7 Ways You're Ruining Your Press: Part 2

(A Blast from the Past article originally posted on 09/01/23)

You’ve read Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training, you’ve watched the videos, and you are endeavoring to press correctly. Yet . . . you still have problems. Let’s fix them.

In Part 1 of this series, which went up last week, we covered several common press mistakes. In today’s Part 2, we wrap things up by addressing a few more errors as well as how to fix them.

Mistake #5: Ridiculous or Nonexistent Focal Point
When pressing, pick a spot on the wall directly in front of you (at about eye height) and stare at that point the entire time. Stare at it before your first rep, through and between each rep, and until you’ve racked the bar.

Don’t let your gaze wander, and certainly don’t press with your eyes closed, no matter how hard you’re struggling through a particular rep. Focal point contributes mightily toward balance, and the press is very balance-dependent.

Mistake #6: Awful Knees
Don’t let your knees bend when pressing. This is the press, not the push press, and if your knees bend, the lift doesn’t count. To fix this issue, flex your quads before starting the rep and keep them flexed during the entire rep. You can cue yourself to “pull your kneecaps up” or simply tell yourself to “keep your knees tight,” but don’t let your knees get loose when pressing.

Mistake #7: Comically Bad Hip Timing
Remember, the timing is “hips-then-press” - your hips reach forward and then slam back into place, i.e., it’s when you stand back up that you launch the bar upward. The mistake we’re talking about here happens to almost every new lifter when learning the press at some point, especially if you are teaching yourself how to do it.

Here’s what happens - you get a few solid reps, and then you simply get the timing wrong on the next rep. You accidentally reach forward with your hips and try to press the barbell upward at the same time. It feels awkward, and if you record yourself on camera and watch afterward, it makes you want to throw up mentally - just a bit - because something isn’t quite right.

The timing is the issue - you did “hips-and-press-at-the-same-time” when you meant to do “hips-then-press.” And, in fact, that’s exactly how you solve the problem, simply tell yourself “hips-THEN-press,” and you’ll do just fine.

As always, we hope these tips help you get stronger and live better.

-Phil

PS: Whenever you want even more Testify in your life, here are some free resources:

• Book a free intro and strategy session with us HERE.

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What You Should NEVER Do When Pressing!

Is your bar path all sorts of terrible when you press? It's destroying your press. Starting Strength Coach Phil Meggers helps you fix it with 3 simple cues.

(A Blast from the Past video originally published on 03/27/23)

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At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Interested in getting stronger, looking better, and having more energy?

7 Ways You're Ruining Your Press: Part 1

(A Blast from the Past article originally posted on 08/25/23)

Let’s cover several mistakes you might be making with your press, and then let’s fix them fast. We address a few issues this week in Part 1, and we’ll return next week and wrap things up with a few more errors in Part 2.

Mistake #1: Poor Stance
When you unrack the bar, don’t walk a mile back from the rack, and don’t take a narrow stance. Simply take two small steps back - right, then left - that’s it. Two half-steps, if you will - i.e., stay relatively close to the rack. When you do so, set up with a nice, wide stance. Your squat stance will serve as a good approximation of the stance you’re looking for, and you can even stand a bit wider than that, but don’t take a narrow stance.

Mistake #2: Atrocious Grip Width
Don’t take a wide grip. When pressing, the grip is fairly narrow - when taking your grip, simply reach out in front of you like you’re Frankenstein’s monster, and that will serve quite well for your grip width. Don’t use a grip width that looks even remotely as wide as your bench press grip.

For a lot of guys, this will place the grip right on the edge of the knurl, and for a lot of gals, this will place the index finger on the smooth part of the bar and the rest of the fingers on the knurl. These are very general approximations, so to check your grip width, remember that - when you’re setup and ready to press (i.e., at the bottom of the movement) - you want vertical forearms as seen from directly in front of you.

