01Foundation
Standing, clasp both hands behind your back
The eleven tests / Overhead reach
Test 10 of 11 · Mobility
The overhead reach test, and the rib flare that fakes it
The rule. On your back, knees bent, low back flat to the floor. Reach both arms overhead. If the ribs flare or the back arches to get there, you did not get there.
Nearly everybody can touch the floor overhead if they are allowed to arch. Taking the arch away turns a movement most men pass into one many fail, and the failing is the useful information.
The four rungs
Find yourself on one of these.
Your level on this test is the highest rung you can hold cleanly today. Not the one you could hit on a good day five years ago.
02Working
Arms reach the floor overhead, low back still flat
03Strong
Broomstick pass-over, hands 12 in / 30 cm wider than the shoulders
04Standard
Hang from a bar, then press overhead with no rib flare
Where it goes wrong
The two that cost people a rung.
Mistake 01
Borrowing range from the low back
The lumbar spine will happily hand over twenty degrees that the shoulder does not have. Press the low back flat and keep it there, and whatever the arms reach is the real number.
Mistake 02
Shrugging to get there
Ears buried in the shoulders at the top means the shoulder blade did the travelling instead of the joint. Keep the shoulders down and let the range be smaller and true.
Moving up
How to earn the next rung.
- 01
Open the mid-back first
A foam roller across the upper back, slow, before every attempt. Most locked shoulders are a stiff thoracic spine wearing a disguise.
- 02
Broomstick pass-overs
Wide grip, straight arms, over and back. Narrow the hands an inch every couple of weeks. It is the clearest progress marker in this whole standard.
- 03
Hang from the bar
A dead hang is overhead mobility under load, which is why it sits in the Standard rung. It also happens to be the Foundation rung of the pull-up test, so the work counts twice.
What this test needs
The kit that helps with this one.
Links go to Amazon and a purchase through one pays me a small commission at no extra cost to you. It does not change what gets recommended. The full list, with what each piece is actually for, is on the gear page.
Before you ask
Two questions that come up every time.
Why can't I lift my arms straight overhead?
Most often a stiff mid-back rather than a stiff shoulder. The shoulder cannot get overhead if the ribcage underneath it will not extend, so the low back arches to make up the difference.
Does overhead mobility come back after 50?
Yes, and usually faster than strength does. It is a daily, low-effort job rather than a hard one, which is exactly why most people never do it.
Going deeper on this one: Ten Minutes on the Floor
Read about itOn the channel
Watch the overhead reach tested at every rung.
What Foundation looks like next to Standard, filmed from the side so the form is actually visible. Every one of the eleven gets its own video.