I get a lot of looks in the gym, particularly when I’m pressing overhead, as I’m one of only a few guys who does his presses standing, and I put up by far the most weight. My press, by the way, is terrible. I do not lift in a very good gym.
Today the guy who always takes his shirt off started asking one of the trainers about it and this turned into a twenty-minute conversation. First I got to overhear how I was doing a powerlifting style press (clearly the press is the most distinct of the power lifts). Then, the trainer told him that he must never - never! - shove his head forward or shrug hard at the top of the press (glad to have someone verify my form is okay). Instead, he showed him a way to reverse curl the weight up and then move it up juuuuust enough to impinge the shoulders and then back down, which he had the guy do for three sets of twelve with some “assistance” at the elbows. After that, the trainee was complaining that his shoulders were hurting. He had read something on the internet saying that he should press heavier weights and use a full range of motion. But the wise trainer countered: Don’t listen to randos on the internet - just listen to us and you’ll be golden! Then he had him do a bunch of upright rows to finish off the impingement.
My favorite part of training at this gym is that I don’t need to do anything to get angry and psych out for presses; I can just look around the room and something will get me worked up. The good news is that this guy was still asking questions. Just by having a few guys lifting heavy at the gym and clearly getting stronger, the message is starting to seep in through the cracks. People have started benching with safeties, pulling from the floor (trainers advise them to deadlift in the smith machine), and even pressing overhead from a standing position. It’s good motivation for me to get my numbers up, knowing that it will make people question the wisdom of the personal trainers.