How to do a seated barbell shoulder press with proper form. Set the bar just below shoulder height, grip just outside the knurling, and press straight up with your biceps aligned over your ears. Press your lower back into the bench to protect your spine.
We're going to be showing you how to do a seated barbell shoulder press. We have Jason here who's going to be demonstrating. So the first thing is you probably need to be set up in a rack. We have a rule here, you're not allowed to set this up in the full rack, you have to set up in the half rack, just easier and also takes up less space. So what we're doing is we're setting this up just below where you need to be. So Jason's going to grab the bar, and usually we're going to grab this just outside of shoulder width. Usually depending on your shoulder grip, you're going to be just outside of the knurling. He's got a good grip there, he's not where he needs to be. Now he's going to press up. Now again, considerations for this as we do any shoulder press is, as at that end range, as he comes up, we want to make sure, and as we're assessing him, that he's through straight. So Jason, even a little bit further you can go through. As you press, come up further through, further through, there he is. His bicep now is covering his ear. The other great thing about the seated variation is that it takes out the lower back. In actual fact, Jason, if you can push your lower back into the bench for me rather— now do the press. Push that lower back in. Excellent. So rather than getting to that extended back lumbar position, he's now in through there. Keep the tension on the way down so he's nice and tight through the ribs. Keep there and back up. Excellent. And head forward, head forward a tiny bit, head forward a tiny bit, and back up, keeping that lower back pressed in. Rather than getting into lumbar extension as we're pressing. We want to really cut out the lower back, any lower back in this movement whatsoever. And do one more for me. Push back towards me, push back towards me, push back towards me. Excellent. So this isn't where I would start someone normally. Normally I would be starting someone with dumbbells. I like beginners to start with dumbbells. They need to earn their way to the bar, and particularly if you have any lower back considerations, it's going to be dumbbells seated, where Jason is obviously using a barbell seated. So if you are a beginner, you're looking at the seated variation, but doing it with dumbbells. Awesome. And you can rest. If you want more great videos just like this one, consider subscribing. Want more videos to learn how to build your superhuman? Click here or here.
