Bill Starr Ironman Magazine Article_Overhead Press

[soycuadrado]

Hi Rip,

Did you catch B. Starr's recent online article defending the overhead press movement? Iron Man Magazine online gave it nice home page visibility. Great info. as usual.

"This installment is a response to an article written by Doug Brignole in the March’10 IRON MAN titled, “Stop the Presses—The Case Against Overhead-Pressing Movements.” Normally I wouldn’t bother defending an exercise, but I felt morally obligated to step up and put in my two bits about a move that’s been a valuable part of my weight-training regimen since I first touched a barbell..."

[Mark Rippetoe]

I didn't see that, no. I just read the ones he wrote for us:

http://startingstrength.com/articles...ress_starr.pdf

http://startingstrength.com/articles...ress_starr.pdf

[Dastardly]

Does anyone find it funny that with all of Bill's emphatic defense of the overhead standing press there, the guys at iron man still used an image of a seated press!

[Mark Rippetoe]

This is what happens when you write for the magazines. You know this when you sign up.

[jab50]

Out of curiosity, I Googled the article and read it. It says pretty much what he and Rip have already said about the press. Do it. I still enjoy reading this type of article, because even though the overall message is the same, there are little bits of information that was not in previous articles (the history of the press and why it fell out of favor with the lifting community).

[MEbigUsmall]

I just read that article and it was pretty friggin good, and I have trouble paying attention to most articles. It makes me want to go and press right now. I would like to read some more of his stuff, the history stuff is really interesting. I would like to see pictures of some of those old time guys.

[dwm24]

I read Bill's article already but I did go ahead and read Brignole's argument against it. Here is a little tidbit, if you have appetite for idiocy like I do then this should certainly whet it;

"Hold your right arm in the starting position of an overhead press, but with your forearm at a slight forward slant. Imagine that you are pushing a dumbbell upwards, toward the ceiling. Now consider this: the slight forward slant of your forearm is causing the weight to pull your forearm (actually, your hand, with the weight in it) forward, and in order to keep the weight from falling farther forward, you must perform a sort of “reverse arm-wrestling” movement, while still pushing upward. In other words, you are using your external rotator cuff, to prevent the weight from falling forward. The problem with this is that the weight is too heavy for that type of movement(just had to interject here that the moron should then simply lower the weight). The external rotator cuff is small, compared to the deltoid. You have selected a weight that is appropriate for your deltoid, but now you are using your (much smaller and weaker) rotator cuff to keep this weight from falling forward. This could easily cause “rotator cuff strain”, and might well result in shoulder pain. It could actually cause your rotator cuff to tear, when done repeatedly, and/or with a heavy weight"

Why does one have to select a weight heavy enough for the deltoids and too heavy for the external rotator cuff? I always assumed you just pick a weight you can press and press it till you are able to press more and so on.

[Mark Rippetoe]

More importantly, why would you intentionally choose to hold "the forearm at a slight forward slant"? To demonstrate that when you do the movement incorrectly, it is bad? All this proves is that the guy doesn't know how to press, with dumbbells or barbells.

[Dastardly]

That crappy magazine is surely not worthy of Bill's words. Can you imagine the readers trying to juggle the mass of silly workouts, exercises and training ideas.

I hope they are paying him handsomely.

[Mark Rippetoe]

They pay better than we do.