I'm weak at the bottom of the press. If I can get the bar to about forehead level, I can lock it out. Right now, a PR attempt barely comes off my chest at all. Any suggestions for dealing with weakness at the bottom of the press?
Weak off the Chest in the Press (NOT bench press)
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Chains or bands maybe? I think some DE type work with ~70% of your max or so would also be beneficial
Honestly, I would think to press more. I would think most people would naturally be weaker off the chest than at lockout as you are just in a terrible position starting out. Once the weight starts moving, it more and more resembles the pressing movement of a bench press and is really tricep oriented. I think that is why the leg drive in push presses makes such a difference, too.
I am going to press more often. I've been doing heavy push presses on one day and strict presses on another. I'm going to start doing light strict presses on a third day. I did that for the first time this week, and my OHP was decent today, especially considering I've had several weeks of bad OHP workouts. Yes, maybe the third day will function as DE work.
ChaseT, thanks for the links. I've seen those before, though. Rippetoe is the man.
ChaseT, thanks for the links. I've seen those before, though. Rippetoe is the man.
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One thing I've been working on that seems to help a little is to try to initiate the lift explosively -- what I mean is, rather than trying to smoothly push the bar up off my chest I try to drive it up hard and fast. It takes a little practice to restrain yourself from using leg drive when you do this.
Not push presses for sure. I can get the bar to forehead level with leg drive alone, which means my actual pressing muscles don't need to do much work where I'm really weak. I imagine push presses would be great for people who are weak at lockout, though.
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Careful though, I've got fairly reliable shoulders (no previous injuries, just minor strains), and I did heavy shoulder days with only 2 days rest in between, which caused me to have some serious inflamation and strain on the joint. Now I'm forced to take it easy on them for a week or so, basically losing more time for shoulder work then I gained by over-doing it.
Trust me, I've learned my lessons as far as overtraining.
Only two of the days will be real "work." The other day, in the words of Rippetoe, will remind my shoulders that they have a job to do, without enough stress to stimulate any new adaptation.
Only two of the days will be real "work." The other day, in the words of Rippetoe, will remind my shoulders that they have a job to do, without enough stress to stimulate any new adaptation.
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I would concentrate on strict pressing. You should perhaps have a day with low rep(ME) doing reps of 3-5 for several sets then another RE day focusing on reps of 8-15 for several sets as well. Practicing slight to moderate layback can also help to get you past plateaus...
I would also rotate this lift every 2-3 weeks...whether it's a change of how you grip the bar to a completely different press(side press, 1 arm barbell press, DB press, etc)
I would also rotate this lift every 2-3 weeks...whether it's a change of how you grip the bar to a completely different press(side press, 1 arm barbell press, DB press, etc)
Thats what I would recommend.
I had mentioned I had seen those already. After reviewing them, I realized I had never seen the third one. That's very interesting, even if it might be a bit of a "cheat."
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You may also want to try doing strict presses for maximal acceleration on concentric portion with slow/normal eccentric portion...using chains or bands
pin presses are great and I thought of mentioning them originally but most people never go with this idea when mentioned in previous posts because of practical applications or whatever other reasons....
pin presses are great and I thought of mentioning them originally but most people never go with this idea when mentioned in previous posts because of practical applications or whatever other reasons....
D
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I'd stick with chains though, if the bands are too tight and you miss the press, well let's just say hopefully you have dental/medical coverage.
If its in a power rack, use weight that you can't lift...
