಿಕೆಗಳ ಸಂಗ್ರಹ.FILED UNDER WEIGHTS, VIGOROUS.ಪರಿಶೀಲನೆ ಜುಲೈ 2026
SHARED AXIS · SEVEN VALUES FROM ONE TABLE · HIGHLIGHTED ROW IS THIS MOVEMENT
The compendium files standing barbell overhead press under a category, not a lift. Read the ladder as position, not precision: this is heavier work than sitting quietly by a factor of 6.0, and at the top end of what a gym floor produces.
Turning that MET value into a real energy cost
- Map the movement to a published category. The compendium measures categories of conditioning work, never individual lifts, so standing barbell overhead press is filed under Resistance training (weight lifting, free weight or machine), power lifting or body building, vigorous effort.
- Take the category's MET value — 6.0. One MET is the cost of sitting quietly, so this is 6.0 times resting metabolism.
- Multiply by 3.5 to get millilitres of oxygen per kilogram per minute, the unit the MET is actually defined in.
- Multiply by your bodyweight in kilograms and divide by 200. The result is kilocalories per minute of work.
- Count working minutes only. Under load, not under the roof — a set of eight is about 25 seconds of the hour you were there.
kcal/min = MET × 3.5 × body mass (kg) ÷ 200 Standing Barbell Overhead Press: 6.0 × 3.5 × 70 ÷ 200 = 7.35 kcal/min
ಮೂಲ.ACSM metabolic equation + 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities.REFERENCE BODY MASS 70 KG.ಪರಿಶೀಲನೆ ಜುಲೈ 2026
What is actually doing the work
| Muscle | Role | What it does here |
|---|---|---|
| ಮುಂಭಾಗದ ಡೆಲ್ಟಾಯ್ಡ್Anterior deltoid | Prime mover | Raises the arm to the front (shoulder flexion) and assists horizontal adduction. Prime mover in overhead pressing, heavy synergist in every bench press. |
| ಟ್ರೈಸೆಪ್ಸ್Triceps brachii | ಸಹಾಯಕ / ಸ್ಥಿರಕಾರಿ | Straightens the elbow. The long head also crosses the shoulder, so it is stretched and loaded hardest with the arm overhead. |
| Side deltoidLateral deltoid | ಸಹಾಯಕ / ಸ್ಥಿರಕಾರಿ | Raises the arm out to the side (shoulder abduction) from roughly 15 degrees upward. It is the head that gives the shoulder its width. |
| AbsRectus abdominis | ಸಹಾಯಕ / ಸ್ಥಿರಕಾರಿ | Bends the trunk forward and, more usefully, resists it being extended backwards. Both a crunch and a plank load it — differently. |
The prime mover produces the movement against the resistance; synergists assist and stabilisers hold a joint still without moving it. An exercise trains the whole muscle it loads — there is no way to work only part of a muscle, and no exercise removes fat from the area around it.
Set up, then earn the rep
Barbell. Every rep should look like the first one. The moment it stops looking like the first one, the set is finished.
PATTERN · PUSH
- Take the bar at shoulder height with the elbows slightly in front of the bar, not flared out to the sides.
- Stand with the feet hip to shoulder width, glutes and abs braced so the ribcage cannot flare — the press is as much a standing plank as an arm movement.
- Squeeze the glutes and abs before the bar leaves the shoulders — a standing press is a moving plank with arms.
- Pull the chin back out of the way, press the bar in a straight line past the face, then push the head through so the bar finishes over the middle of the foot.
- Lock out with the biceps beside the ears and the shoulder blades rotated up.
- Lower under control to the start position rather than dropping into the catch.
Where this one breaks down
Not theory. These are the faults you correct on a gym floor, and the correction that actually works.
Leaning back to get the weight up.
A press that turns into an incline bench press with a lumbar arch is telling you the weight is too heavy. Squeeze the glutes and let the range be honest.
Pressing around the face instead of past it.
The bar path should be as close to vertical as possible. Move the head back out of the way, not the bar forward.
Stopping short of a full lockout.
The top of the press is where the lower traps and serratus do their work, and it is the range most people skip.
Flared elbows at the start.
Elbows under and slightly in front of the load, not out at the sides.
