Barbell Overhead Squat
oec:barbell-overhead-squat
A high-skill compound movement where a barbell is locked out overhead with a wide grip while performing a deep squat.
Generated by gemini-3.8-flash from the sources below. No person has checked this record. Don't rely on it for safety.
Also called: Overhead Squat, OHS, Barbell OHS
How to do it
Setup
- Grip the barbell using a wide snatch grip and press or jerk it directly overhead.
- Lock out the elbows fully and push up actively against the bar with your shoulders.
- Position your feet shoulder-width apart with toes turned slightly outward and brace your core.
Movement
- Descend by breaking at the hips and knees simultaneously while keeping your chest tall and the bar centered over midfoot.
- Squat down until the hip crease descends below the tops of the knees, ensuring elbows remain locked.
- Drive through the whole foot to stand up, pressing actively into the barbell throughout the ascent.
- Return to a fully locked-out standing position before beginning the next repetition.
Breathing
Take a deep breath and brace firmly into the abdomen before descending; hold pressure through the turn and exhale once past the sticking point on the ascent.
Cues
- Push the bar to the ceiling
- Armpits facing forward
- Squat straight down between your ankles
Common faults
- Letting the bar drift forward during the descent.
- Push up actively into the barbell and maintain thoracic extension to keep the load stacked over midfoot.
- Soft or bending elbows under load.
- Actively lock out the triceps and elevate the shoulder blades continuously.
- Collapsing knees inward during the squat.
- Track your knees in line with your toes and open the hips as you sink into the bottom.
Safety
- Perform on a lifting platform using bumper plates so the barbell can be safely dumped forward or backward if balance is lost.
- Never perform with a spotter behind or in front of the lifter.
Muscles
Joints
- Hip: Flexion, Extension
- Knee: Flexion, Extension
- Ankle: Dorsiflexion, Plantarflexion
- Shoulder blade: Upward rotation, Elevation
- Shoulder: Isometric stabilization
- Elbow: Isometric stabilization
- Thoracic spine: Isometric stabilization
- Lumbar spine: Isometric stabilization
Details
- Movement
- Squat
- Modality
- Olympic weightlifting, Strength, Mobility
- Mechanics
- compound
- Force
- push
- Laterality
- bilateral
- Kinetic chain
- closed
- Level
- advanced
- Equipment
- Barbell
- Record
- Repetitions and Load
- Load
- external, total
Related
- variation of Barbell Back Squat
- progression of Barbell Back Squat
- progression of Barbell Front Squat
- part of Barbell Snatch
Sources
- wger: Overhead Squat, by geraldbaeck (CC-BY-SA-4.0)
This record: CC-BY-SA-4.0.