Overhead Stability Training for Athletes

In the following video, I show you one way to train overhead stability for athletes. We are using a bamboo bar with band resistance for developing overhead stability for a vertical pressing movement. We performed this exercise for time after the heavy set of barbell military pressing.

The goal of this exercise is to provide more stability for the shoulders and allowing the rotator cuff to do its job with different positions of the shoulder blades. What you’ll notice in the video is that we are actively creating agitation with the bar by moving our hands in circles and reaching toward the ceiling to create some upward rotation of the shoulder blades. We are trying to hit different articulations and dynamic positions of the shoulder blades while keeping tension on the entire upper body for an extended period of time.

Other great exercises that provide a similar training affect are simply lacking out dumbbells, kettlebells, or a barbell overhead and going for a walk. This is a great complement to overhead pressing work and helps the lifter to progress to heavier weights safely. Once a lifter is able to create overhead stability with an external load, the next progression isn’t always adding more weight – in this example, we use agitation and time under tension to provide the additional training effect for greater benefits.

For more high volume, muscle building workouts, check out Diesel MASS