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Selectorized Overhead Press Machine

A pin-loaded seated overhead press that drives machine handles from shoulder height to lockout on a fixed path.

How to do it

  1. Set the seat so the handles sit at about shoulder height when your elbows are bent.
  2. Sit with your back against the pad, feet on the footrest or floor, and grip both handles.
  3. Brace the trunk and keep the head against the pad.
  4. Press the handles overhead until the elbows straighten without shrugging.
  5. Pause briefly at lockout while the selected plates stay lifted.
  6. Lower the handles to shoulder height under control and repeat.

Key technique cue

Head on the pad, shoulders down; don't shrug or poke the chin forward.

Common mistakes

  • Setting the seat so low that the press starts as a shrug.
  • Letting the head drift off the pad and the chin poke forward.
  • Bouncing the stack off the remaining plates at the bottom.
  • Flaring the elbows so wide that the path loads the neck instead of the deltoids.

Benefits

  • Trains an overhead press on a guided path that is easy to learn.
  • Lets beginners overload the deltoids without balancing a bar.
  • Pin selection makes small load jumps simple for drop sets and warm-ups.

Progression: from easier to harder

  1. Step 1 You are here
  2. Step 2
  3. Step 3
Full “Overhead press” progression

About the exercise

A selectorized overhead press is a seated shoulder press on a pin-loaded stack. Sit with the back against the pad, set the seat so the handles start at about shoulder height, and grip the forward cylinders. Press the levers overhead until the elbows straighten, then lower them to the start. The stack, not plates, is the load. The fixed path takes the balance demand out of the lift so the deltoids and triceps can press without a standing brace.

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