How to Press: The Setup | STOP Doing This!

A couple of weeks back, we discussed the bench press setup, and in the near future, we’ll cover the squat setup. Today, however, we’re talking about the press setup and a common mistake that we see.

We’ve covered the press setup before in several articles and videos (some of which you’ll see throughout this article), but the major point of emphasis in today’s article is the timing of the setup. The press setup obeys the same rule as the bench press setup:

Everything that can be set up before you unrack the bar should be set up before you unrack the bar.

In other words, we’re not talking about the how of the setup as much as we’re talking about the when of the setup. Anything that can be tight, rigid, and correctly positioned before lifting the bar off the hooks . . . should be. In short, setting up for the press is a lot like pulling up your pants - be sure to do it before you walk out the door . . . not after.

figure 1: See this hideousness? these nasty elbows and wrists should have been fixed before unracking the bar.

If you find yourself having to adjust your elbows and wrists after you’ve unracked the barbell (Figure 1), you’re doing it wrong (and inefficiently), so let’s fix this.

To correctly and efficiently set up for the press, perform the following 5 steps (and watch the included video above for a demonstration of the process)

Before You Unrack the Bar

1: Grip
Take the correct grip - narrow, slightly pronated, and with the bar supported by the base of the palms.

2: Approach
Walk up to the bar - extremely close to the bar. If your chest touches the bar, you’re doing well.

figure 2: Better - note the elbows and wrists.

3: Dip
Squat down (dip down, really) as far as needed to ensure that you can rotate your elbows into the correct position - slightly in front of the bar - while keeping your wrists relatively straight (Figure 2). If you are fixing your elbow and/or wrist position after you’ve stood the bar up off the hooks, you’re doing it wrong, and this is exactly the problem we’re trying to eliminate. Remember - pull your pants up before you walk out the door - not after.

Unracking the Bar

4: Stand Up
Stand the bar up with your legs. That’s right, you unrack the bar with your legs, not your arms. Everything from your waist upward is frozen in place - it never moves again until you start the first rep.

5: Stay Close
Take 2 small half-steps back from the rack - one with your right foot and one with your left foot. Stay relatively close to the rack.

Now you’re ready to press without needing to make any adjustments to your elbows and wrists (which, under a heavy load, is a waste of time and energy).

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

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Want a Bigger Deadlift? Learn to Deficit Deadlift.

Learn to deficit deadlift as Phil and Mike explain and demonstrate how to perform the lift as well as discuss why you might want to do deficit deadlifts in your training program.

(A Blast from the Past video originally published on 04/25/22)


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The LPP Rule: Fewer Barbell Loading Mistakes

(A Blast from the Past article originally posted on 01/21/22)

The name in the following story has been changed to protect the guilty . . .

This is not 140 lb . . . and Sally knows better.

One of our lifters - Sally - needed to squat 140 lb for her work sets. However, Sally didn’t want to spend the effort necessary to put a 45 lb plate on each side of the barbell. Bear in mind that Sally squats over 200 lb and deadlifts nearly 300 lb, so it wasn’t as though lifting a 45 lb plate was very difficult for Sally - she just didn’t want to do it.

Consequently, Sally had to use far more plates to load her bar than she normally would have used had she chosen to use a 45 lb plate, and as a result, she made a barbell math mistake and ended up squatting 130 lb for a couple of sets instead of 140 lb. When I noticed this, I pointed it out to her and also pointed out that she now needed to load the correct weight and perform her work sets.

What’s the moral of this story? All lifters make math errors when loading the barbell every now and then, but you can greatly reduce your chances of loading (and lifting!) the wrong weight if you follow one simple rule:

The LPP Rule: Always put the Largest Possible Plate on the bar.

(I recommend watching the included video for a demonstration as well as explanation) 

For example, if you want to squat 140 lb (using a 45 lb bar), simply put a 45 lb plate on each side followed by a 2.5 lb plate on each side. Do NOT use some silly combination of plates such as a 25, two 10s, and a 2.5 on each side, or worse yet, a 25, a ten, two 5s, and a 2.5. The list of terrible combinations goes on and on, and this is exactly the problem.

