Band Overhead Press

What you'll gain

• Band tension rises toward lockout, so resistance peaks where a barbell press is easiest.

• Needs no rack or bench, which makes it a workable home and travel press.

• Standing bilateral pressing keeps the core and traps working as stabilizers.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. 1

   Stand on the middle of a resistance band with your feet shoulder-width apart.

2. 2

   Take a handle or the band itself in each hand and bring them to shoulder height with the palms facing forward.

3. 3

   Brace your abs and squeeze your glutes so the ribs stay down.

4. 4

   Press both hands overhead by extending the elbows and flexing the shoulders.

5. 5

   Finish tall with your ears in line with your biceps.

6. 6

   Lower under control until your hands return to shoulder height.

Common Mistakes

• Standing on too little of the band, which lets it slip out from under the feet mid-set.

• Driving with the legs to start the press, which turns it into a push press and unloads the shoulders.

• Leaning back to beat the rising band tension, which loads the lower back instead.

• Letting the band snap the arms down, which gives away the lowering phase where control is built.

About This Exercise

The band overhead press replaces the barbell with a resistance band trapped under both feet. You hold the band at shoulder height with the palms forward, then press to lockout. The shoulders are the target with the abs, traps and triceps assisting, and a band applies accommodating resistance, so the load climbs as you approach the top rather than falling away. The deltoids, triceps and trapezius do the same work they do under a bar, with the trunk and glutes holding posture when you press standing. In a catalog this is the press that needs no rack, bench or plates, which makes it the natural entry in band and home-workout filters. Pair it with the barbell and dumbbell presses so an app can serve the movement to users with almost no kit.

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