Standing Front Barbell Raise Over Head

Also called barbell front raise overhead and overhead barbell front raise.

Works

Shoulders

Equipment

Barbell

Level

Intermediate

Type

Isolation

How to do it

Setup. To begin, stand straight with a barbell in your hands. You should grip the bar with palms facing down and a closer than shoulder width grip apart from each other.

1. Your feet should be shoulder width apart from each other. Your elbows should be slightly bent. This is the starting position.
2. Lift the barbell up until it is directly over your head while exhaling. Make sure to keep your elbows slightly bent when performing each repetition.
3. Once you feel the contraction, begin to lower the barbell back down to the starting position as you inhale.
4. Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.

Cues

• Close grip, palms down.
• Elbows soft, arms long.
• Raise the bar overhead.
• Lower slowly, no swing.

Common mistakes

• Leaning back to lift.
• Swinging from the hips.

Where to start

A starting point, not a law. Pick a weight you could lift two or three more times than the top of the range. Tempo is seconds down, pause, up. When every set hits the top of the range, add a little weight.

Go easy, or pick an alternative, if you have a sore shoulder. Pain that's sharp or gets worse set to set means stop.

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