Improving Overhead Press

There’s no question about it, Overhead Lifting is without a doubt my favorite form of lifting to test general body strength. I don’t know why that is, but I just plain enjoy picking something up overhead, whether it’s a barbell, log, axle, or whatever is just lying around!

I’ve been working on hitting a new all-time PR on my Overhead Press – 225lbs for 4 consecutive reps – for the last several months. I’ve done 3 reps a couple different times, but the 4th rep always escapes me.

Last week, I was finally able to hit it. The video below is of 225lbs for 4 consecutive repetitions.

Overhead Press All-Time PR – 225×4

This truly came out of nowhere, as my Press workouts haven’t been too extraordinary lately, but here are a few points that might have had something to do with it.

How I’ve Increased My Press

I’ve really backed down on the volume: For several months, I was hitting my 25-rep “program.” I picked one specific weight and tried to reach 25 total reps as quickly as possible, with the weight varying from 185lbs to 215lbs. That approach worked great for a while, but I think this level of intensity caught up with me and I needed a change, so I dropped it down to either 3 or 5 sets of 3 to 5 reps. One difference was I started focusing on pressing the weight up as fast as possible, no matter what the weight was.

Modified My Ramp-up Approach to Working Set Weights: I normally hit a couple sets of barbell only, then a set of 95lbs, and then a set of 135lbs for my warm-up sets. Then, I would usually go right to my working sets. I found that the jump from 135lbs to 185lbs, or whatever the weight might have been that day, has been too much recently. So I started doing intermediate sets of 3 at 155lbs and 175bs instead. This has made a big difference in reducing missed first-reps on my initial work sets.

I’ve re-incorporated speed work: I’ve been trying to stick with 1 workout every 4 to 6 weeks where I stick with lighter bar weights and press against band tension, very similar to the methods used by powerlifters on lifts such as the Bench Press, Squat and Deadlift. I’m been feeling much more powerful on my presses, especially last week when I got my new PR, since focusing more on speed.

Dead Stop Training: I was finding that I was relying too much on stretch reflex in my press training, so I was really letting the bar crash down hard and then pressing back up. I decided to allow the barbell to settle at the bottom position a bit more the last few weeks, which made my presses harder, but I felt I was developing more pure strength. You can see in the video, that I went from a dead-stop on rep #2. I didn’t mean to do that, but I guess I’m just used to doing it now.

These are just a few changes I’ve made recently to my approach to pressing. They seem to have paid off, as a whole.

I’ll also mention that I took this weekend off from any training (I was away camping), and my left shoulder which has been giving me trouble for several months feels much better. I hope it continues to improve, and maybe I will see 225lbs go up for a set of 5 reps soon!

All the best in your training.

Jedd

Yoketober is Coming Soon – Will You Be Ready?

I have a little saying that I coined about two years ago that goes like this:

Misses Are Just Warm-ups

This is a mental approach that you have to take when your overall training goal is STRENGTH.

You missed a new PR Lift? So What? Try it again.

You didn’t break your previous best mark on your first try? So what? Try it again.

If you set up your lifts right, you should always have at least three good attempts in you to set a new PR. And in some cases, even more.

It doesn’t matter what kind of strength you are going for: Grip Strength, Powerlifting, Olympic Lifting, Strongman Training – all of them require certain factors to be right.

If any of these factors are not right, then you might not complete your lift, even though in reality you are strong enough to complete it.

Here are just a few things that can be “off” when you go for a max and keep you from setting a new PR:
(more…)

Some quick thoughts today on the Overhead Press. Some of these I have shared with you before, but they have been spread out all over the site and you might not have seen them. Hopefully these will help you improve at the overhead press.

How to Improve on the Overhead Lifts

1. Work the Overhead Lifts Regularly

Make sure you are doing some form of overhead lifting in your program on a regular basis, provided you are healthy enough for it, meaning you have no injuries that could get compounded or aggravated by doing the lifts. I like to overhead lift at least once a week, and sometimes I will get in two workouts within a 7-day period.

More Related Posts:
Improve Weaknesses in Your Press

2. Use Many Different Types of Overhead Lifts

Do not do only one type of overhead lift. Even if your main goal is to improve in one specific type of overhead lifting, other types of overhead lifting will serve to strengthen individual portions of the movement pattern as well as give your body a chance to work in different ways and not get beaten up by the same training stimulus all the time.

The reason I point this out is because in my personal experience if I do only Barbell Military Press week in and week out, my workouts seem to get stale and improvement is slower in coming. However if I mix in several different types of pressing as well as overhead lifts using different implements and speeds, then I see better results, like I have been throughout this year.

More Related Posts:
Thoughts on Exercise Selection Here

3. Practice Tension Management

I have used the term Radiant Tension here on this site many times. Gross Tension throughout your body can help you lift more weight. However, some people go overboard with tension. Tension is a skill that must be learned and constantly improved, just like they tell you with your driving skills. To get started with this, try squeezing the barbell or dumbbell handles harder than normal from the time the barbell/log is at your shoulders until the point the implement passes your forearm. You may have to squeeze very hard at first in order to feel the effects of radiant tension, but later on you will understand when you have to squeeze harder than others.

More Related Posts:
Tension Management for Strength Training
How I Improved My Kettlebell Press

4. Improve Movement Quality

There are many more people out there to go into a full discussion on movement quality, assessment, and correction than me. However, I know enough about it to tell you that if your body can’t move right, you can’t get as strong as you want to. I have seen eye-opening results this year after I finally admitted to myself that I had to start improving my movement abilities. As soon as I put emphasis on this, my numbers started improving faster than I ever could have expected.

More Related Posts:
Results of Working Flexibility Between Sets
Upper Body Warm-up for Healthier Shoulders
Addressing Tightness for Increased Pressing Strength

5. Incorporate Heavy Dumbbells

The biggest change in my overhead lifting practices has been the inclusion of heavy dumbbells in my training again. I haven’t had a set over 70-lbs in my gym since I built it, so I didn’t get that individual arm stimulus. Dumbbells make each arm work individually. You don’t get that same synergy effect with dumbbells that you get from a barbell, log or stone. Since it is somewhat tougher to press heavy dumbbells, when you go back to barbells, you should see some pretty good improvement.

Those 5 points are the main points I have worked on for years and many of them are key factors I have been using recently. To illustrate how much these points have helped me, check out the video below, where I recently pressed two 100-lb dumbbells for a set of 3, the first time ever.

100-lb Dumbbell Military Press X 3

To recap the first 7 months of 2012, until earlier this year, the best I was doing was high-rep sets of 50’s. In February, shortly after beginning to work on my poor movement demons, I was able to get 3 sets of 10 with 70’s, and eventually I began testing myself on the 100’s, and I have gradually worked up in reps with them.

If you are looking for more information on Overhead Lifting, make sure to check out the links to other posts here on the site. If you need to bring up your Overhead Lifting Strength for the sport of Strongman, then check out our Introduction to Strongman DVD. The Log Press, one of the most awesome tests of overhead strength, requires excellent technique, and if you don’t know it, you will never reach your full potential and be completely competitive in competition.

Look for more info on Improving Overhead Lifting coming up in the future here at DieselCrew.com. Make sure to subscribe to the newsletter for more lifting tips and updates.

All the best in your training,

Jedd