bar in contact w/ body on OLY style press?

[simonsky]

Rip, when doing OLY style presses from the rack, does the bar have to be in contact with the body? or is it only for the cleaned variation?

because when i do normal OHP's, my anthropometry makes the bar position at the bottom a bit higher than my sternum and not in contact with my body. though i assure that my forearms are vertical and elbows slightly over the bar.

i practiced them yesterday and can't seem to get the bar in contact with my body without getting off balance.

[Mark Rippetoe]

For Olympic presses, you'll need to minimize the shock to your elbows generated by the whip of the hips. This will be best accomplished by contact with the delts. If you can't do this, you'll have to figure out another way.

[IlPrincipeBrutto]

Hi Rip,

For Olympic presses, you'll need to minimize the shock to your elbows generated by the whip of the hips. This will be best accomplished by contact with the delts.

Could I chip in and ask the same question about the normal Press ?
There's a debate going on in the Technique section about this particular aspect. The question is whether at the bottom of the movement the bar has to be in contact with the upper body or not.

In particular, some people who start their reps from the top, and use the stretch reflex at the bottom, seem to prefer leaving the bar over the clavicles/delts, just out of touch. Apart from anthropometry constraints, this seems to be driven by the difficulty of looking for the rebound without hitting the upper body too hard with the bar.

It would be very useful to have your opinion on the matter.

Many thanks for your time.

IPB

[Mark Rippetoe]

Not everybody has the optimum anthropometry for pressing. That said, I don't understand your question.

[mstrofbass]

Not everybody has the optimum anthropometry for pressing. That said, I don't understand your question.

I think he was asking: Do the same concerns regarding the shock to the elbows apply to the regular press, and/or is there a particular reason why, besides range of motion, the bar should make contact with the delts?

[Mark Rippetoe]

He may be. The elbows will be under a lot of load in a rebound if a guy has long forearms and can't slap his delts at the bottom. Thus, the comment about less-than-perfect anthropometry. But aren't you the asshole that stirred up AofA again? Do you know how badly you are hated?

[simonsky]

will the Rippetoe barbell police hunt me down if i used a wider grip for the oly style press so that i can rest the bar in my delts?

[IlPrincipeBrutto]

Not everybody has the optimum anthropometry for pressing. That said, I don't understand your question.

My fault for not making myself understood. I'll dare abuse of your patience again and rephrase the question.

In a Press, should the bar be in touch with delts/clavicles/shoulder region in general when at the bottom of each rep ?

To give some context, in a Bench Press the bar has to touch the chest to make a rep count. I wonder if a similar requirement is needed/advised for the Press, if anything to make sure that each rep has the same ROM as every other rep.

Does the answer change if each Press rep begins from a dead start, or if it begins from the top, and the athlete uses the stretch reflex at the bottom of the movement ?

Many thanks again for your time.

IPB

[mstrofbass]

He may be. The elbows will be under a lot of load in a rebound if a guy has long forearms and can't slap his delts at the bottom. Thus, the comment about less-than-perfect anthropometry. But aren't you the asshole that stirred up AofA again? Do you know how badly you are hated?

It's a simple balancing test. The entertainment that everyone provides responding to all of the inane bullshit he spews far outweighs any form of popularity decrease. There's a special place in my heart for good trolls...I miss Max Faget.

[Eric K]

He may be. The elbows will be under a lot of load in a rebound if a guy has long forearms and can't slap his delts at the bottom. Thus, the comment about less-than-perfect anthropometry. But aren't you the asshole that stirred up AofA again? Do you know how badly you are hated?

It's kind of funny to me to realize that you actually might occassionally browse the shenanegans of E&P. Kinda like a little kid who's playing and doing something really weird, then suddenly realizes that the adults can actually see him and are watching.