Unlocking The Power Of OHP

One of my favorite exercises of all time is the strict standing barbell overhead press.

Also known as OHP.

No pushing with the legs.

No knee bounce.

Just straight upper body power.

There was a point in my training years back where I could push 165lbs over my head for a single rep.

And recently, I’ve taken a break from the lift and opted for some hammer strength machine shoulder press which has been great, but…

There’s nothing like pushing heavy free weight overhead.

To me, it seems like the symbol of upper body strength.

(with the deadlift being the lower body version)

So I brought the OHP back into my training…

And here’s what I’m doing:

1 heavy single rep followed by 2 sets of 6–8 reps.

In my most recent session, I did 120lbs for a rep followed by 2 sets of 8 with 80lbs.

Next session will be 125lbs followed by 2 sets of 6–8 with 85lbs.

I’ll keep working towards getting 2 sets of 8 and when I do, I’ll increase the total weight on the bar by 5 pounds.