Overhead Squat Exercise Guide

Written by Mike Dewar

Last updated on June 17th, 2019

The overhead squat is a total body exercise that can be beneficial for strength, power, and fitness athletes. Movements like snatches, jerks, high bar back squats, overhead carries, and other functional exercises are all impacted by an athletes ability to (1) stabilize a load overhead, (2) properly control the core under load, and (3) display strength, mobility, and balance.

Therefore, we thought it would be helpful to discuss the overhead squat in greater detail and offer coaches and athletes a more definitive guide that discussed:

• Overhead Squat Form and Technique

• Benefits of the Overhead Squat

• Muscles Worked by Overhead Squat

• Overhead Squat Sets, Reps, and Programming Recommendations

• Overhead Squat Variations and Alternatives

• and more…

Who Should Do Overhead Squats?

The overhead squat can be highly beneficial for all strength, power, and fitness athletes. The below groups can benefit from learning and performing this movement due to the various reasons listed below.

Overhead Squat for Strength Athletes

The overhead squat can help strength athletes increase shoulder strength and stability, enhance squat patterning, and can be helpful to increase ankle, knee, and hip mobility. While this movement is not specific to the sport of powerlifting and strongman, it can be a helpful exercise to increase movement integrity, core strength, and shoulder stability.

Overhead Squat for Weightlifters

The overhead squat is a critical movement for the snatch. Overhead strength, vertical torso positioning, and stability in the bottom of the overhead squat can increase a lifter’s ability to assume a low and stable receiving position and enhance the ability to confidently and quickly get into a snatch receiving position. In addition, this movement can help to increase squat patterning for other squatting movements.

Overhead Squat for CrossFit/Competitive Fitness Athletes

CrossFit and fitness athletes can increase their weightlifitng abilities, overhead strength, and squat positioning by mastering the overhead squat, making this a fundamental squatting movement. If someone has issues snatching (full snatch), where their power snatch is more than ~85-90% of their full snatch, this could suggest poor overhead squatting abilities.

Overhead Squat for General Fitness

The overhead squat is a total-body squatting movement that can increase upper back, shoulder, and core strength, while also reinforcing proper squatting techniques. The ability to perform an overhead squat correctly is also a good test of the ankle, knee, hip, and shoulder mobility and midline control.

Overhead Squat Variations

Below are three (3) overhead squat variations that can be used by coaches and athletes to keep training varied and progressive.

Pause Overhead Squat

The pause overhead squat is done similar to other pause squat variations and can be a great way to increase control, core stability, and balance at the bottom of the squat. In addition, it will teach lifters to remain engaged with the core and upper back muscles when paused and challenge them to increase concentric strength getting out of the squat.

Tempo Overhead Squat

The tempo overhead squat is done similar to other tempo squat variations, and can be done at set cadences to increase time under tension, increase a lifter’s movement control and strength at certain positions, and address sticking points or technical breakdowns in the overhead squat movement.

Clean Grip Overhead Squat

The clean grip overhead squat is an overhead squat done with a clean grip (also can be done with a jerk grip) versus a wider grip, like the one taken in a snatch. The narrower the grip, the more overhead mobility is needed. In addition, narrowing the grip will increase upper back, shoulder, and trapezius involvement, making it a good variation for lifters looking to maximize upper back strength in the squat.

Overhead Squat Alternatives

Below are three (3) HSPU alternatives coaches and athletes can use to increase explosiveness.

Single Arm Dumbbell Overhead Squats

The single-arm dumbbell/kettlebell overhead squat is a movement that can increase unilateral overhead stability, core strength, and be useful for functional fitness. Additionally, it can help lifters train similar muscle groups and joint actions while still increasing the body’s movement and stability in slightly different patterns.

Overhead Lunge

The overhead lunge can be done with any type of lunge movement (walking, reverse, Bulgarian split squat, etc). This is often a movement that can be used as a regression for some lifters who may have issues assuming a full overhead squat (bilateral). Lastly, overhead lunges, when walking, can further increase core and overhead stability.

Anderson Squat (Overhead)

The Anderson squat can be slightly modified to be also used with the overhead squat movement, which can help to increase overhead and core strength and stability, and increase a lifter’s ability to remain in control and in tension at deeper positions in the overhead squat. This can also be helpful for lifters to establish better balance in the bottom of the overhead squat (in terms of foot pressure).