The overhead press is a valuable exercise and a longstanding staple of well-balanced programming. Important for shoulder health, overall strength, and big deltoids, you'd think pressing bars to the ceiling would be the go-to exercise, but realistically, overhead pressing isn't for everyone.

Why are overhead presses bad?

The first fallacy is that pressing or reaching overhead is bad for your rotator cuff because it “causes impingement.” Impingement is the trapping of soft tissues between two bony landmarks. ... This causes the humeral head to jam into the acromion, which has failed to rotate out of the way, and crushes the rotator cuff.

Is overhead press bad for rotator cuff?

Behind the head shoulder press

This exercise position can compress the rotator cuff muscles against bony surfaces in the shoulder. If you perform overhead presses, keeping the bar in front of the body allows for a more natural movement and may limit the rotator cuff muscles' compression.