Mistake #3: Terrible Elbows
Don’t let your elbows be situated behind the barbell when you’re set up and ready to press. When unracking the bar, do so with your legs. Dip down far enough (with your legs) so that you can move your elbows into the correct position, which is slightly in front of the bar as viewed from the side. Every single rep should start with your elbows in this position. If the elbows are behind the bar, you will tend to press the bar forward, which makes for a miserable pressing experience.

Mistake #4: Hideous Wrists
Your wrists should not be bent back in extreme extension. Go ahead and make a tight fist - yes, right now . . .while you’re reading this . . . seriously. Notice the amount of wrist extension you see, i.e., notice how much - or rather how little - your wrists are bent backward. We’re looking for that position when pressing as well - about 10-15 degrees of wrist extension.

We want the base of the palm to support the bar so that the bar is situated directly over the bones of the forearm. On the other hand, if the wrists are bent back in extreme extension, the bar sits up near the pads at the base of your fingers with your wrists in a very floppy and inefficient position (see the video above).

Your wrists shouldn’t be totally straight (although we may sometimes use the overcue “straight wrists” when setting up), but they definitely shouldn’t be in extreme extension, so get your elbows in the correct position (see Mistake #3), and that permits you to achieve the correct wrist position as well. As the weight gets heavier, you’ll find that a decent pair of correctly worn wrist wraps will certainly help this positioning, but most of the solution is up to you.

We’ll see you next week in Part 2 of this series, and as always, we hope this helps you get stronger and live better.

-Phil

PS: Whenever you want even more Testify in your life, here are some free resources:

• Book a free intro and strategy session with us HERE.

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At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Interested in getting stronger, looking better, and having more energy?

Why Do So Many Lifters Press with Their Hips Wrong?

There are three mistakes that lifters often make with their hips when pressing, so let’s identify them and fix them quickly.

To see these three errors in action as well as how to solve them, check out the video below (as they say, a video is worth three billion words.)

Mistake #1: Winding Up
At the start of the press, you might be committing the error of reaching back - or “winding up” - with your hips.

Remember that at the start of the press, the first movement of the hips should be forward - never backward. Reaching back with your hips causes the barbell to go forward, and you don’t want any unnecessary horizontal movement of the bar when pressing.

To fix this, take a big breath and get tight as usual, then pause for a very brief moment in that upright position. Cue yourself “push the hips forward” and then do exactly that.

A final note on this error - if you’re making it, you probably aren’t aware of it, so be sure to video yourself the next time you press and check for this mistake.

(To see this error and its solution demonstrated, check out the short video below.)

Mistake #2: Reaching Back with Your Shoulders
When pressing, you push your hips forward, but you might be throwing your shoulders backward instead. If you are committing this error, your balance shifts to your heels and you don’t get a nice bounce or “throw” from the hip movement, and as a result, you have a weaker, less inefficient press.

Make no mistake, when you push your hips forward, your shoulders and head will automatically move backward slightly as part of a natural counterbalancing movement, and an advantage of this is that you clear space (by getting your head out of the way) for the bar to travel in the correct path. However, you should not try to throw your shoulders back as it will ruin the hip action (i.e., the bounce) in the press.

You’ll notice this error on camera, but you’ll also notice it by paying attention to your feet. If you feel your weight shift onto your heels as you start the press, you are incorrectly throwing your shoulders backward. If, on the other hand, you feel your weight shift briefly to the balls of your feet when you push your hips forward, you’re performing the lift correctly.

With this in mind, to correct this error, you can cue yourself to “get onto the balls of the feet” as you prepare to push the hips forward.

(To see this error and its solution demonstrated, check out the short video below.)

Mistake #3: Timing
If you press the barbell upward at the same time you push your hips forward, your timing is off, and you’re losing out on the bounce (i.e., the “throw”) provided by the hip action.

The bar should not go up when you push the hips forward - rather, the bar should momentarily dip downward when you reach with your hips. This is the beginning of the bounce created by the movement of the hips.

To correct this error, remind yourself to “make the bar dip” or that “the bar goes down” at the start of the press.

