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Overhead Squats

post #1 of 75
5/3/09 at 9:18pm
Thread Starter 
Anyone a big fan of them? How do you get stronger at it?
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post #2 of 75
5/3/09 at 9:19pm
my balance makes me suck at these. would like to do them more.
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post #3 of 75
5/3/09 at 9:30pm
Thread Starter 
yeah it's really tough keeping the weight moving up and down the vertical plane. I think it may be my lats/upper back holding me back.
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post #4 of 75
5/3/09 at 9:40pm
I'm a fan, but I don't use them as a "core" movement. Rather, they are a tool for training for the snatch, from the bottom position up.

Balance is a key. I also used something called snatch drops to train the balance part. You start in the back squat position and drop to a full overhead squat.
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post #5 of 75
5/3/09 at 9:48pm
Thread Starter 
I'm interested in finding ways to use them as a core movement. This is after reading Dan John's article that used fifteen overhead squats with bodyweight as a benchmark. Seems like a feat worth chasing.
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post #6 of 75
5/3/09 at 10:08pm
Few tips to doing overhead squats:

1) When you do them pretend that you're pulling the bar apart which will help stabilize the bar.

2) Make sure you have "active shoulders" which is where you try to shove your shoulders into your ears. Again this helps with bar stabilization and will help you apply horizontal force to the bar.

3) If you have a squat rack try setting the bar at a height where you can get under it in a squat position with arms locked out and stand up from there.

4) Always remember heels, heels, heels. It's important with any squatting movement but becomes even more important with overhead movements. Make sure your weight is driving through your heels and you're not coming up on your toes.

Finally make sure you're keeping the bar locked in the magic spot behind your head. You don't want it overhead but more over your shoulders with your head driven slightly forward.

Hope this helps some.
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post #7 of 75
5/3/09 at 10:10pm
Thread Starter 
that active shoulders thing is new to me. Thanks a lot!
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post #8 of 75
5/3/09 at 10:47pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by John152 View Post
Few tips to doing overhead squats:

1) When you do them pretend that you're pulling the bar apart which will help stabilize the bar.

2) Make sure you have "active shoulders" which is where you try to shove your shoulders into your ears. Again this helps with bar stabilization and will help you apply horizontal force to the bar.

3) If you have a squat rack try setting the bar at a height where you can get under it in a squat position with arms locked out and stand up from there.

4) Always remember heels, heels, heels. It's important with any squatting movement but becomes even more important with overhead movements. Make sure your weight is driving through your heels and you're not coming up on your toes.

Finally make sure you're keeping the bar locked in the magic spot behind your head. You don't want it overhead but more over your shoulders with your head driven slightly forward.

Hope this helps some.

We do these quite at crossfit, this advice is right on the money. Also, keep the weight light and slowly build up with this move.
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post #9 of 75
5/4/09 at 12:31am
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post #10 of 75
5/4/09 at 3:27am
Some good info here... I was just thinking the other day of what could be potentially the most difficult squatting exercise and I wondered if overhead box squats are something ever practiced?
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post #11 of 75
5/4/09 at 12:27pm
I know DJ won't shut up about em, but I'm still not convinced. Depends on what you're after I suppose.
Funny story, I walked into my old gym a few years back (Johnny Lats, in NYC) and saw a guy doing overhead squats. I said, "Dan John, huh?" He said "yup".
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post #12 of 75
5/4/09 at 12:52pm
Thread Starter 
Something I've heard is that overhead squats won't really improve your powerlifting but will help most other areas of athleticism. Since I don't really have sports goals outside of some pickup and IM flag football, I guess I can afford a four-month experiment concentrating on just improving my overhead squat.
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post #13 of 75
5/4/09 at 12:57pm
I just can't see how carefuly holding a barbell above your weight and doing controled reps can be bad for you lol.
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post #14 of 75
5/4/09 at 1:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Becks23 View Post
I just can't see how carefuly holding a barbell above your weight and doing controled reps can be bad for you lol.

I agree. The balance itself is difficult enough. Crossfit gets ragged on for all the photos with people using PVC instead of barbells. If you've never tried an OH squat, grab a broomstick or PVC pipe, press it over your head and squat deeply without falling over. It can be learned, but it is amazingly difficult. Lifting shoes do help. It requires a lot of shoulder flexibility that I really don't have. Even when I snatch, I do a split snatch as the squat snatch doesn't really work for me.

Of course, if you're an O-lifter, you just consider it a normal movement.
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post #15 of 75
5/4/09 at 10:03pm
Get a dowel/pvc at home and just do OHS with it all the time. Also do a lot of passthroughs to build shoulder flexibility. It takes a while but I think it's a great exercise.
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