Olympic Bar

Olympic Bar

The overhead squat is a popular exercise that many people are using in their routine now. However, if you take a look at a group of people doing it, most of them will be doing it with terrible technique. This can be very harmful and cause a lot of injuries. It is important to know exactly how to perform this valuable exercise, in order to get the most benefits out of it. There are a multitude of benefits that come from doing this exercise, and you can get a lot out of adding it to your program. If you have not already tried it, put it in the warm-up of your program and see how it feels.

Benefits Of The Overhead Squat

• It will open up your hips and stretch out the fascia in your body.
• You will get a lot of strength through a very large range of motion.
• You will also get a larger range of motion through your hips.
• It is an exercise that gives you a full body stimulus, it is very hard work.
• It also works the core, which means you will get stabilizing benefits for your lower back and through the shoulders.
• You can use it when you are looking to progress onto a snatch, which is an Olympic lift that will help build your power immensely.

How To Perform Overhead Squats

The first thing you should do is start with a light bar. Unless you have done them before or have done a lot of Olympic lifting, then it is a good idea to start light. Even a broomstick will do for the early stages of training. You will find that you need some neural learning before you can master the squat, which means that you will get very large gains very quickly. If you are just looking to get some range of motion in the warm up then light is the way to go anyway. Here are some teaching points that you should follow when performing the overhead squat.

• Put the bar overhead and use a very wide grip.
• Lock out your elbows.
• Bring your shoulder blades back together.
• Lock your core in and tighten your stomach.
• Drift your hips back when performing the exercise, and begin to squat.
• Keep the weight over heels at all times, and remember to keep your shoulders back.
• Get as low as possible, this is an exercise for range of motion, stop before you will fall back, your range will improve over time.
• When you come back up push through your heels.

This exercise will give you a lot of benefits, but the fact is that it will be hard to start with, as it is a new motion. There is a very big chance that you have a bad range of motion, and this will mean when you start to do the overhead squat, you will not be able to get very low. Be patient and include it in your program and you will find a lot of benefits.

You should incorporate the overhead squat in your warm-up if you are looking for a range of motion effect. If you want strength then put it into your program. You can also use it if you are trying to learn how to perform the snatch, which is a very good exercise for explosive power.

The overhead squat is a great exercise, it has many benefits including loosening your hip flexors.