(To see this error and its solution demonstrated, check out the short video below.)

As always, we hope this helps you get stronger and live better.

-Phil

PS: Whenever you want even more Testify in your life, here are some free resources:

• Book a free intro and strategy session with us HERE.

• Pick up a free copy of Testify’s Squat Guide: 12 Tips to Improve Your Squat Now HERE.

• Get our free weekly email - containing useful videos, articles, and training tips - HERE.

• Follow Testify on Instagram HERE.

• Subscribe to Testify’s YouTube channel HERE.

(Some links may be affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, Testify earns from qualifying purchases.)

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At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Interested in getting stronger, looking better, and having more energy?

The Press, Corrected. 7 Errors Most Lifters Never Notice

If your press feels inconsistent or harder than it should, this might be why. Starting Strength Coach Phil Meggers walks through 7 common errors and the simple corrections that make the lift stronger and more repeatable. Apply this in your next session.

Whenever you want even more Testify in your life, here are some free resources:

• Book a free intro and strategy session with us HERE.

• Pick up a free copy of Testify’s Squat Guide: 12 Tips to Improve Your Squat Now HERE.

• Get our free weekly email - containing useful videos, articles, and training tips - HERE.

• Follow Testify on Instagram HERE.

• Subscribe to Testify’s YouTube channel HERE.

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At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Interested in getting stronger, looking better, and having more energy?

This Weird Press Error is A Problem

If you’re making this mistake during the press, it’s highly likely that you’re unaware of it, so let’s identify it quickly and fix it just as fast.

The Problem
When you’re set up to press, you’ve established the correct start position - your elbows are slightly in front of the barbell (as viewed from the side), you’re standing tall, your chest is up, your stance is sufficiently wide, and you’re about to start the hip motion to initiate the press.

However, instead of reaching forward with your hips, you accidentally throw your shoulders backward. This is a problem as it ruins the bounce (and therefore the upward momentum) created by the hip movement.

Be sure to watch one of the videos in this article to see this error in action (as well as the solution!).

Should the Shoulders Move Backward?
The shoulders do, in fact, travel backward a bit as you reach forward with your hips. This is a natural counterbalancing movement - your hips go forward as your shoulders and head go back a bit. This hip movement allows the face to get out of the way of the bar and also creates that lovely bounce we’re looking for to start the barbell’s upward movement.

However, there is a big difference between the natural counterbalancing movement of the upper body and the erroneous and purposeful throwing backward of your shoulders. The first helps the press while the latter ruins it.

figure 1: at left - becky correctly throws her hips forward. at right - becky incorrectly throws her shoulders backward. note the position of her head against the barbell in the background in the two photos.

How to Know if You’re Committing This Error
To ascertain whether or not you’re making this mistake, pay attention to your feet. When you correctly reach forward with your hips, you should feel your weight momentarily shift to the balls of your feet (Figure 1 - left photo).

However, if you are incorrectly throwing your shoulders backward (Figure 1 - right photo), you will feel your weight momentarily shift to your heels instead, making for a weak press.

The Solution
If you feel your weight shifting backward instead of momentarily forward, cue yourself to “get onto the balls of your feet” when you reach forward with your hips (you heels should still stay connected to the floor).

Practice this slowly a few times, and as you get the hang of it, you can be more aggressive and speed up the movement.

To see this error and the solution in action, I’d recommend watching one of the short videos included in this article.

As always, we hope this helps you get stronger and live better.

-Phil

PS: Whenever you want even more Testify in your life, here are some free resources:

• Book a free intro and strategy session with us HERE.

• Pick up a free copy of Testify’s Squat Guide: 12 Tips to Improve Your Squat Now HERE.

• Get our free weekly email - containing useful videos, articles, and training tips - HERE.

• Follow Testify on Instagram HERE.

• Subscribe to Testify’s YouTube channel HERE.

(Some links may be affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, Testify earns from qualifying purchases.)

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At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Interested in getting stronger, looking better, and having more energy?