Master Your Press: Practice Lowering for Control | Mark Rippetoe

[stef]

Rip talks about the importance of maintaining the correct distance between the barbell and the shoulder to improve your press. He explains how maintaining the bar close to your face and shoulders, both during the press and the lowering phase, maximizes efficiency and provides practice for better control.

[Jason Donaldson]

In the same spirit of reversing the concentric steps when lowering the deadlift, I've had good results from likewise pushing the hips back forward on the descent for the press to help accomplish this. If it worked on the way up to get my ugly face out of the way of the bar (and keep the weight as much over my shoulders as possible), then it stands to reason that it should work on the way down, too.

Thinking about it, I wonder now whether doing that may be some of what's helped me pick up more of the double layback in recent years, too,...but that's mere speculation.

[stef]

Yes, the hips should be pushed forward on the way down. That's what allows the bar to travel in as close to vertical as possible throughout the lift. Trying to stand straight while lowering is a mistake.

This is one area that people mess up more with the dynamic hip start for this lift. With the old way - same hips, just used slo-mo instead of dynamically - people tended to more naturally get the hips forward on the way down.

I bet the correct use of the hips has helped you with the 2x layback, Jason. It's more practise using the hips in the lift and reinforces the correct maintenance of knee extension since it removes the temptation to cushion the bar-lowering by bending the knees. It also helps develop more mobility at the hip since there is 2x more reps of actively pushing into the ROM.

[Jason Donaldson]

Thank makes sense, stef - thank you, ma'am!