If you always put the largest possible plate on the bar (the LPP Rule), then there is only one possible combination of plates that will produce the correct weight on the bar. If you don’t utilize this method, there are myriad combinations that will get you the correct weight, and with this greater number of possibilities comes a correspondingly greater number of ways that you can screw up the math and misload your bar.

With the LPP Rule, not only are there far fewer ways to make a mistake, but you’ll also benefit from always building your bar math around “milestone weights” such as 95 lb (one 25 on each side), 135 lb (one 45 on each side), 185 lb (one 45 and one 25 on each side), etc. These milestone weights are numbers that you’ll memorize rather quickly (whether you intend to or not) if you use the LPP Rule, and it makes the bar math for any weight above these weights simpler, quicker, and harder to mess up.

We hope this helps you get stronger and live better!

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

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10 Signs That Your Press Is About to BLOW UP

Want to improve your press? In this short video, Phil provides 10 tips you can start implementing today.


At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Click the button below to get quality coaching from a Starting Strength Coach and start getting stronger TODAY.

The Testify Mirror - March 11, 2024

THIS WEEK'S SUBMISSION

From our video 10 Simple Tips to Improve Your Weight Lifting (click the title to watch):

knife
I'm at 3 and quarter plates on deadlift and got the bar slipping out of my hands, I use chalk and hook grip, do you have any tips? maybe just strap?

Phil
The mixed grip might be the way to go, but I'd recommend perhaps reviewing the hook grip (we've got a few videos on it) - for starters, make sure that you're middle finger goes over your thumb. The index finger will as well, but the middle finger really has to have purchase on the thumb.

In lieu of that, I'd recommend a mixed grip (AKA alternate grip - one hand prone and one hand supine), and if you don't want to do that, then yep, go with straps. That deadlift has got to keep going up! :-)

knife
@TestifySC ill check em out, thanks

Phil
You're welcome, and here's one of them:
The Hook Grip: HOW to Use It and WHY it Works
https://youtu.be/t9tbc74YqLY


ARTICLES & VIDEOS

10 Simple Tips to Improve Your Weight Lifting
Phil breaks down a quick yet comprehensive list of 10 things you need to know, do, or have when training. Click here to watch.

 

How to Deadlift: Set Your Back the RIGHT Way - Part 1
Do you have a tough time setting your back in flat, rigid extension when you deadlift? In Part 1 of this series, we help you solve this problem. Click here to read.

 

Blast from the Past: The Best Barbell Collars? (They're Not What You Think)
You've got a lot of options for barbell collars out there, but how about one that's simple, cheap, effective, and easy to use? Look no further. Click here to watch.

 

Blast from the Past: How to Warm-up for Lifting Weights: Stop Using Percentages!
Percentages and warm-up charts/apps are the diapers of the lifting world - pretty useful in the beginning, but in the long run, life is a lot better, simpler, and cleaner if we outgrow them. How to do this? Click here to read.


NEW TESTIFY HOODIES ARE AVAILABLE!

Looking to train in style? Get yourself a Testify hoodie - in practically any color! Get yours today and represent your favorite gym.

Click here to head to the Testify Store.


WHAT'S COMING UP

Reminder: We will be closed for training on Saturday, 03/16/24, as we are hosting the annual Testify Leprechaun Lift-off weightlifting meet.

Below are a few of our upcoming events, and you can find out what else is on the calendar by heading to our events page at www.testifysc.com/events.

Testify Strengthlifting Challenge

  • April 6, 2024

  • The annual Testify Strengthlifting Challenge is back, and we invite you to be a part of it! This is a strengthlifting meet, which means the contested lifts will be the squat, press, and deadlift.

  • Click here to register or for more information.

