Standing OHP
Lineout lift + contact strength
How to do it well
The set-up and the rep in full, then the cues the app shows on the exercise card — the short version, for the moment you are standing in front of the bar.
Set-up
Take the bar from a rack at collarbone height with the hands just outside the shoulders, elbows slightly in front of the bar. Step back, feet hip width, squeeze the glutes and brace.
The rep
Press the bar straight up, moving the head back slightly to let it pass. Once it clears the forehead, push the head through so the bar finishes locked out over the back of the head and the middle of the foot. Lower under control to the collarbones and reset the brace before the next rep.
On the exercise card
- Ribs down
What goes wrong, and the fix
| What goes wrong | The fix |
|---|---|
| Leaning back to press | Ribs down, glutes tight. Leaning back turns it into an incline press and loads the lower back. |
| The bar travelling forward around the face | Move the head, not the bar. A straight bar path is a stronger one. |
| Using the legs | That is a push press. Keep the knees locked. |
Make it easier, or harder
- Easier
- A seated dumbbell shoulder press, or a lighter bar.
- Harder
- More load, or a pause at forehead height on the way up.
How Train Smart prescribes it
The sets and reps below are the authored starting point. The actual weight you see is calculated from your own last top set and the week you are in within your four-week block.
In rugby union it is the heavy overhead lift in the total-body strength session, four sets of six: strength for lifting in the lineout and for contact. Standing up, the whole body has to brace to support the bar, which is exactly what lifting a jumper asks of it.
| Program | Session | Sets × reps | Load |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rugby Union | Strength (Total Body) | 4 × 6 | Heavy |
What it trains, and who trains it
- Muscles worked
- Shoulders
- Region
- Full body
- Prescribed in
- rugby union
If you cannot do this one
Rack taken, kit missing, or it does not suit you. These are the swaps the app offers, matched by movement pattern and body region — each with the reason it is a fair substitute.
| Alternative | Why it works as a swap |
|---|---|
| Push Press | Leg drive overhead — power + strength for throwers/strikers |
| Overhead Press | Strict vertical pressing strength |
| Split Jerk | Olympic-style overhead — explosive shoulders for combat athletes |
| DB Shoulder Press | Even both sides, shoulder-friendly |
| Seated DB Shoulder Press | Strict, no leg drive — pure shoulder mass |
| Arnold Press | Full shoulder sweep through rotation |
This exercise, in a program that knows why it is there
Train Smart puts this movement in the right session, at the right point in your block, at a weight calculated for you — and swaps it automatically if you do not have the kit.
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