3 Tactics to Triage Your Press FAST | Get a Bigger and Better Press TODAY
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Having problems with your press but not sure what to fix or where to start?
It’s important to remember that if you don't have a coach, then – by default – you are your own coach. With this in mind, let’s cover a few major technical points to look for when you watch your press on video. These are not the only things to look for, of course, but they certainly are large “bang-for-your-buck” items.
Get these issues ironed out, and you’re well on your way to a bigger, stronger press.
We did a similar article about triaging squat problems a few weeks back - click here to read the article, or you can watch the video below.
#1 Elbows and Wrists
When you unrack the barbell, are you doing so correctly with your elbows slightly in front of the bar and with relatively straight wrists? Or are you unracking the bar with elbows behind the bar and with wrists hideously bent backward in full extension?
this . . . is awful.
It’s worth noting that your wrists should not be totally straight – there will be a slight amount of extension – but we absolutely want to avoid the rather lazy and weak position of full extension (see photo above).
Your elbows and wrists should be correctly positioned before you stand the bar up. If you find yourself needing to make elbow and wrist adjustments after unracking the bar, simply stop, rack the bar, fix the issue, and then unrack it again.
Remember that you unrack the bar only with your legs – everything else should already be in the correct position.
this . . . is much better.
Also, be sure to lower the bar so that your elbows and wrists are already in the correct position for the next rep. Don’t be lazy and allow your wrists to bend backward and your elbows to drift behind the bar.
Lower the bar with a purpose, and that purpose is to set yourself up correctly and efficiently for the next rep. Lower it to the same setup position you started from – every time.
Want to see these errors and their corrections demonstrated? Watch the short video below.
#2 Knees
Keep your knees straight. Cues such as “flex the quads”, “tight knees”, and “keep the knees back” are all useful toward accomplishing this goal.
If your knees bend, remind yourself that the rep doesn’t count. You’ve done a push press instead.
Nice lift, but not the one you’re training.
Absolutely terrible
#3 Bar Path
Are you keeping the bar close to you or are you allowing it to loop out away from you?
Bar path is important for all barbell lifts, of course, but the press is especially bar path-dependent – a rep that gets even slightly out of the correct groove is significantly harder and often simply becomes a missed rep.
this bar is extremely forward of the correct bar path . . . and it makes for a miserable experience.
Cues such as “keep the bar close”, “aim for the nose”, and “throw it back” can all be helpful if you find yourself consistently allowing the bar to get forward.
As always, we hope this helps you get stronger and live better.
-Phil
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