Stand tall and press the world overhead. Builds boulder shoulders.
Squeeze your glutes and abs so you press the bar, not lean back into it.
The overhead press is the purest test of pressing strength, driving a barbell from your front delts to full lockout with nothing but shoulders, triceps and a braced trunk. Standing means your whole body has to become the bench, glutes and abs locked so the force goes into the bar instead of into a backbend. It builds the delts through the longest loaded range of any shoulder lift, with the triceps finishing the job overhead.
Everyone's is. You're pressing with a fraction of the muscle, no bench to push against and a longer bar path. Most lifters press somewhere around two thirds of their bench, so judge it on its own scale.
You're leaning back to turn it into an incline press, usually because the weight is too heavy. Squeeze your glutes and brace your abs before the bar moves, and drop the load until the press stays vertical.
Directly over your midfoot, with your head come through under the bar. If the bar locks out in front of your face, you're missing the final push back into line and giving up the strongest finishing position.