Testify Barbell MAYhem

  • May 11, 2024

  • Come on out and join us for the annual Testify Barbell MAYhem! This is a weightlifting meet, so the contested lifts are the snatch and clean-and-jerk.

  • Click here for more information.

Starting Strength Self-Sufficient Lifter Camp

  • May 18, 2024

  • Spend the day learning the Squat, Press, and Deadlift and how to self-evaluate your lifts while training in your garage or commercial gym without a coach.

  • Click here to register or for more information.


THIS WEEK’S CONDITIONING

Option 1
Sled
Outdoors:
10-20 x 25 yds EMOM at a weight of your choice

Every minute, push the sled 25 yards, i.e., if pushing the sled takes 20 seconds, then you have 40 seconds to rest. Perform 10-20 rounds.

Indoors:
10-20 x 100 ft EMOM at a weight of your choice

Every minute, push the sled 100 feet, i.e., if pushing the sled takes 20 seconds, then you have 40 seconds to rest. Perform 10-20 rounds.

Compare to 2024.01.08.

Option 2
Bike/row:
4 x 3 minutes

Rest 3 minutes between each round. Score = lowest distance.

Compare to 2023.12.18.

Option 3
1. Work up to a heavy single on the axle clean-and-press (i.e., ground to overhead).
2. 5 x 100 ft Zercher carry (50 ft down-back). Add weight each round. Rest as needed.

Compare to 2023.11.20.

Option 4
Outdoors:
5 rounds:
15 cal row
50 yd sled push, 100#/50#

Indoors:
5 rounds:
15 cal row
100 ft sled push, 250#/125#

Push sled slow for recovery. Score is slowest row.

Compare to 2023.11.20.

How to Deadlift: Set Your Back the RIGHT Way - Part 1

In the deadlift, you want to set your back in rigid, flat extension (Figure 1), but accomplishing this can sometimes be difficult (especially if you’re learning how to deadlift) - after all, you can't see what your back is doing when deadlifting.

figure 1: becky sets her back in rigid and flat extension.

With this in mind, in this series of short articles, we’ll give you several ways to improve your ability to correctly set your back.

5-Step Setup for the Deadlift
We’ll assume you already know the 5-step setup for the deadlift (and if you don’t, be sure to watch the included video below), but here’s a quick recap:

Step 1: Stance
Shins 1” from the barbell

Step 2: Grip
Bend over to grip the bar

Step 3: Shins
Bend your knees to touch your shins to the bar

Step 4: Chest
Squeeze your chest up to set your back

Step 5: Pull
Drag the bar up your legs

How to Set the Back
Correctly setting the back in rigid extension occurs in Step 4 (“Chest”), and as is so often the case, sometimes you don’t need a new cue to fix an issue - you just need to go back to the beginning and simply hammer home the original cue: “Squeeze your chest up.”

The idea is that, when you squeeze your chest up, it sets off a wave of contraction that runs from your thoracic spine all the way down to your lumbar spine, thus getting your back flat and rigid.

So, at least to start (remember, there will be more articles on this topic), don’t make it any more complicated than it needs to be.

Squeeze your chest up or “lift your chest.” When you think you’ve squeezed it up as much as you can . . . squeeze it up even more. Get extremely uncomfortable. If you’re starting to sweat just while trying to set your back, you’re off to a good start.

figure 2: “show your shirt to the wall” (or the person in front of you)

How to Picture This
Here’s another way to think of the process - imagine that someone is standing in front of you (Figure 2), and you’re trying to show him the writing on the front of your shirt (without dropping your hips). A simple cue for this is “Show your shirt to the wall.”

Hopefully, this proves useful to you, and we’ll cover more ways to correctly set your back in the upcoming articles in this series.

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

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

If you found this helpful, you’ll love our weekly email. It’s got useful videos, articles, and training tips just like the one in this article. Sign up below, and of course, if you don’t love it, you can unsubscribe at any time.


At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Would you like to get quality coaching from a Starting Strength Coach?