Overhead Squat

Grab your “honey jar” overhead and squat like a proud bear showing off a tall tree! Keep your paws locked, belly braced, and chest up as you sit between your heels. If you wobble, that is just your inner cub learning balance. Slow, steady, and strong!

Instructions

1. Set a barbell (or dowel) overhead with a wide snatch grip; elbows locked and shoulders active.
2. Stand with feet about shoulder-width, toes slightly turned out; brace your core and set your gaze forward.
3. Inhale and begin the squat by sitting down and slightly back while keeping the bar directly over mid-foot.
4. Keep knees tracking over toes and maintain an upright torso as you descend.
5. Reach depth you can control without losing the overhead position or heel contact.
6. Drive up through mid-foot/heel, keeping the bar stacked over shoulders and hips until standing tall.

Benefits

• Builds total-body strength and coordination
• Improves shoulder stability and overhead positioning
• Enhances thoracic extension and ankle/hip mobility demands
• Develops core bracing under load
• Carries over to Olympic lifting (snatch receiving position)

Key Points

• Keep the load stacked over mid-foot throughout the rep.
• Actively press up into the bar to stabilize the shoulders and upper back.
• Brace 360 degrees around the trunk; avoid rib flare.
• Maintain heel contact; improve ankle mobility if heels lift.
• Use a dowel/PVC first to earn range of motion and control.

Common Mistakes

• Bar drifting forward of mid-foot
• Bending elbows or losing active shoulder position
• Heels lifting or collapsing into the toes
• Knees caving inward
• Excessive forward lean or rounding the upper back
• Overarching the low back due to rib flare