Band Overhead Press
A standing shoulder press with a resistance band under your feet: you press the band ends from shoulder height straight overhead, training the front delts and triceps.
- Primary muscles
- Front delts
- Secondary
- Side delts, Triceps, Serratus
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Logged as
- Band × reps
Loads from YouTube only when you press play. The video is by an independent creator.
Why do it
It's a practical way to train overhead pressing at home, while traveling, or as a light warm-up before heavier presses. The band is lightest at your shoulders and hardest at lockout, where free weights tend to ease off, so it rewards finishing each rep with straight arms. Beginners can use it to learn to brace and keep their ribs down while pressing; stronger lifters usually need a heavy band or a doubled one to get much out of it.
How to do it
Stand on the middle of a band with your feet about hip-width apart and hold one end in each hand at shoulder height, palms facing forward.
Press your hands straight up until your arms are extended overhead.
Brace your core and keep your ribs down so your lower back does not arch.
Lower your hands slowly back to shoulder height. Log the band you used; a stronger band counts as progress.
Common mistakes
Arching your lower back
Leaning back to finish the press shifts the work off your shoulders. Brace your core and keep your ribs down, as the steps say.
Pressing forward instead of up
If your hands end in front of your face, the band pulls you off balance. Press straight up so your arms finish beside your ears.
Wrists bending back
With the band pulling down, your wrists can fold backward. Keep them stacked over your elbows with a firm grip.
Rushing the lowering
Letting the band drag your hands down skips the slow half of the rep. Lower them steadily back to shoulder height.
Sets, reps and progression
How many sets you do and how close to failure you take them depend on your goal and your week, not on the exercise. These guides cover it:
Alternatives that train the same thing
Same movement, a different angle or piece of equipment.
