CrossFit South Bay | Hermosa Beach, CA

The third movement in the squat progressions is the Overhead Squat. Not only is it an excellent transfer exercise for the snatch but it’s a great developer of midline stability. All setup and execution is pretty much the same from the air squat and front squat except now we are going to place the load overhead in a locked out position.

Where To Start

• Stance should be shoulder-width, standing tall with hips completely open
• Bar is held directly overhead with a wide grip, active shoulders (shoulders in your ears) and elbows locked out

Let’s Do This

• Maintain weight on heels and lumbar curve
• Big chest as vertical as possible
• Support the load by maintaining active shoulders throughout entire range of motion
• Butt travels backward first, then down
• Head remains neutral (facing forward)
• At the bottom of the squat, hip crease should be below kneecap (below parallel)
• Knees track parallel over feet
• Completely open hip and knee angles standing tall at the top

Crucial Points

• Keep the shoulders active and maintain the bar position overhead within the frontal plane.

For many athletes, especially those with years and years of bench pressing under their belt, this can be an especially challenging exercise. In fact, when I first attempted an overhead squat with an empty bar, I was a complete mess. Shoulder activation was weak and resulted in a bit of arm numbness after the WOD. You CANNOT get lazy when placing loads overhead. After proper technique work and slowly ramping up your loads, overhead squats should become one of your favorite movements.

The video below shows what persistence and diligent attention to technique can do for one’s overhead squat.

WOD – 7.31.09

“Upside-Down Helen”
3 rounds:
400m run
21 KBS
12 HSPU