Overhead Squat

Reyman

Has anyone any experience of this exercise? I've been trying it lately with a very light weight but find it a killer.

I can't get down low at all - presumably because of flexibility problems. i'd just like to know if this is a good exercise and if it's woth persisting with it ?

Hanley

Depends on your goals to be totally honest... What are you trying to achieve with it?

Reyman

Well I just thought it would be a variant to the routine back and front squat. Maybe get the leg muscles from a different angle.

I usually find that when an exercise is very hard that's when you get the most benefit from it. But then this overhead squat seems very awkward and I don't want to banjax myself doing it

rubadub

The weight you can lift is so seriously limited that I imagine it is not going to work the legs near as much as a normal squat.

Anybody attempting it should use a bar with NO weight first.

I imagine it is very good for balance, stabilising muscles and improving form.

Hanley

rubadub wrote:

I imagine it is very good for balance, stabilising muscles and improving form.

That's about all it's good for unless you're a competitive weightlifter.

If you can overhead squat with good form, there's no reason why you can't back squat the same way.

It's a bitch to learn, and flexibility can be an issue, but it's something you could consider in addition to front and back squats, but not as a replacement.

HammerHeadGym

It's great for core strength and also vital if you ever want to build the explosive power that only the olympic lifts deliver.

Checkout crossfit.com to see how the're done. Follow the exercises and demos link.

Hanley

HammerHeadGym wrote:

It's great for core strength and also vital if you ever want to build the explosive power that only the olympic lifts deliver.

That's really not true at all. Power cleans and power snatches are a great way to devolp power but they're no where near as technical.

slemons

overhead squats are great for core strenght stability and an all round workout if you are stuck for time. i use it a lot in-season

they wont build power or strength though. its just an accessory exercise in that regard.

power cleans and snatches are far more technical than over head squats. once you've the arms locked out on an overhead squat its just up and down. how deep you can go is a flexibility issue, not really a technical issue

to the op - put plates under your heels when you start off, then work your way down to no plates. it takes a few few weeks and a nice bit of courage and you'll get there.

Reyman

Thanks all for your replies. I'm going to give it a try for about 6 weeks.

I'll report back how I get on. I find sometimes when you do a completely new exercise you get unexpected gains in all kinds of other exercises where you're hitting a plateau. So maybe this one will work out like that

Hanley

True story. It could well be a case that your core is what's holding you back on regular squats and O/H squats might just be what you need to bring it up.

Froot

I have seen one body builder in my gym doing it. Big guy. He always has someone standing beside him when he does it and he told me that its one of the easiest exercises to dislocate your arm with.

I would say that it probably requires more balance really. Perhaps try it on a smith machine without weight, then try it with an olympic bar with no weight and progress from there...

Hanley wrote:

That's really not true at all. Power cleans and power snatches are a great way to devolp power but they're no where near as technical.

I dont think he meant to say that overhead squats are the only way to develop this sort of strength. I think he meant it as doing those kind of explosive exercises like cleans etc in general are vital.