standing shoulder press... do you go slowly or explosive push-press?

[warmer]

standing barbell shoulder press. i see people doing it wildly differently.

half i see perform it slowly and focused, feet spaced shoulder width apart, starting at the top of the chest and smoothly pressing up and down in a controlled fashion, like 1-2-3-2-1 up and down.

the other half do it with feet slightly staggered and doing explosive push presses, you know, a slight bob at the beginning then firing up as fast as possible, then letting it fall back down (rather than resisting slowly back down).

i usually do it the 2nd way, mostly because the first always felt harder to do with the same weight, and also because i figured i would improve my power more. but then occasionally i try the first way and realize i cant slowly press the same weight that method and feel like ive been cheating myself.

so question is, whats the benefit of one vs the other? is one better for strength, mass, or power, etc?

 

[Deleted member 130905]

Doing the lift slow is stupid. Lift explosively.

Do strict presses and push presses and jerks, but do them all as quickly as possible.

 

[Donut62]

They aren't the same lifts. They are both useful. Do both.

 

[plugchop]

I always try to press up in as controlled a manner as possible, but by the middle of my working sets (if not sooner) I find myself reverting to push presses.

I do think your description of letting the bar "fall back down" after lockout is something to be avoided though, if only for safety reasons.

 

[B3rserk3R]

I always try to press up in as controlled a manner as possible, but by the middle of my working sets (if not sooner) I find myself reverting to push presses.

I do think your description of letting the bar "fall back down" after lockout is something to be avoided though, if only for safety reasons.

use less weight, duh.

 

[warmer]

They aren't the same lifts. They are both useful. Do both.

thank you man of few words. im aware theyre beneficial. but i suppose having any form of mild curiosity about what each ones benefits/changes are is strictly forbidden around here.

"whats the difference between front squats and back squats?"
"it doesnt matter just do them."

 

[warmer]

I do think your description of letting the bar "fall back down" after lockout is something to be avoided though, if only for safety reasons.

i dont mean some violent fall. i simply mean not resisting it (as opposed to resisting the weight so that it comes down gradually). one has a real negative portion, the other doesnt.

 

[B3rserk3R]

thank you man of few words. im aware theyre beneficial. but i suppose having any form of mild curiosity about what each ones benefits/changes are is strictly forbidden around here.

"whats the difference between front squats and back squats?"
"it doesnt matter just do them."

well in this case it's pretty obvious isn't it? I mean you said as much in your first post. You can use more weight and/or reps than you can with a strict version but the strict version puts more emphasis on your shoulders. Donut said all the there is to say in the response. Do both. This way you spend time focusing on your pressing muscles AND you'll actually be able to press more because push presses help your strict press.

 

[Barut]

i dont mean some violent fall. i simply mean not resisting it (as opposed to resisting the weight so that it comes down gradually). one has a real negative portion, the other doesnt.

If the weight is going to be successfully re-racked, the lifter has to be resisting. It might not be the super slow tempo that you described in your first post, but it's far from a free fall.

 

[ShadowNINku]

I lift as explosively as possible for every kind of press

the diff: one will be a strength "power" (no leg drive/"strict") exercise and the other will be a true power exercise (more use of legs/more emphasis on getting lots of weight up/more sport specific etc./dynamic*)

I'm doing strict now to get "teh pumps" but I'll probably start to incorporate a push press or power snatch press as I start to work true power exercises

 

[daemonarch]

standing barbell shoulder press. i see people doing it wildly differently.

half i see perform it slowly and focused, feet spaced shoulder width apart, starting at the top of the chest and smoothly pressing up and down in a controlled fashion, like 1-2-3-2-1 up and down.

the other half do it with feet slightly staggered and doing explosive push presses, you know, a slight bob at the beginning then firing up as fast as possible, then letting it fall back down (rather than resisting slowly back down).

i usually do it the 2nd way, mostly because the first always felt harder to do with the same weight, and also because i figured i would improve my power more. but then occasionally i try the first way and realize i cant slowly press the same weight that method and feel like ive been cheating myself.

so question is, whats the benefit of one vs the other? is one better for strength, mass, or power, etc?

If I understand you correctly, you are basically asking about difference between strict overhead press and push press.
In that case you need a really long answer and that given to you by Donut is arguably best possible at the moment, don't scorn the man.
In a meantime you could do some research on your own and learn difference between explosive lifts and grinding ones.

 

[LINK313]

They aren't the same lifts. They are both useful. Do both.

Great post right here

 

[B3rserk3R]

Great post right here

Trying to get him to mow your lawn j/k

 

[RedNeckJiuJitsu]

Doing the lift slow is stupid. Lift explosively.

Do strict presses and push presses and jerks, but do them all as quickly as possible.

+1. The concentric portion of the lift should be as explosive as possible, unless you need to concentrate on form.

 

[krellik]

I always try to press up in as controlled a manner as possible, but by the middle of my working sets (if not sooner) I find myself reverting to push presses.

Just dont use your legs...

It might seem hard but it really are that simple. Repeat until you get it, then explode, without bending your knees...

...Unless you -are- doing pushpresses.

 

[Ascendant]

Here's the problem - in the first example you're describing a strict overhead press (SOHP) and saying that because it doens't use legs it's done slowly. We're saying this is a bad thing. Never lift slowly (for the most part).

The second one, as you know, is a push press.

To answer you question about the difference: a SOHP will be more likely to hypertrophy your muscles because there will traditionally be more time under tension, and maybe even more MU recruited. A pushpress will work your explosiveness and power, especially lockout power, more, as well as help your push press and to some extent jerk technique.

Is that clear?

 

[Cratos]

What does MU represent, Ascendant?

 

[F[o]rged]

What does MU represent, Ascendant?

Motor Units.

 

[canadapride**]

I like to pick one, and do it for a while and forget about the other one. When I'm in a rut, time to switch and forget about the other for while.

 

[Fistyouforfree]

thank you man of few words. im aware theyre beneficial. but i suppose having any form of mild curiosity about what each ones benefits/changes are is strictly forbidden around here.

"whats the difference between front squats and back squats?"
"it doesnt matter just do them."

Buy a copy of Starting Strength asap{google it}. The best 20 bucks you will ever spend if you care at all about getting stronger..which I am assuming you do.

After you read that come back and ask questions and compare ideas. It will save you a lot of time and frustration.