Regress it, or progress it
Regress — earn it first
Progress — the next demand
Prescription: load, reps, rest
Read off the goal, then hold the technique constant as the load climbs. Derived from the movement's mechanics, not invented for this page: a compound lift loads several joints, so it tolerates heavy loads and needs long rests.
| Goal | Sets | Reps | ವಿಶ್ರಾಂತಿ | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strength | 3–5 | 3–6 | 3–5 min | Heavy loads need long rests. Cutting rest to two minutes turns a strength set into a conditioning set. |
| Muscle size | 3–4 | 6–12 | 90–180 sec | Take most sets to within one to three reps of failure. Total weekly hard sets per muscle matters more than the exact rep number. |
| Endurance / fat loss | 2–4 | 12–20 | 45–75 sec | Lighter loads and shorter rests. Fat loss is decided by the diet; this preserves muscle while it happens. |
| First month | 2–3 | 8–10 | 2 ನಿಮಿ | Well short of failure, same weight every set, until the movement looks the same on the last rep as the first. |
Time under load, in kilocalories
Read these as minutes of work, not minutes in the building. A set of eight takes about twenty-five seconds; the rest of the hour is rest, chalk and queueing.
Mapped category: Resistance training (weight lifting, free weight or machine), power lifting or body building, vigorous effort — 6.0 MET. That is the published category this movement is filed under, not a measurement of this specific lift.
Worked at 6.0 MET × 3.5 × 70 kg ÷ 200 = 7.35 kcal per working minute for a 70 kg adult. Scale it by your own bodyweight; the equation is linear. The full activity dataset lives at BurnLab.
ಮೂಲ.2024 ವಯಸ್ಕರ ದೈಹಿಕ ಚಟುವಟಿಕೆಗಳ ಸಂಗ್ರಹ.CATEGORY VALUE, NOT A PER-EXERCISE MEASUREMENT.ಪರಿಶೀಲನೆ ಜುಲೈ 2026
If the rack is taken
Substitutes train the same prime mover through the same pattern with different kit. Computed from the muscle and pattern data on this card, not hand-picked to fill a grid.
Nothing at all to hand: Pike Push-Up is the closest match — same prime mover, same pattern, no kit.
Where it sits in a week
One movement is not a programme. The twelve templates put these in order, including 6 that need no gym at all.
The questions that come up on the floor
What muscles does the standing barbell overhead press work?
Standing Barbell Overhead Press is a compound movement in which the front deltoid is the prime mover, assisted by the triceps, side deltoid, abs. Raises the arm to the front (shoulder flexion) and assists horizontal adduction. Prime mover in overhead pressing, heavy synergist in every bench press.
Is the standing barbell overhead press good for beginners?
Not on day one, but it is reachable within a few weeks. It rates 3 out of 5 for technical demand. Work up through the easier versions listed on this page first, starting with the standing dumbbell shoulder press.
What can I do instead of the standing barbell overhead press at home?
The closest no-equipment substitute is the pike push-up, which trains the same prime mover through the same movement pattern. If you own a little equipment, the standing dumbbell shoulder press is closer still. It will not load you as heavily, so use higher reps and slower tempo to make up the difference.
How many sets and reps of the standing barbell overhead press should I do?
For muscle size, 3–4 sets of 6–12 with 90–180 sec rest. For strength, 3–5 sets of 3–6 with 3–5 min rest. In your first month, 2–3 sets of 8–10, stopping well short of failure. Total weekly hard sets per muscle group matters more than the exact rep number in any of these ranges.
Does the standing barbell overhead press burn fat from the front deltoid?
No. No exercise removes fat from the area it trains — spot reduction has been tested repeatedly and does not happen. Training the front deltoid builds the muscle underneath; where body fat is lost from is decided by an overall calorie deficit and by your genetics, not by which exercise you chose.
Muscle roles follow standard kinesiology references and are described by joint action rather than by gym convention — see how this site is built. Energy figures are derived from the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities. Every reference is named and dated on the ಮೂಲಗಳು page. General information only — not medical or coaching advice. Load, form and progression should be adjusted to your own experience and any injury history. When in doubt, get coached in person.
ಮೂಲ.ಪ್ರಕಟಿತ ವ್ಯಾಯಾಮ ಉಲ್ಲೇಖಗಳು.MUSCLE ROLES ASSIGNED BY JOINT ACTION.ಪರಿಶೀಲನೆ ಜುಲೈ 2026
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