The overhead position is the hardest position I’ve seen people try to get into. It requires a lot of mobility demands at the shoulder joint, but what may go unnoticed is that it requires good core strength and stability, as well. The core musculature that controls the pelvis and rib cage plays a crucial role in allowing the scapula to move in the right positions. This is what most athletes have a hard time with. They often lack the awareness of how the pelvis and rib cage move and the role they play when moving the arms overhead.
Dialing in the overhead position is very crucial, because there are many sports that require an athlete to get into an overhead position. Such sports include baseball, softball, tennis, diving, swimming, basketball, football, etc. Some of these sports require more overhead demands than others, but you would be hard pressed to find a single sport that doesn’t require your arms going overhead.
Due to the demand for the overhead position in sports and the general lack of understanding of what constitutes doing it well, I thought it important to give this topic some attention.
To start with a good general explanation, below is a video that lays out some of the ideas briefly mentioned above.
For all athletes, it’s important to clean-up movement inefficiencies. Cleaning-up movement issues that one might have will help the athlete perform better on the field. Often, how an athlete moves in the weight room is a good indicator of how he or she’s going to move on the field. To keep athletes’ durable, sustainable, and performing at their best, it’s important to get them moving as well as possible in the strength and conditioning setting. It’s important for athletes who spend a lot of time in the overhead position to master the overhead posture. If an athlete is constantly arching his or her lower back to move their arms overhead, this is an inefficiency that needs to get cleaned-up. And, it should be looked at as a good thing that the athlete has new areas to improve on.
Hopefully, the clip and information presented above can give all athletes a better understanding of the overhead position so they can be better movers in the weight room and on the field! Also, check out the post below for some additional insight and how we are using these ideas in the real world.