How to Assess and Correct Overhead Mobility Restrictions for Strength Training

By djpope

February 21, 2019

bodybuilding, champion, dan pope, Jerk, kiefer lammi, mobility, olympic weightlifting, overhead mobility, personal training, physical therapy, physiotherapy, powerlifting, snatch, strength, stronger tv, training

I’m very pumped to announce that I’ve teamed up with Kiefer Lammi (The head strength coach from Champion PT and Performance) to start up STRONGER TV. We wanted to combine our 2 backgrounds, myself as a physical therapist and Kiefer as a strength coach to bring you our best content to help you get stronger, deal with injuries as they pop up and stay pain free for the long haul. We also want to help other coaches and therapists learn how to work with these athletes to get out of pain and achieve their training goals. We even made a cool promo video for it:

In the first episode Kiefer and I tackle one of the most common issues in strength training, overhead mobility restrictions. Overhead mobility is a must for optimal technique during olympic weightlifting, overhead pressing, pulling and really any overhead motion. In this episode we cover:

  • Why you need overhead mobility in the first place
  • Why it’s important to distinguish between mobility and strength issues
  • An easy screen to assess overhead mobility
  • Which structures limit overhead mobility and how to differentiate between which areas need work
  • How to alter the screen based on your goals (snatch vs. overhead press)
  • Our favorite mobilizations for mobility issues
  • Our favorite strengthening exercises for overhead mobility

It’s a big one and I’m really pumped to share it with you all. Please let us know your thoughts and what additional topics we can cover in the future by posting a comment below. Check it out!

So there it is! First episode in the books. Our plan is to be releasing a new episode every week. (We’ve already got 5 filmed and released at this point if you want to binge) If you enjoyed today’s content please head over to the youtube page and subscribe, give us a thumbs up and share it with your friends!

Already feeling more mobile,

Dan Pope DPT, OCS, CSCS

P.S. Again, please let us know your thoughts and what additional topics we can cover in the future by posting a comment below. Kiefer and I couldn’t be more excited.