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The standing overhead press

PTC

Member
I consider the overhead standing press the upper body squat.

Whether you prefer military press, push press or jerk, just get a bar from the ground to overhead.

I prefer the MP as a true test of pressing strength. No technique, no momentum, just pure pressing power.

The push press is a great overload movement that really favours the faster lifters, and the jerk is a very athletic movement, requiring plenty of time to execute correctly.

Regardless of which one you do, you should do more overhead pressing compared to bench pressing.

Until powerlifting and the bench press became popular, rotator cuff injuries were unheard of. Before the bench press, everyone simply pressed overhead. Shoulder health was much better then.

At the very least, balance your pressing out.

I even use plenty of overhead pressing in my cardio sessions, whether its Thrusters or kegs, were always pressing something overhead.

By sitting in a bench with back support, you eliminate the upperback muscles. Sitting on a bench with no back support is a real test of strength.

Kneeling down while overhead pressing will demonstrate to you how weak your core is.
 
Def my weakest point of call.. Really need to work on it.. I love it just dont seem to improce like i do with my other lifts :(

practice practice practice ..

I have also switched to incline bench and no longer use flat bench.
 
Markos, with the clean and push press that you do in your comps. Would you say it is best for a Novice like myself to just do the push press with feet shoulder width apart and not a jerk style where one leg goes behind the other?
 
That is exactly what I was thinking. I imagine the jerk allows you to press more though right?
 
I always use the clean & press in my shoulder workouts, once I exhaust I will just push press for reps. Its one of my staples.

Take note, dudes on the isolateral military press machine going to failure...

MD
 
i need to start going heavier on military press, but i have two main issues...

when i start fatiguing, i tend to cheat by arching my back which i am pretty sure is a BAD idea. also, i am not sure how to actually get the weight up there, apart from using the squat cage. the only prob with that is because i am quite tall, i can't fully extend my arms at the top of the press (it hits the top of the cage). i have two choices, i can do this in the squat cage with knees partially bent, or do it on the smith machine which for some inexplicable reason, is larger than the squat rack...

any opinions?
 
If you do it on the Smith Machine, it is no longer a Military Press then. Maybe you just need to clean the bar up there? I know it will be a bit harder but it is all I can think of.
 
just learn to powerclean and get the bar up there that way. its only a true military press if its cleaned anyway, otherwise its just a press out of the rack ;)
 
What about these options:
1. Don't do your standing overhead press in the cage. You shouldn't go to failure anyway (always leave 1 in the tank, as discussed in other threads on here), so why do you need the cage? I note that Markos' gym does not have a single cage and all his lifters seem to do just fine without lifting in one.

2. try that kneeling OH press like Markos suggested?
 
i love military press i feel strong doing it its helped me with bench too
 
I really dislike power racks, although I think they are a great idea with many benefits. I only ever squatted outside the cage, never inside. In terms of safety they are ideal.

When it comes to overhead pressing, surely everyone understands that we pick the bar up off the floor now.

1.jpg


Even the girls clean the bar off the floor. Here's Vicki with 40kg overhead.

10.jpg


Dim with 85kg overhead @ 67kg, cleaned off the floor
 
I am getting a bit confused, are we talking about the military press here or a push press?
 
Ah, I see all variations.

I am just focusing on my standing mil press at the moment. I'll have to start cleaning the bar up though. I will also have to start push pressing to get ready for AD10.
 
thanks for the suggestions everyone :)

looks like the clean is the best way to go then... my only issue with this is that i don't really know how to do this properly (i.e. i don't want to screw something up trying to do it). i'll see if anyone at my gym knows how to do it, but i highly doubt it lol, being somewhat of a commercial gym...

so should you do each rep from the ground then, or just clean the weight, do 10 presses or whatever, and then return the weight to the ground?

oh and katie, in response to the failure comment, i don't actually go to failure on this as i feel quite vulnerable in this position as is. however, as i fatigue i can feel my form getting sloppy. perhaps this is just something i need to focus more on :)
 
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